Rothko Painting Sells for $75.1 Million

With help from Rothko, Pollock and Bacon, Sotheby's garnered its biggest night ever taking in $375 million on Tuesday night.

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Mark Rothko's classic "No.1 (Royal Red and Blue)" (1954) sold for a whopping $75.1 million, becoming the second highest price ever paid for a piece by the artist. The painting was estimated to sell for $35-50 million, according to The Huffington Post.

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"Orange, Red, Yellow" (1961) holds the honor of being the highest selling Rothko, fetching $86.8 million at a Christie's auction last May.

Sotheby's contemporary night also featured pieces by other world renowned artists, including Jackson Pollock, whose "Number 4 (1951)" sold for a cool $40.4 million; "Untitled (Pope)" by Francis Bacon sold for $29.8 million; and Willem de Kooning, whose "Abstraction" sold for $19.7 million.

Works by Franz Kline, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol and Clyfford Still were also sold and added to the record-breaking evening.

The $375 million night for Sotheby's broke the auction house's previous record of $362 million set in May 2008.

Email: Joshua.Stecker@thr.com; Twitter: @joshuastecker