A Restored East Village Townhouse Where Mark Rothko Once Lived Lists a $6.2 Million Penthouse
A six-story Greek Revival townhouse on East 6th Street, once home to American painter Mark Rothko (1903–1970), has returned to the market in a new form: a boutique, two-unit condominium called the Rothko House. The triplex penthouse, occupying the top three floors, is now listed for $6.2 million.
The address carries a rare kind of provenance. Rothko lived in a small apartment in the building during the 1930s with his first wife, Edith Sachar. While there, he created the painting “Thru the Window,” later inscribing the back with the building’s address — “313 E 6th” — along with his signature.
The circa-1853 townhouse has also passed through other culturally significant hands. In the 1970s, the entire multifamily building sold for $45,000 to pioneering filmmaker Emile de Antonio, known for documentaries that examined the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War. At a later point, artist Alfred Leslie used the garden level as a studio.
More recently, the property’s future was thrown into question after a 2022 fire destroyed the top floor. The following year, the structure — vacant and heavily damaged — was offered for sale for the first time in more than five decades.
The buyer was Michael Auriemma, a retired principal of an international consulting firm, who purchased the building for nearly $3.7 million and embarked on an extensive, multimillion-dollar restoration and renovation. The work included new plumbing and electrical systems, a structural steel roof, and reconstruction of the rear facade.
Nearly two years later, the townhouse has been repositioned as the Rothko House, a two-unit condominium. The triplex penthouse is listed with Jeff Wachtenheim of Corcoran, and a second triplex spanning the lower floors is expected to come online soon.
According to the listing details, the penthouse spans roughly 2,800 square feet and includes three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a powder room. The interiors have been modernized while leaning into tactile, warm finishes: caramel-toned hardwood floors, high ceilings, brick accent walls, and decorative tile and millwork.
The lowest level of the triplex centers on a living room with large north- and south-facing windows. Nearby, a dining area is paired with a smaller adjacent space suited to a bar, wine closet, or workstation. The kitchen is outfitted with custom cabinetry, marble backsplash and countertops, an eat-in island, a Wolf range, and a breakfast nook with built-in banquette seating.
On the second level, two oversized en suite bedrooms are separated by a taupe-colored den. The top floor is devoted to the primary suite, which opens via a sliding glass door to a private terrace with skyline views that include the Freedom Tower. The suite also includes a walk-in closet and a bathroom anchored by a freestanding oval soaking tub.
Monthly common charges are listed at $1,704.
Rothko’s early years in New York were a period of formation, long before the color field paintings that would define his legacy and reshape postwar abstraction. Today, his market sits firmly in the highest tier: in 2024, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin purchased Rothko’s 1951 painting “No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)” through a Christie’s private sale for around $100 million.
The East Village townhouse offers a different kind of entry point into that story — not a canvas, but an address that still bears the trace of an artist at the beginning of his ascent.
