Courtesy of Christie's
When it comes to Fort Worth’s storied families, the Basses have long stood apart — not just for their wealth, but for their unwavering devotion to art, architecture, and the subtle power of good taste. Now, that devotion is about to go global.
This May, during Christie’s prestigious Spring Marquee Week in New York, the international auction house will showcase a dazzling trove of works from the private collection of Anne and Sid Bass. The sale, titled “Art from the Bass House,” includes several blue-chip pieces that once hung inside the couple’s avant-garde Paul Rudolph–designed Westover Hills estate. For art lovers and architecture buffs alike, this isn’t just an auction — it’s an unveiling.
The marquee names read like a syllabus from a top-tier modern art seminar: Rothko, Calder, Agnes Martin, Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly, Morris Louis, Gino Severini. Altogether, the works are estimated to fetch upwards of $60 million. Headlining the group is “No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black]” by Mark Rothko, a moody masterpiece that Christie’s won’t even put a number on (though whispers suggest around $35 million, according to Galerie Magazine). Nearby in the catalogue, you’ll find Martin’s serene “Untitled #11” and “Untitled #2,” Kelly’s geometric “Blue Black Red,” and Severini’s “Danseuse,” a ballet-inspired piece that once sat beside Anne’s desk.
“These are artworks that weren’t just collected — they were curated to live in concert with architecture and light,” Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art, said. "The bravura Rothko and two Martins flanked the piano, the Louis and Stella faced each other, and the Calder was suspended above the conversation pit. The house was a total work of art.”
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Images Courtesy of Christie's
Mark Rothko (1903-1970) No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black], 1950-1951
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Frank Stella (1936-2024) Firuzabad III, 1970
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Gino Severini (1883-1966) Danseuse, circa winter 1915-1916
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Morris Louis (1912-1962) Gamma Upsilon, 1960
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Alexander Calder (1898-1976) Gypsophila, 1949
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Frank Stella (1936-2024) Itata, 1964
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Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) Blue Black Red, 1964
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Agnes Martin (1912-2004) Untitled #11, 1975
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Agnes Martin (1912-2004) Untitled #2, 1975
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Andy Warhol (1928-1987) Ballet Slippers [Three Works], 1981
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David Smith (1906-1965) Boaz Dancing School, 1945
The house itself has its own story. Built in the mid-1970s by Rudolph — who also designed Fort Worth’s City Center towers and TCU’s Sid Richardson Physical Sciences Building — the Bass House is the architect’s largest single-family residence. Completed in 1972, it is widely considered one of the most significant works of residential architecture in the United States, and was designed specifically to accommodate the Bass family’s then-growing collection of postwar art.
Some preservationists had hoped the house would be kept intact, as noted in a Dallas Morning News article. The topic resurfaced during a recent exhibition on Rudolph’s work at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which described the home as “a poetic exploration of free-flowing interior and exterior space.”
The structure is a modernist fortress, with four stories, twelve staggered levels, and fourteen different ceiling heights. A 40-foot cantilever beam gives it the illusion of floating. Wrapped in glass, steel, and aluminum, it’s both austere and theatrical, a space where art could breathe and glow in natural light.
As legend has it, Sid Bass fell for Rudolph’s design while studying at Yale, where the architect had completed the university’s Art and Architecture Building. Years later, Sid and Anne, barely out of their twenties, spent a full year crafting a letter to convince Rudolph to design their dream home in Fort Worth. He agreed. And when he did, they told him two things: Make it the best. And make it worthy of their growing collection.
To round it out, landscape architect Robert Zion (of Paley Park fame) and British gardener Russell Page sculpted the outdoor grounds. Together, the team built a place as complex and curated as the art it held.
“The fantastic home they built together in Fort Worth was a singular representation of their combined vision — built to perfectly showcase their inimitable collection,” says Bonnie Brennan, CEO of Christie’s Americas. “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.”
For longtime Fort Worthians, the Bass name evokes quiet elegance and civic legacy. But with this sale, the world gets a glimpse into the private side of that legacy — a life lived among Rothkos and Martins, Stella’s geometry balanced against Severini’s lyrical brushwork, all housed inside one of modernism’s most ambitious domestic experiments.
In a city known for its cowboys and culture, it’s only fitting that one of its most iconic homes is now the backdrop for a modern-day treasure hunt. The Bass House may have been built for art, but come May, its walls will echo far beyond Cowtown.
