“Mother and Child” by Angel Botello (Puerto Rican, 1913-1986) had the highest price of any Latin American work, bringing $56,700 against a $20/40,000 estimate. It had provenance to the Galeria Botello in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Miami collection.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Doyle
NEW YORK CITY – On October 12, concurrent with 66 lots of contemporary art, Doyle offered 54 lots of Latin American art, headlining the collections of Cuban-born artist and collector, Hernán García, and a Miami, Fla., gentleman. The 120-lot auction of Twentieth Century abstract works and Latin American art achieved a total of $1,156,441, exceeding the sale’s $875,600 low estimate, with 81 percent of lots selling.
“It was exciting to see such a great turnout for a vast array of Latin American Art with examples spanning the 1940s all the way through the 2020s,” Angelo Madrigale, director of paintings said. “We are seeing an ever-expanding group of collectors both in the United States and internationally, who are actively including Latin American artists in their collections. Particularly, we were encouraged by the aggressive bidding for lot 70, “Mysterious Personage,” a rare 1950s work from Cuban artist Jorge Camacho. Additionally, we continue to see strong bidding for works by Angel Botello and Ramon Oviedo.”
Earning the top spot in the Latin American sale was a circa 1985 29-inch-tall bronze titled “Mother and Child” by Puerto Rican master, Angel Botello (1913-1986). Numbered V/X and estimated $20/40,000, the work had provenance to the Miami collector who had acquired it from the Galeria Botello in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It sold for $56,700. It was one of nine works by the artist in the sale.
Another of Botello’s bronzes, also titled “Mother and Child,” from an edition of six and from the estate of Irene Zelnick, doubled its low estimate to close at $25,200. The highest price achieved for a two-dimensional work by Botello was $31,500, for “Flores,” an oil on board that measured 36 by 48 inches that the Miami collection had also acquired from the Galeria Botello.
Another Latin art master – Fernando Botero (Colombian, b 1932) – was represented in the sale, with one work: “Femme aved une Fleur,” a sanguine and graphite on paper piece that made $37,800 and the second highest price in the Latin American art sale. Its history included the Boca Raton gallery of Lipworth Hartman International Arts and an exhibition at the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art.
“Femme avec une Fleur” by Fernando Botero (Colombian, b 1932) measured 20 by 14-1/8 inches and was done in 1983 in sanguine and graphite on paper. It sold within estimate for $37,800, the second highest price realized for a Latin American work.
Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957) is arguably one of the most well-known names in the Latin American art canon and two portraits by him – “Portrait of a Girl with Veil” and “Portrait of a Girl in Orange” – kicked off the auction. Both had provenance to the Kleeman Galleries in New York City, and both carried estimates of $30/50,000; “Girl with Veil” sold for $31,500, while “Girl in Orange” did not sell.
“Tranquil Waters” by Jorge Guinle (Brazilian, 1947-1987), oil on canvas from 1985 had never left the artist’s family. It sold within estimate for $25,300. Two other works by the artist in the sale – an untitled oil on canvas and “Shoehorn for Understanding Freud” – found buyers, at $15,120 and $22,680, respectively.
“Mysterious Personage,” by Jorge Camacho (Cuban, 1934-2011), painted in 1957, had been acquired directly from the artist and exhibited in 1958 in Washington DC. Estimated at $7/9,000, it finished strong, at $21,420. It was the only work by the artist in the sale.
Jose Antonio Fernandez Muro (Argentine, 1920-2014) was also represented by only one work: “Bandera da Saudade,” a mixed media on foil collage laid to Masonite, done in 1964, measuring 50¼ by 44-1/8 inches. It soared past expectations to sell for $23,940.
The circular aspect of Muro’s “Bandera da Saudade” is repeated in “Sun Wheel” by Marcelo Monevardi (Argentinian, 1929-1994), another mixed media work in burlap and wood that was dated 1966 and numbered 260. Measuring 55 by 39 inches, it rose to $12,600 from an estimate of $6/8,000.
The same price of $12,600 was realized by Dominican artist Ramon Oviedo’s (b 1927) “Sena Previa,” which came from the collection of Hernán García.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.
