The artwork's price was recorded at Sotheby's The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction on 14/5 (local time). Created in 1981, the painting features pale blue, dusty pink, and ivory swaths across its surface. Intersecting lines gradually form four diverse color bands, arranged without a pattern, having no clear beginning or end. According to the auction house, viewers before the work are immersed in the tranquility of the spaces Martin created.

"Untitled #10" measures 182,9 x 182,9 cm and has been exhibited in galleries in New York, San Francisco (US), and London (UK). *Photo: Sotheby's*

Sotheby's auction also saw several other Agnes Martin works on the same theme sell for millions of USD. Among them, "Untitled #6", created in 1977, fetched 5,24 million USD (approximately 138 billion VND). This is a rare example of a grid painting Agnes Martin completed after moving to New Mexico.

Art historian Barbara Haskell once wrote about Martin's works from the 1970s onward: "Compositions after 1974 express Martin's certainty that beauty, happiness, and perfection exist but are not bound. It seems she was then demonstrating an awareness of perfection existing only in the mind, separate from all material stimuli."

"Untitled #6" measures 182,9 x 182,9 cm and is made with ink, graphite, and gesso on canvas. *Photo: Sotheby's*

"Untitled #3", created by the artist in 1993, sold for 2,17 million USD (approximately 57,3 billion VND). Information from the auction house states the painting reflects Martin's profound and prolonged study of abstract art, combining the strength of modern grid composition with the artist's soft expression.

"Untitled #3" measures 152,4 x 152,4 cm and is made with acrylic and graphite on canvas. *Photo: Sotheby's*

Agnes Martin (1912-2004) was a Canadian-American artist, known for her abstract minimalist, almost meditative style. She often used delicate lines, simple shapes, and colors like grey, pale blue, white, and dusty pink in her paintings. Her works significantly impacted modern art, becoming a symbol of the blend between abstraction and spirituality. For many, she is an inspiring figure, like artist Mark Rothko, representing art's purity.

According to The Guardian, in the 1960s, Martin abandoned art, closed her New York studio, and moved to New Mexico. In 1971, she returned to painting. In the 1980s, Martin focused more on creation. Sotheby's states she often began creating by sitting alone in her studio to relax, awaiting inspiration.

Phuong Linh (according to Sotheby's, The Guardian)