No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)

No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) is a painting by the Latvian-American expressionist artist Mark Rothko created in 1951. In common with Rothko's other works from this period, No. 6 consists of large expanses of colour delineated by uneven, hazy shades. In 2014, it became one of the most expensive paintings sold at auction.^[1]

No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)
Artist	Mark Rothko
Year	1951
Medium	Oil on canvas
Location	Private collection

2014 sale

No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) is one of the works implicated in the infamous Bouvier Affair. It was privately bought for €140 million by Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2014.^[2][3][4] Rybolovlev is thought to have bought the painting via the Swiss dealer Bouvier. Rybolovlev learnt that Bouvier had actually bought the painting (rather than simply acting as a dealer) from Paiker H.B. for ~€80,000,000 before selling it on to Rybolovlev for €140,000,000.^[1]

2024 sale

In 2024, Citadel LLC billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin purchased the painting for $195m through a Christie's private auction.^[5]