By Carter B. Horsley

The Spring 2007 Latin American Art auction at Christie's is highlighted by a wonderful work by Remedios Varo, numerous excellent works by Rufino Tamayo, Matta and Fernando Botero and good examples by Alexander Xul Solar, Francisco Toledo, Wilfredo Lam, Armando Morales and Mario Carreno.

Lot 15, "Exploracion de las fuentes del rio Orinoco," is a superb painting by Remedios Varo (1910-1963). An oil on canvas, it measures 18 by 15 3/4 inches and was painted in 1959. It was the cover illustration of a book on the artist by Janet A. Kaplan that was published in 1988 by Abbeville Press, New York. It has a modest estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,273,000, an auction record for the artist, including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

The auction was very successful with 90 percent of the lots selling for a total of $21,671,000 including the buyers' premiums. Records for set for 12 artists.

Another Tamaya, Lot 13, "Hombre," is handsome acrylic and sand on canvas that measures 37 by 50 1/4 inches. Executed in 1979, It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $577,000.

Lot 4, "Pareja en gris," is a very fine oil and sand on linen by Tamayo that measures 37 1/2 by 51 inches. Painted it 1981, it has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $457,000.

Lot 48, "Dialogo," is a fine Tamayo, an oil and sand on canvas that measures 51 3/4 by 76 3/4 inches. Painted in 1985, it has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $769,000.

Lot 51, "Personaje guinando un ojo," is a 1989 oil and sand on canvas by Tamayo. It measures 51 1/8 by 37 3/8 inches. It has an estimate of $350,000 to 4450,000. It sold for $541,000.

Perhaps the nicest Tamayo at Christie's is in the day sale, Lot 212. Entitled "Cabeza en rojo," it is an oil and sand on canvas that measures 8 1/4 by 14 inches and was painted in 1971. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It is propertyof the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is being sold to benefit its acquisitions of Latin American art. It sold for $79,000.

Lot 11 is a large and classic work by Fernando Botero (b. 1932) that is entitled "El domingo por la tarde." An oil on canvas, it measures 69 3/4 by 70 inches and was painted in 1967.

The catalogue entry for this lot by Deborah Cullen, the director of curatorial programs at El Museo del Barrio, notes that Botero's "fleshy, eroticized figures exist in serene netherworlds," adding that "He utilizes a vocabulary of simple, voluptuous forms that structure strong compositions." "They appropriate or allude to the long history of painging; accessible yet enigmatic, his figures exist in spaces of fantasy, subtle decadence, over-ripeness," she continued.

It has an estimate of $1,400,000 to $1,800,000. It sold for $1,553,000.

Lot 12 is a delightful sculpture of a boy on a toy horse by Botero. Executed epoxy resin and synthetic hair in an edition of six in 1977, it measures 60 by 33 by 28 1/2 inches. It has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $289,000.

Lot 47 is a nice scene of frolicking monkeys by Francisco Toledo (b. 1940). A graphite and oil on masonite laid down on wood panel, it measures 16 by 20 inches and was painted in 2002. It has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. It sold for $265,000.

Lot 23 is a large, strong and important work by Matta (1911-2002) entitled "Le recontre du vitreur avec le forcat de la lumiere (en hallucination premiere). An oil on canvas, it measures 76 by 98 inches and was executed in 1946.

In her catalogue entry for this lot, Susan L. Aberth noted that after World War II, the artist "infused his scenes with a palpable sense of fear," adding that "His paintings grew larger in size (as is evidenced here) in order to portray on a monumental scale strange, humanoid entitites enmeshed in mechanistic webs that hinted at torture and brutality.....[It] omits the natural references and luminous veils of color of his earlier work from the 1940s. In lieu of this is the nightmarish world of the factory, replete with metallic conveyor belts that capture and pierce the flesh of these monstrous creatures. although operating as a metaphor for the impersonal killing machines of modern warfare, it could also refer to the murderous efficiences of the German death camps. Apocalyptic in feeling, it is a hell of our making...."

It has an estimate of $700,000 to $900,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 24 is a colorful and strong abstraction by Matta that he painted in 1948. Entitled "Sacage," it is an oil on canvas that measures 39 1/4 by 39 1/2 inches. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $217,000.

Lot 16 is a good abstraction by Gunther Gerzso (1915-2000) entitled "Personaje muro verde." An oil on masonite, it measures 21 1/2 by 10 3/8 inches and was executed in 1965. The work was once in the collection of Jacques and Natasha Gelman of Mexico City. In the catalogue entry, Salomon Grimberg notes that this work was original much larger and cut down by the artist. It has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $145,000.

Lot 199 is an excellent work by Armando Morales (b. 1927) entitled "Three Women at the Beach." An oil and beeswax on canvas, it measures 23 1/2 by 28 1/2 inches and was painted in 1983. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $73,000.

Lot 49, "Sueño: Tres bañastas, coche, perro, enana sosteniendo un espejo, párjaros," is an excellent oil and beeswax on canvas by Morales. It is a classic example of his marvelous technique that combines an interesting surface texture with sombre palettes, strong compositions, classical motifs and a wonderful sense of mystery. It measures 28 3/4 by 39 1/4 inches and was painted in 2000. It has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $145,000.

Lot 78 is a monumental sculpture of wood and C-clamps by Kcho (b. 1970). It measures 156 by 120 by 90 inches and was created in 1996. It has a very modest estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. It sold for $73,000.

Lot 95 is a very strong and striking charcoal and pastel on paper by Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982). It measures 27 3/4 by 39 1/4 inches and was executed in 1959. It has a modest estimate of $25,000 to $30,000. It sold for $43,000

The works of Alejandro Xul Solar (1897-1963) have the delightful whimsy and color of Paul Klee. Lot 143, "Bichos y plantas," is a color pencil on paper mounted on cardboard by the artist that measures 9 by 6 inches. It was executed in 1935. It has an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 172 is a stunning acrylic and wood construction on panel abstraction by Mario Carreno (1913-1999). Entitled "Project for a mural," it measures 14 by 148 1/2 inches and was executed in 1959. It has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $58,600.