Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Ben Heller Not So Impressed with Marion Rothko He Once Owned

September 21, 2012 by Marion Maneker


Katya Kazakina gets Ben Heller to open up about the just-announced Rothko “No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)” being sold by Anne Marion at Sotheby’s this Fall:

In 1978, the painting was purchased by Ben Heller, a major collector and private dealer of Abstract Expressionism. Sandra Canning, who acted as an agent for the transaction, said Heller paid $325,000.

“I would call it a very good Rothko. I would not call it a masterpiece,” Heller said in a telephone interview. “It’s an important, rare work.” He has owned more than a dozen Rothkos, and gave the Museum of Modern Art its Barnett Newman masterpiece, “Vir Heroicus Sublimis,” in 1969.

Heller subsequently sold the painting for less than $500,000, he said.

When asked what he thought about Sotheby’s (BID) estimate, he said, “I bought my first Rothko for $1,350 in the early 1950s. So the price increase has been astronomical.”

Picasso, 1954 Rothko May Bring $70 Million at Sotheby’s (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Old Masters Lead the MarketOld Masters Lead the Market
  • Austrian Restitution DebateAustrian Restitution Debate
  • Art, Business & LifeArt, Business & Life
  • Artelligence Podcast: David Norman on the Impressionist & Modern MarketArtelligence Podcast: David Norman on the Impressionist & Modern Market
  • Abrams Sale Blows Out EstimateAbrams Sale Blows Out Estimate
  • VIP Art Fair Expands, Raises $1mVIP Art Fair Expands, Raises $1m

Filed Under: Collectors

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor