Picasso, 1954 Rothko May Bring $70 Million at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s has scored two major consignments ahead of the big November art auctions, with a Pablo Picasso and a Mark Rothko that together could sell for as much as $70 million.

Rothko’s 1954 “No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)” has been valued between $35 million and $50 million. It will lead Sotheby’s evening sale of contemporary art on Nov. 13.

Picasso’s portrait of his lover and muse Marie-Therese Walter is expected to sell for $15 million to $20 million. Painted in 1936, “Femme a la fenetre (Marie-Therese)” will be part of Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern evening sale on Nov. 5.