WEBVTT

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My entry into the art world was abstract expressionism, 1956 to 1960.

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It is still my great love.

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Besides Stamos, the artists that interest me most were Kline and Rothko. 

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I had a couple of small Klines and, I had one Rothko.

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And how I get the Rothko?

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Around 1962 or 1963 Stamos took me to Rothko’s studio for the first time. 

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I was in awe of Rothko and I could hardly speak and

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we walk into the studio and Stamos bangs on the door and they growl to each other.

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This is Meisel, and he doesn’t even look at me,

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we walk in, and we go in there and there is a bench

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against the wall and Stamos sits on the bench

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and I sit on the bench and Rothko sitting on a chair off to the right. 

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And there are 3 paintings in semi-darkness,

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and I don’t know what to do but, I am just going to sit there like Stamos.

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So for 20 minutes we sit, we stare at the paintings and nobody says anything.

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Then Stamos gets up and walks over to the wall and he is looking into paintings.

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So I do the same thing and this whole time I never said a word until we left that day.

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And that was my first time. 

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There were a few more times and then one day Stamos calls and said

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“Mark Rothko and I we need this kind of paper.” 

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He says "You are an expert on paper"

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Because I was in the printing and publishing business

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and my father owned a paper company.

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So I take them down to Andrews, Nelson, Whitehead

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with my Station Wagon and I get them this carton of paper. 

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The paper was about that size by that size.

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We all know these beautiful paintings that they did.

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A very heavy weight paper.

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Rothko and Stamos did it, and now I don’t have any left, but anyway.

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I get back, and I bring half of it to Rothkos studio

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and I bring the other half to Stamos.

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About six months later, the phone rings and I pick up the phone.

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-It’s Mark.

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-Who is Mark?

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-To me it’s Rothko.

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And all of a sudden I realize that here I am alone with Rothko on the phone.

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-It’s Mark, it’s Rothko.

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-Yes Mark.

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He says “That paper you got for us.”

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I said “Yes.”

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He says “I need more.” He says “Get it.”

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And he hangs up the phone.

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I mean it’s crazy, but I go down to Andrews, Nelson, Whitehead and I get the paper

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and it’s 300 dollars for this carton of 150 sheets of paper.

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Which is magnificent stuff, it’s from France.

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I get it up to his studio and it's 150 pounds and I’m killing myself to get it in there.

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He looks around and he says “That’s great! How much is that?”

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And I said, “It was 300 dollars.”

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He says “I don’t have any cash now. Take that.”

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And that’s how I got my little Rothko.

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Which was a painting that he did on the previous group of paintings.

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Today the Rothko may be worth a million, but 20% of the loft, the loft is worth 7 million.

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So I am where I am, and I own 10.000 works of art

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and I miss having my Rothko but that was my only shot at Rothko at the time.

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Now I’m very good friends with Stamos it’s very important to me,

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he introduces me to the other abstract expressionist, I met them all,

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except for Pollock who died three weeks before I walked into the museum of Modern Art.