New Records at the Latin American art auctions in New York

Christie’s Latin American Art sale on May 29 and 30 earned $21,325,625, selling 72% by lot, 75% by value, and setting 9 new world auction records. The Brazilian modernist Candido Portinari’s Meninos soltando pipas (Boys Flying Kits) was sold for $1,443,750 and remained the top lot of the sale while establishing a new world auction record for the artist. Several pieces in the sale demonstrated the strength of the Latin American market.

South American classical artists from very different movements and tendencies such as Fernando Botero and Alfredo Volpi, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Roberto Matta, and Armando Morales injected enthusiasm into the salesroom confirmed their importance in the market.

The highest sale of the evening was Bailerines (2000), (Dancers), a bronze sculpture with a dark patina by Fernando Botero, sold at $1,143,750. The oil on canvas by Alfredo Ramos Martínez (Mexican 1871-1946), Mujeres con frutas (Women with Fruits) painted around 1930 was bought for $1,107,750. In third place was the tempera on canvas of the late 60s by the Brazilian Alfredo Volpi, sold for $783,700, also surpassing its highest estimate. His pieces Bandeirinhas com mastro (No. 2133) (Flags with Pole) , of the mid-seventies and la Bandeirinhas horizontais com maestro (No. 1330), (Flags with Horizontal Pole) of the later years of the same decade won the next two rankings in prices, followed by the painting Naturaleza muerta con sandía y naranjas, (Still life with Watermelons and Oranges) completed by Botero in 1970, which was auctioned for $483,750, almost fifty-thousand dollars more than the $435.750 paid for the work "Yennes, l'évitation in blue, painted by Roberto Matta (1911-2002) in 1939. Surprisingly, the oil El prisionero de la luz, (The Prisioner of Light), which had a high estimate of $3,500.000, and had never come to auction, failed to sell.

Wifredo Lam’s 1945 painting L’eau solide (The Solid Water) came in at $459,750 against a pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.

Armando Morales’s work continues to break new records after his passing in 2011. The painting Lac Granada, II surpassed its maximum estimate of $350,000 when it was acquired for a private collection in the United States for $387,750. Rufino Tamayo’s (Mexico 1899-1991) work, Sonriente en rosa, (Smiling in Pink) painted in 1988, was sold for $375,750.

Mujer volando (Women Flying), 1974 , an oil on canvas by the Peruvian Tilsa Tsuchiya (1932-1984) was sold for $339,750, setting a new record for the artist. Tomás Sánchez´s Meditation at Noon, a 2004 canvas brought in $339,750.

Also, a new world auction record was established for a work on paper by Remedios Varo with Visita al pasado, (Visit to the Past), 1957 , which was sold for $291,750.

New personal records were achieved by Francisco Narváez with an untitled ebony sold for $267,750. A 1985 canvas by Mario Carreño titled Atardecer de Nostalgia (Evening of Nostalgia), estimated at $50,000 to $70,000, turned in a robust $99,750. Lot 83, Avila, Carmen Herrera’s 1974 acrylic on canvas, also pushed past its high estimate of $120,000 to fetch $147,750.

Strong results were achieved from the Collection of Dr. Ruiz Bethoven do Amaral. A new world auction record was established for Milton Dacosta’s Figura (Figure) tripling its pre-sale estimate to bring in $171,750.

Wilfredo Lam was one of the winners in tonight’s sale at Christie’s. His 1937 oil-on-cardboard, Untitled (Abstract), from the collection of the late U.S. entertainer Andy Williams, surged past its pre-sale estimate of $60,000-$80,000 to come in at $171,750.

Virgilio Garza, Head of Latin American Art, commented: “The day sale continued with great successes ending in a fantastic sale overall. We were thrilled to have achieved such a strong total for the Americas Society Foundation, a partnership we look forward to continuing. While Brazilians led the sale, I was excited to see that Botero’s drawings and sculpture maintained a significant stance in the sale, along with other South American artists.”

With over eleven countries represented among the artists, bidders from throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia vied for works ranging from monumental sculptures to offerings from 1950s avant-garde movements.

On its part, Sotheby´s concluded its Latin American Art sale having brought in a total of $19,486,500. The top lot of the two-day sale was Joaquín Torres-García’s Composition Constructive from 1931, which sold for $1,445,000 (est. $700/900,000). There was also a strong demand for Mexican artists including Rufino Tamayo and Dr. Atl, as well as for works by other Latin American artist such as Sergio Camargo, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Jesús Rafael Soto, all of who achieved prices above their high estimates.

Untitled (Relief No 263), painted in 1969 by Sergio Camargo, surpassed its high estimate of $600,000, achieving $845,000. Carlos Cruz-Diez’s Physichromie UBS Rouge (1975), Property from the UBS Art Collection was sold for $845,000 against its pre sale estimate of $500,000 to 700,000.

Artist records for Carlos Cruz-Diez and Arturo Herrera were set in the evening sale, and for August Löhr, Ricardo Martínez, Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar, Arcangelo Ianelli Tensão, and Bridget Bate Tichenor in the day session along with a record for a work on paper by Cicero Dias.

The sale started off with two paintings by Cuban modernists. Lot 1, Mujer con gallo (Women with Cock) (1941) by Mariano Rodríguez, fetching $269,000, Lot 2, Mujeres en el balcón (Women in the Balcony) (1945) by Victor Manuel was sold at $125,000. Two vintage photos by Ana Mendieta also came within their estimates, as did Lot 133, Orilla, (Shore), a small canvas by Tomás Sánchez.

During the auction held by Phillips a new record was broken for Amelia Peláez. The work, a 1943 gouache on paper titled Las Hermanas (The Sisters) was estimated at $250,000-350,000. By the time the bidding ended, the final price had reached $569,000. This work was shown in the 1944 exhibition of Cuban painting at the MoMA.