Premise: Orange, Red, Yellow is a 1961 Color Field painting by Mark Rothko. It sold at Christie's for $86.882.500 on May 8, 2012. The seller was the estate of David Pincus and the sale price represents a record nominal price for Post-War / contemporary art at public auction and for Rothko works in general.
Hypothesis: The painting was almost destroyed during a tornado in March 2000.