translated by Giorgina Arcuri

In the history of the art market, the 15th May 2007 will certainly be remembered as an memorable evening in New York, thanks to the hammer prices that roused surprise, disbelief and astonishment among auctioneers, sellers and buyers. How would it be possible to forget the popularity of lot 31 of Sotheby’s catalogue, “White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavander on Rose)”, executed in 1950 by Mark Rothko, presented without pre-sale estimates, which were to be provided only on request; analysts and experts had predicted a result close to 40 million dollars. But in a breathless run-up, the work achieved 72,840,000 dollars, setting a world record for the artist and at the same time the title for the world’s most expensive work of art, which had never been at auction (beaten on 14th May at Sotheby’s New York, by Francis Bacon’s “Triptych 1976”). Without forgetting that this masterpiece gave a significant profit to the seller who had bought it 47 years earlier for 10 thousand dollars, the legendary American financer and banker David Rockefeller.
The astounding amount for “White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavander on Rose)”, on 15th May was paid out by an anonymous buyer who participated in the New York auction by telephone, but the name of the mysterious buyer has been unknown until now. It is the Al-Thani family, known as the most important in the state of Qatar and, in particular, the purchases were made by sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his wife Mozah bint Nasse Al-Missned.
I would dare say that the Al-Thani family scored a good deal, given that Mark Rothko’s success is confirmed by market analyses. From 1997 to 2007, he recorded a growing trend of +962%. The increase of the American artist’s index has been more significant since 2005 and confirmed its positive trend even during 2006, with a growth percentage between 2005 and 2007 equivalent to +724%. These two years have been interesting because, during the first, all the 11 lots presented at auction were sold, while in the following one, of the 10 works offered 9 were sold. This phenomenon supports the value of an investment on Mark Rothko and the possibility to change into money the works of the US artist extremely easily and quickly.
But the emir Al-Thani and his wife did not stop at the one investment. As a matter of fact, it has been rumoured that they also bought “Study for Innocent X”, from 1962, by Francis Bacon, a beautiful painting which, at the auction held on 15th May 2007 by Sotheby’s, sold for 52,680,000 dollars.
Furthermore, it has been discovered that the investments in art of the sheik of Qatar include another important piece, “Lullaby Spring”, executed in 2002 by Damien Hirst. A 3 meter-high cabinet, containing 6,136 small sculptures of handmade painted pills which, on 21st June 2007 at Sotheby’s London auction drove the public crazy, as it sold for 9.7 million pounds (equal to 14.3 million euros), achieving the title for the most expensive price ever paid for a contemporary living artist, subsequently beaten by Jeff Koons’s “Hanging Heart” (14th November 2007 sold by Sotheby’s New York for 23,561,000 dollars to the Gagosian Gallery).