The Bass House in Fort Worth.
Photo: Steve Freihon
Anne Bass’s Legendary Collection from Her Paul Rudolph-Designed Home Is Coming to Auction
The “Art from the Bass House” offerings will include pieces by Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder, and other notable artists that were featured throughout the Fort Worth property
Installation view, Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Black Red (1964). Photo: Martien Mulder
Christie’s has announced exciting news in the lead up to the auction house’s Spring Marquee Week this May. “Art from the Bass House,” an upcoming Christie’s auction, will include works from the Paul Rudolph-designed Texas home of late art collector Anne Bass and her former husband, investor Sid Bass. Nine works from the collection will be part of the 20th Century Evening Sale, including ones by Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder, Agnes Martin, Frank Stella, Morris Louis, Ellsworth Kelly, and Gino Severini. They will be on display in the galleries at Christie’s Rockefeller Center come May.
As a student at Yale University, Sid Bass witnessed the construction of its Rudolph-designed Art and Architecture Building and became enamored with his work, even considering pursuing a career in architecture. As a married couple, Sid and Anne agreed that they wanted Rudolph to build them a home; they spent an entire year drafting a letter to ask him to do so. The architect obliged, and he created the blueprint with artwork as the main focus. The couple requested the home include walls and skylights so they could display artwork amidst natural light. Landscape architect Robert Zion and British gardener Russell Page designed the grounds of the property.
![Installation view, Mark Rothko, No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black].](https://galeriemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Installation-view-Mark-Rothko-1903-1970-No.-4-Two-Dominants-Orange-Plum-Black-1950-51-in-the-Piano-Room-of-the-Bass-House.jpg)
Installation view, Mark Rothko, No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black]. Photo: Martien Mulder
Gino Severini, Danseuse (1915-1916). Photo: Martien Mulder
The Bass House, which author, architecture critic, and lecturer Paul Goldberger called “one of the great achievements not only of Rudolph’s prolific career, but of American architecture,” was commissioned by the couple in the early 1970s. It remains the American architect’s largest single-family project.
“Anne and Sid Bass stand among the world’s most formidable and influential art collectors, combining exquisite taste with the highest level of connoisseurship. The fantastic home they built together in Fort Worth, Texas, in the early 1970s was a singular representation of their combined vision—built to perfectly showcase their inimitable collection,” said Bonnie Brennan, CEO of Christie’s. “It is an honor to present Art from the Bass House to the market this season. These artworks offer a rare opportunity to a new generation of collectors, and we are eager to see how our clients respond.”
Installation view, Frank Stella, Firuzabad III, (1970). Photo: Martien Mulder
The works comprising the auction include Gamma Upsilon by Morris Louis ($2-3 million estimate), Firuzabad III by Frank Stella ($1-2 million estimate); Untitled #11 ($3.5-5.5 million estimate) and Untitled #2 ($1.5-2.5 million estimate) by Agnes Martin; Itata by Frank Stella ($6-8 million estimate); No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black] by Mark Rothko (estimate upon request; in the vicinity of $35 million); Blue Black Red by Ellsworth Kelly ($4-6 million estimate), Danseuse by Gino Severini ($1.5-2.5 million estimate), and more. The latter was a favorite of Anne Bass’s, as she loved ballet; this piece was placed by her desk.
“Like the paintings at [Anne Bass’s former apartment at] 960 5th Avenue, which were sold at Christie’s in May 2022, the Art from the Bass House was about rigor and relationships,” Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art, tells Galerie. “The bravura Rothko and two Martins flanked the piano, the Louis and Stella (Firuzabad III) faced each other, and the Calder was suspended above the conversation pit.”
Cover: The Bass House in Fort Worth.
Photo: Steve Freihon
More from Galerie
