You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em

In a recent episode of the hit TV series Mad Men art made a surprise cameo appearance. The ad world and the art world are often connected as we have shown in previous posts. In this episode of Mad Men it was the ad-boss-purchase connection. The artwork was a Rothko purchased by agency boss Bert Cooper. In the scene we learn that Cooper paid $10,000 for it which, for the time, (Mad Men is set in 1962) synchs with David Rockefeller’s purchase of Rothko’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) for $8,500.00 two years before in 1960. Later in the show Cooper lets on that he only purchased the work to make money. “Between you and me, that thing should double in value by Christmas.” He would have been better to hold. Rockefeller sold his Rothko in 2007 for $72.8 million.
Image: Stirling & Cooper staff Jane, Ken, Harry and Sal sneak into Bert Cooper’s office to look at the ‘Rothko’ in episode seven of the second series of Mad Men.