Angel Botello’s bronze sculpture, “Madre e Hija,” was the top lot in the sale, selling for $39,650. Edition 9 of 10, the bronze was inscribed Botello IX/X. All proceeds from the sale of this artwork will benefit the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.

Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Santa Fe Art Auction

SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe Art Auction’s annual small, selective and refined sale of contemporary masters from around the world took place on September 20, highlighting modern, abstract and interpretive movements in painting, photography, prints, ceramics, fiber art, glass and sculpture from the late Twentieth Century through today. “We were very pleased with it,” said Gillian Blitch, the firm’s president and chief executive officer. “This is a pretty unique sale in our calendar year, a little international in its offerings. For us it’s one of the great highlights of the year to be able to do this wonderful little contemporary sale, only 185 lots. It truly demonstrates the global reach of the auction house. We sold to collectors in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Germany, to name a few.”

Indeed, the top lot, Angel Botello’s (1913-1986) bronze sculpture, “Madre e Hija,” symbolizing the special bond between mothers and their daughters, sold for $39,650 to a collector in Spain. The bronze, edition 9 of 10, was inscribed Botello IX/X and measured 29 by 20½ by 8½ inches on a base of 36-5/8 by 24 by 13 inches. All proceeds from the sale of this artwork will benefit the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.

The sale totaled $225,000, with a 75 percent sell-through by lot.

From a private collection, an untitled oil on canvas depicting a semi-nude female figure and colorful candy-stripe walls by Robert L. Grilley (1920-2009) sold for $7,320 to a private collector in Puerto Rico. The 46-by-59-by-2-inch work trounced its high estimate by nearly three times. “For me, that was one of the best pieces in the sale. It’s a very engaging painting, extremely well done.” Grilley spent most of his childhood in Lancaster and Madison. He had a lifelong love of airplanes and he received his pilot’s license in 1940 and remained a pilot until age 80. He became a B-17 navigator during World War II, flying 30 missions over Germany. After the war, he returned to Madison, earned a master’s degree and joined the UW art department faculty in 1945, where he taught life drawing and painting for 42 years.

“Mexican Glass & Marigolds” by Rod Goebel exemplified the artist’s use of striking colors and high contrast light and shadow. The oil on linen still life surpassed its high estimate to bring $3,904.

A painter of Southwestern landscapes, using striking colors and high contrast light and shadow, Rod Goebel (1946-1993) was represented in the sale by an oil on linen still life titled “Mexican Glass & Marigolds.” He attended the University of New Mexico and the Colorado Institute of Art. The painting, 25¼ by 31¼ inches, was from a private Oklahoma collection and surpassed its high estimate to bring $3,904.

There were earthy lithographs by David Bates (b 1952), whose Texas-themed paintings, prints and sculptures conjure scenes of Dallas where he lives and works. “Bar-B-Q (Friday Catfish),” 1982, a lithograph depicting a white-toqued Black chef preparing the joint’s specialties, edition 4 of 50 and measuring 24½ by 19 inches, was from a private New Mexico collection and was bid to $2,196. “Catfish,” a lithograph on wove paper, edition 13 of 50, 35½ by 26¼ inches, sold for $1,952.

A choice sculpture on offer was by June Schwarcz (1918-2015), one of the preeminent contemporary enamelists in the United States. She created tactile, expressive objects that were a fusion of her own technical mastery of the medium and her artistry in conceiving non-functional sculpture. “Enameled Copper Vessel,” electroplated copper with patina and enamel, 9 by 6 by 5¼ inches, realized $3,660 against a $1,5/2,000 estimate. It was from the Georgia and Charles Loloma collection, which Santa Fe Art Auction has been dispersing in sales throughout the year.

June Schwarcz, one of the preeminent contemporary enamelists in the United States, created tactile, expressive objects that were a fusion of her own technical mastery of the medium and her artistry in conceiving non-functional sculpture. “Enameled Copper Vessel,” electroplated copper with patina and enamel, realized $3,660 against a $1,5/2,000 estimate.

A group of 15 retablo, Mexican metalwork veneration objects, were worked into a collage by Cynthia Cook (Twentieth/Twenty-First Century) and came out of a private New Mexico collection. The mixed media assemblage, the largest of which was 28 by 7 by 2½ inches, left the gallery at $3,660.

Another contemporary American artist is Erika Blumenfeld (b 1971). She is also a researcher and writer who fuses the arts, sciences and humanities to create artworks that reflect our relationship with the natural world. From her website: “She approaches her work like an ecological archivist, driven by a passion to trace and collect the evidence and stories of connectedness across the cosmos. Examining entanglements between natural phenomena, ecology, geology, astronomy and cosmochemistry, her work intends to study the notion of an embodied relationship with the cosmos — that we are, in our very chemistry, of and from the stars.”

In her “Light Recordings” series, Blumenfeld documents solar and lunar light via lensless cameras of her own design to directly record the subtle incremental changes that natural light makes throughout our daily and yearly astronomical cycles. One such chromogenic print on aluminum panel, “Light Recording: Spring,” 2005-06, 30 by 40 by 1 inch, commanded $3,172.

Contemporary American artist Erika Blumenfeld fuses the arts, sciences and humanities to create artworks that reflect our relationship with the natural world. This chromogenic print on aluminum panel, “Light Recording: Spring,” 2005/2006, which realized $3,172, is from her “Light Recordings” series in which she documents solar and lunar light via lensless cameras of her own design.

On a much lighter note, two works depicting storefronts by the irrepressible French artist Hervé Di Rosa (b 1959) were notable. “Elvira Beauty Salon,” 2006, acrylic, polyurethane on canvas, 14 by 18 by 1½ inches, sold for $2,684, while “Auto Parts, Miami,” 2005, 12 by 48 by ½ inches, took $3,416. Both were from a private New Mexico collection.

Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The next sale is November 10-11, Santa Fe’s two-day Signature comprising about 400 lots. Blitch noted that next year will mark the firm’s 30th anniversary. For information, www.santafeartauction.com or 505-954-5858.