Rothko Expected to Fetch $46m

A painting by the American abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko is expected to fetch $46m (£23.4m) when it is put up for auction in May. Should it realise the estimate, White Center, a seven-foot high canvas painted in 1950, will become the most expensive postwar artwork sold at auction, beating the $27m paid for a Willem de Kooning canvas last year. The current record for a Rothko is $22.5m.

The painting's owner, the billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller, said he decided to sell the painting after realising that its value had appreciated more than anything else in his collection. The painting, which is to be sold by Sotheby's in New York, is considered a pivotal work from a key period in the artist's development.

On the advice of a MoMA curator, Rockefeller bought the painting in 1960 for less than $100,000.