Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Buddy can you spare $50 million?

With apologies to J.D., I can't help but be excited about the prospect of owning my very own Mark Rothko original.
The prize item in Sotheby's New York sale of contemporary art on May 15th is by Mark Rothko, a Latvian-born, American abstract expressionist. David Rockefeller picked up the painting, titled White Centre, for around $10,000 in 1960, and it hung in his outer office when he was chairman of the Chase Manhattan bank. The painting is described by Oliver Barker of Sotheby’s, with barely a trace of exaggeration, as "a masterpiece".
The top price fetched by a Rothko to date is about $22 million. But experts of the hoity and/or toity expect White Centre to go for upwards of $45 million. In fact, rumor has it that Sotheby's has guaranteed Rockefeller a cool $40 million at a minimum.

So basically, all I have to do is come up with about $50 million to get my grubby little hands on this modern masterpiece (I figure I'll need a few extra million for bribes and other incidentals).

I'm coming up a little short so far. I've got about 12 bucks. So anyone want to loan me $49,999,988?

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6 comments:

  1. "The D"5/2/07, 12:08 PM

    Will you take a postdated personal check?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Faith5/2/07, 12:43 PM

    I never, never, ever, ever, never will understand modern art.

    Ever.

    I mean, that painting IS pretty, sure! But $40 million pretty? Nuh-uh. And *CERTAINLY* not $45 million pretty!

    Rich people are stupid, sometimes. (Ok, a lot of times...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Xavier Onassis5/2/07, 7:07 PM

    I got a better idea.

    How 'bout I paint three stripes on a piece of canvas, you go sell it for $50 miilion and I give you a 10% commission.

    Okay, ya hard bargainer! 20%

    Yer killin' me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5/2/07, 11:49 PM

    You should've applied for some TIF funding for it before Funk took over.

    ReplyDelete
  5. FletcherDodge5/3/07, 8:50 AM

    Danny -- Great idea on the TIFF money, but then I'd have to get in bed with Kay Barnes (shudder) and her crew. Somehow I don't think $50 million would be enough.

    XO -- If you could sell a painting for $50 million, I'd take a mere 1 percent of it. Lemme know how it goes.

    Faith -- The understanding of modern art is what separates the social elite (like myself and Paris Hilton) from the rest of you. Well, that and decades of inbreeding.

    The D -- So the check is in the mail?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ms. Mamma5/3/07, 11:36 AM

    I'm writing a check out for @ MILLION DOLLARS right now. Go ahead and cash it.

    ReplyDelete

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