By Carter B. Horsley
The Fall 2004 Latin American Art auction at Sotheby's is highlighted by several works by Diego Rivera (1886-1957), Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982), Claudio Bravo (b. 1936) and Francisco Toldeo (b. 1940).
Lot 11, "Maternidad," is a large and handsome oil on canvas by Rivera that depicts his grandson, named after him, played with friends and toys one of which is a globe imprinted with continental formations. The painting also shows a dove and the catalogue entry for the lot suggests that a dove in the composition "invokes the spirit of Rivera's wire, Frida Kahlo, who died in 1954 after prolonged suffering and illness." It has an estimate of $900,000 to $1,200,000 and sold for $1,100,000, including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article. Kristen Dunn Dueck, the head of the auction house's Latin American Department, said after the sale that the thought the sales price was a record for a "late" Rivera.
Ms. Dueck said she was "thrilled" with the evening sale, which totaled $8.7 million, just over the pre-sale low estimate. More than 80 percent of the 45 lots offered in the evening sale sold. While the results were good overall, many of the better works offered failed to sell reflecting continuing unpredictability in the Latin American Art auction market.
Another large and attractive painting by Rivera is Lot 6, "Delfina Flores," an oil on masonite that measures 47 7/8 by 23 7/8 inches. Executed in 1937, the sitter, the catalogue noted, "is perhaps the most famous of his young models" and the painting "presents a broodingly sensual young woman as she leaves her childhood behind." The painting, which is part of the National Heritage of Mexico, is offered for sale from the catalogue only as the work is not permitted to be exported. It has an estimate of $700,000 to $900,000 and sold for $792.000. It is the back cover illustration of the catalogue.
Another major Rivera is Lot 30, "The Fisherman (Pescadores de Acapulco)," a 25 5/8-by-37 ¼ inch oil on canvas that was painted in 1956 while the artist was staying at the Acapulco house of Dolores Olmedo, after whom a museum is named on the outskirts of Mexico City. A very dramatic and stylized composition, the painting has an estimate of $400,000 to $500,000 and it sold for $568,000.
Lots 32 and 33 are a couple of pleasant and good watercolors by Rivera that were once in the collection of Edward G. Robinson, the actor. Lot 32, "Vendedora de Hojas de Maiz," measures 15 3/8 by 11 ¼ inches and was executed circa 1935. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $36,000. Lot 33, "Cargador," measures 16 1/8 by 11/4 inches and was executed circa 1937. It has the same estimate as the previous lot. It sold for $48,000. Another work that is part of the National Heritage of Mexico and was offered for sale only from the catalogue was Lot 13, "Nina Tehucana, Lucha Maria (Soly Luna)," by Frida Kahlo (1910-1954). An oil on masonite that measures 21 ½ by 17 inches, it was executed in 1942. It has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,000,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $775,000.
The auction offers several works by Tamayo. Lot 9, "El Vaso Azul," is a 1940 still life of a vase and fruit on a table. An oil on canvas that measures 39 3/8 by 51 1/8 inches, it has an ambitious estimate of $700,000 to $900,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $675,000. In the catalogue, the work is discussed by Juan Carlos Pereda, who notes that the blue vase "seems to contain a microcosmic eclipse or astral event" and that the "profuse illumination of one side of the glass contrasted with the dark chiaroscuro on the other - like the light and dark sides of an orbiting moon - create a suggestive sense of movement in an otherwise placid scene." "An especially humorous note," Mr. Pereda continued, "is the 'disappearance' of a slice of watermelon, leaving behind literally the empty shell of Tamayo's luscious hallmark. Here Tamayo leaves a different calling card in the form of the rind of the already-enjoyed fruit. The total effect is classic Tamayo in the disarming simplicity with which the artist manipulates the tenets of Cubism while presenting a prosaically Mexican still life rendered in the rich tone of Mexican cobalt. Its rigorous geometry counterbalances the laconic mood of the painting's cool palette, producing a masterpiece among Tamayo's still lives."
A more typical "hot" Tamayo is Lot 27, "Hombre con Esfera," an oil on canvas executed in 1971. An oil on canvas with rich pinks, browns and reds, it has been consigned by the Los Angeles County Museum to benefit the acquisition of Latin American Art. It measures 35 ½ by 43 ½ inches and has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $250,000.
Perhaps the best painting in the auction is Lot 1, "La Isla de Cuba," by Mario Carreño (1913-1999). Executed in 1948, it is pyroxilin on masonite and measures 17 by 24 ½ inches and was once in the collection of Mr. And Mrs. David Harriton. It is very painterly and surrealistically nautical in spirit. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $60,000.
Three other works by Carreño, also formerly in the Harriton collection, all with lower estimates and nice but not as interesting, did sell including Lot 3, "Untitled," by Mario Carreño, a gouache on paper that measures 28 1/4 by 23 inches. It was executed in 1947 and had an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000 and sold for $39,000.
The catalogue's cover illustration is Lot 14, "Volcan," by David Alfaro Siqueiros (18996-1954). Executed in 1959, it is pyroxilin on masonite and measures 36 by 23 7/8 inches. It has an estimate of $70,000 to $90,000. It was withdrawn from the auction.
Lot 22, "A Point," is a strong work by Wilfredo Lam that is notable for its vibrant blue color. An oil on canvas that measures 54 ¾ by 44 7/8 inches, it was executed in 1950. It has an estimate of $175,000 to $225,000. It sold for $321,600.
Francisco Toledo is consistently interesting and Lot 28 shows his great talent with watercolors. Entitled "La Familia de Elefantes," it measures 22 by 30 inches and is dated 1977. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000 and it sold for $187,200.
