For the first time in 53 years, the townhouse at 313 E. Sixth St. has hit the market — and it asks $3.65 million, The Post has learned.
Originally built as a single-family home and later altered to a three-unit building, the first notable resident was the late abstract painter, Mark Rothko.
Rothko was known for his works in color field painting. Today, his art regularly sells for many million of dollars.
In 2014, Christie’s sold his painting “No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)” for $186 million, making it the fifth most expensive painting in history, according to World Art News.
In July 1932, Rothko met his wife Edith Sachar, and together they moved throughout the city, including to an apartment right in this building.
Rothko’s famous painting “Thru the Window” was inspired by his time at the house. This address, along with Rothko’s signature, are inscribed on the back of the work.
The building and its neighboring Greek Revival-style rowhouses were designated as part of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in 2012.
In 1970, the property was purchased by Emile de Antonio and his wife. De Antonio was a noted director and producer of documentaries. His movies captured the major social, political, and countercultural milestones of the mid- to late-20th century, including the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War. Due to de Antonio’s criticism of the political establishment at the time, J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI compiled a 10,000-page dossier on him. De Antonio died in 1989.
The most recent “artist-in-residence” was noted abstract expressionist and new realist painter, Alfred Leslie. The garden level served as his Manhattan studio. Leslie was known for his larger-than-life portraits and his series of watercolors titled “100 Views Along the Road,” which documented his many road trips.
Born in The Bronx, he had an entrepreneurial spirit. He financed expenses related to his first 1952 gallery show by appearing on, and winning, an early game show called “Strike it Rich.”
A 1948 Certificate of Occupancy shows that a “social club” was located in the basement of the now-multi-family townhouse.
Currently vacant, the six-bedroom, six-bathroom property features a rear yard and occupies 5,480 square feet.
In 2022, the building caught on fire, but miraculously everyone was okay.
A firefighter and a building resident sustained only minor injuries. The house remains structurally sound with the original staircase intact.
Glenn Schillere with The Corcoran Group holds the listing.
