KUALA LUMPUR – A Mark Rothko painting previously owned by wanted fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, is expected to be auctioned off at Hong Kong’s Sotheby’s in November.
Describing the sale of the 1954 yellow and blue painting as an “ultra rare” instance of Rothko’s work being offered at an Asian auction, art market website Artnet.com said the art is estimated to have a presale value between US$30 million (RM126 million) to US$45 million.
The painting was first owned by American philanthropists Paul and Rachel Lambert Mellon, who bought the work soon after abstract painter Rothko’s death in 1970. It was then privately sold to French billionaire businessman Francois Pinault, founder of luxury group Kering and investment holding company Artémis.
Low, who is wanted by several nations for his role in the global financial scandal involving sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), is said to have purchased the painting, which resembles an inverted Ukrainian flag, in 2013.
While the artwork is understood to be among many others Low had secured during the height of his wealth, Sotheby’s then acquired the Rothko painting in 2015 after the Penang-born reportedly used it as “collateral for a loan”.
Subsequently, the painting was sold for US$46.5 million to Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov during a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
Rothko’s works are often associated with themes of tragedy, loss and the human condition.
On June 26, the United States Justice Department announced it had reached an agreement with Low to return more than US$100 million allegedly embezzled from 1MDB.
It was reported then that artworks by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet, along with a luxury apartment in Paris, would be liquidated and assets worth US$67 million returned to Malaysia, with prosecutors alleging that the assets are linked to cash raised for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013.
The assets will supplement some US$1.4 billion (RM6.6 billion) already returned with Washington’s help. In total, over US$4.5 billion was allegedly stolen from 1MDB.
US and Malaysian prosecutors allege the ill-gotten gains lined the pockets of a few powerful individuals and were used to buy assets including luxury real estate, a private jet and expensive artwork.
Following the 2018 Malaysian general election, the Pakatan Harapan government then issued arrest warrants against Low, who is said to be the mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal. – September 23, 2024