The New York Observer points out that Alex Rotter is not sitting around waiting for works to come to him. He went to a collector who had bought this Ryman from Sotheby’s in 1988 for $550,000 and gave him a guarantee. Rotter is now offering the work in New York’s Contemporary sale in November with a $15-20m estimate:

Untitled, (1961) is a thickly textured work painted edge-to-edge, measuring 48¾ inches square, in stark white with traces of blue and green. Eight years ago, a monochrome white painting of Ryman’s from 1962 sold for $9.6 million at Sotheby’s, setting a record that has stood since. […]

So whose idea was it to dream so big? “I thought there was really something to be done with the market, that’s why its been priced so high,” said Alexander Rotter, co-head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Contemporary Art department, who’s been given a lot of leeway ever since he helmed the company’s largest sale ever, $381 million, last November. “The public needs a great piece to elevate the [Ryman] market and give it an indication of where it could go. The sky is the limit for this painting.”

Sotheby’s Bets Big on an All-White Robert Ryman, Estimates $20 Million  (New York Observer)