No, “The Onion” did not take over our staff for the day. Someone seriously just bought the above painting for $46.5 million this week at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The artist behind the painting is Mark Rothko, who rose to prominence in the 60s before he committed suicide in 1970.
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Previously, the painting was owned by Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, an art collector and philanthropist who passed away in March of last year
The Rothko painting wasn’t the only piece that sold at a ridiculous price. Here were the other sale highlights of the evening:
- “The Ring” by Roy Lichtenstein was sold for $41.69 million.
- “Abstraktes Bild” by Germany’s Gerhard Richter, was auctioned for $28.25 million
- “Riot,” by a American artist Christopher Wool went for $29.93 million
- “Superman” and “Mao” by Andy Warhol sold for $14.36 million and $14.4 million respectively.
The biggest sale, however, happened on Monday. A Picasso oil painting titled “The Women of Algiers (Version o)” was sold for a staggering $179 million, the highest price ever paid for a work of art sold at auction.
