Specializing in modern and contemporary works, David Martínez has been reported as also owning pieces by Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso and Damien Hirst. In 2006 he reportedly set a record for the highest price paid for a piece of art with the purchase of a Jackson Pollock painting from David Geffen. Pollock's painting "No. 5, 1948" sold for US$140 million (£73m), on 1 November 2006. However, the auction expert Josh Baer stated that Martinez was not the buyer of the painting. In addition, Shearman & Sterling issued a press release on behalf of its client, David Martinez, to announce that contrary to articles in the press, Martinez does not own the painting or any rights to acquire it. In October 2012, however, "The New York Times" reported that despite these and other denials, "several people with knowledge of" Martínez's collection have said that the Pollock work hangs in his New York apartment.