An even more exciting work by Toledo is Lot 38, "Vol et Départ," a mixed media on paper laid down on masonite. It measures 29 ½ by 40 ¼ inches and was executed in 1968. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $250,000. It sold for $209,600.
One of the most stunning works in the auction is Lot 36, "Black is Black," a pastel on paper by Claudio Bravo. Executed in 1970, it measures 40 by 28 ½ inches and takes its title from the 1966 hit record of the same name by the Spanish quintet Los Bravos. According to the catalogue, "it was the first single by a group from a non-English speaking country to reach to top five on both the U.S. and British charts." "It was also a period of dramatic artistic recognition for the other Bravo: from 1965-1967 Claudio Bravo was honored with three one-man shows in Madrid. In titling this exquisite drawing, Claudio Bravo paid homage to one of his favorite bands while signaling his own ambitions for international artistic recognition. Like the song, Black is Black the drawing was also a crossover work, a breakout hit on the US art scene. It was featured in Bravo's first solo show in America…at Staempfli Gallery in 1970." It has an estimate of $225,000 to $275,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $210,000.
Lot 16, "Madera Essaouira," is a large and lovely still life of brown vases by Bravo. A pastel on paper that measures 29 ½ by 43 1/8 inches, it has an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $75,000.
Lot 26, "I Love You Sepia," is one of Bravo's early "package" paintings. An oil on canvas that is 39 ½ inches square, it has an estimate of $350,000 to $450,000. It sold for $500,800.
One of the most impressive lots in the auction is Lot 19, "Moça Penteando Los Cabelos," by Cândido Portinari (1903-1962), a tempera on canvas that measures 29 5/8 by 23 5/8 inches. Executed in 1941, it has an estimate of $400,000 to $500,000. It failed to sell and was passed at $350,000. 'In bringing his subjects to the canvas (or wall)," the catalogue observed, "Portinari drew on multiple art historical sources, uniting the principles of Mexican muralism with the formal solutions developed by Picasso in the 1920s and 1930s and spatial relationships adapted from Renaissance perspective. Moça Penteando los Cabelos is a classic example of this fusion that reflects the artist's sensitive observation of the movements of daily life. Its dignity derives from a composition both simple and monumental, its subject at once a young Brazilian mulatta and a universal Venus." Picasso surely would have enjoyed this work.
The auction's biggest surprise was Lot 42, "L'Enfant Malade," a large and well-done academic work by Arturo Michelena (1863-1898). An oil on canvas that measures 74 7/8 by 79 inches, it was executed in 1887 when it was exhibited at the Palais des Champs-Elysées at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français where it won the Gold Medal, Second Class, the highest honor a foreign artist could receive at the exhibition. At one time, it was in the Vincent Astor Collection. It was consigned to the auction as property from the estate of Owen Burns, who was a business partner of John Ringling, the circus magnate and art collector and had been kept at the John and Mabel Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida, in custody for the Burns estate since the late 1940s. It had an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000 and sold for $1,352,000, more than double the artist's previous auction record of $552,500. When the bidding reached $1,000,000, the auction audience burst into applause, which they did again when the bidding was over and again at the end of the auction.
Another work by Michelena, Lot 98, "Niño Jugando con Pàjaro," also did remarkably well. A well-painted but not terribly attractive picture of a young girl tightly clutching a bird in her hand, it is an oil on board that measures 12 7/8 by 16 ¼ inches. It had an estimate of $20,000 to $25,000 and sold for $148,000.
Five other new auction records were set.
Lot 18, "Nue Dans Un Paysage Exotique," by Manuel Rendón (1894-1980), sold for $131,200, more than double the artist's previous auction record. A nicely stylized and colorful oil on canvas that measures 38 ¼ by 76 ¾ inches, it had an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.
Lot 37, "Desnudo de Dolores," by Francisco Zúñiga (1913-1998), sold for $411,200, just over the artist's previous auction record of $400,000. A 21-by-43 ¼-by-21 ½-inch bronze sculpture that was executed in 1976 and is number 3 of 6, it was consigned from the Philip and Muriel Berman Collection.
Lot 47, "El Pez," by Juan Soriano (b. 1920), sold for $84,000, breaking the artist's former auction record of $79,500. An intensely bright and very colorful oil on canvas that measures 46 1/8 by 69 inches, it had an estimate of $90,000 to $120,000. It is dated 1958-60.
Lot 54, "Physicromie No. 154," by Carlos Cruz Diez (b. 1923), sold for $51,000, almost double his previous auction record. An acrylic on panel with plastic elements, it measures 25 5/8 by 23 ¼ inches and is dated 1965. It had an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000.
Lot 57, a very attractive untitled work by Jesus Rafael Soto (b. 1923), sold for $232,000, far exceeding his previous auction record of $96,321. Painted wood with metal elements, it measures 39 3/8 inches square and was executed circa 1959. It had an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000.
Lot 62 A is a very lovely feather work by an anonymous Mexican 19th Century artist. The feather work, or plumaria, is over cut out drawing on thick board that measures 16 ¼ by 10 ½ inches. It has an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. It sold for $12,000.
The nicest sculpture in the auction is Lot 150, "Constelacion," by Gunther Gerzso (1915-2000). The 43-inch-high bronze was executed in 1989 and is numbered 3/6. It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $66,000. Gerzo is best known for his very slick geometric abstractions of which Lot 149, "Naranja-Verde-Azul," is a good example. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $33,600.
Ignacio Iturria (b. 1949) is one of the more interesting contemporary Latin American artists. His paintings are usually dark and primitive but have a whimsical spirit. Lot 179, "Untitled," is a good example. An oil on canvas that is dated 1990, it measures 32 by 39 3/8 inches. It has an estimate of $18,000 to $22,000. It sold for $12,000.