Contemporary Abstract Art for Sale

Abstract Expressionist pioneer Mark Rothko’s work was informed by Greek mythology, Nietzsche, spirituality, and his Russian-Jewish roots, with the social revolutionary ideas of his youth - including freedom of all expression - reflected in his canvases. His beliefs often ran contrary to the art world establishment, leading him to respond publicly to critics and sometimes refuse commissions, sales, and exhibitions. Despite all this, his large abstract paintings have ranked among the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.

Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) has been described as a grand scale canvas radiating fire, passion, and vitality, which the artist painted at the height of his career. With its hovering orange and red forms appearing to float against a soft red background, it achieved what, in J.E.B. Breslin’s 1993 biography, Rothko had stated as the goal for all of his art. His work needed to establish such a “presence,” he said, that “when you turned your back to the painting, you would feel that presence the way you feel the sun on your back.”

Prolific collector David Pincus (1926-2011), the son of Belarusian immigrants, joined the family’s Philadelphia-based menswear manufacturing business following college and a stint in the Merchant Marine. Producing Bill Blass suits, Pincus Bros.-Maxwell became a highly successful enterprise allowing David and wife Geraldine to amass a significant modern abstract art collection, including works by Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, and Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow. Pincus said in an interview that he bought works that moved him, not as investments.

Emotion notwithstanding, a year after his passing, the family made a decision to sell 38 artworks to continue to fund their vast global network of philanthropic endeavors, particularly its pivotal Pincus Family Foundation. Rothko’s towering 8 ft. x 7 ft. Orange, Red, Yellow sold for nearly $87 million in a record-breaking Christie’s auction. Expected not to exceed $45 million, the bidding match, down to only three participants, ultimately consisted of 50 bids and lasted more than six and a half minutes - reportedly one of the longest bidding matches in a contemporary art sale. The final price surpassed the 2007 Rothko record price of $72.8 million when David Rockefeller sold the artist’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose). The auction ultimately raised $180 million for pediatric AIDS initiatives, museums, and hospitals.

The artists at UGallery apply their own techniques and expression to the storied field of abstract painting. Read what artists Joey Korom and Alicia Dunn have to say about their original abstract art for sale.

“I devote myself to an expressive type of abstraction, to an artistic mode devoid of the rules of perspective drawing, codes, and gravity. What remains is an art of underlying structure, seductive color, and a loose brush.” - Joey Korom, Abstract expressionist painter

“As a contemporary abstract painter, I create spirited paintings capturing the life force of the natural world. Through the use of vibrant color, layering and textural techniques, the work achieves a luminosity that is invigorating yet serene.” - Alicia Dunn, Large abstract artist