Works by Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo are part of the upcoming auctions at Christie’s New York. Tamayo’s oil painting Los tres amigos (1987) is, in fact, the most important work in the 65-lot Latin American Art auction, which will take place on September 28 at 11 a.m. on-site. It has a starting price of one million to one million 500 dollars.
Of the three works with which Rivera participates, Christie’s specialist, Marisol Nieves, highlighted Portrait of Anita Antunes (Diana Cazadora), 1945, whose starting price is 600 to 800 thousand dollars. She added that the muralist’s market “continues to have great results”, in addition, his production is “increasingly valued and loved by the public”.
Also included are works by Mexicans Miguel Covarrubias, Nahui Olin, Ángel Zárraga, Pedro Coronel, Rodolfo Nieto, Alice Rahon, Rodolfo Morales, Javier Marín and Ariel Orozco.
The online auction of Latin American art, which will run from September 22 through October 5, also features several Mexicans such as Nieto, Toledo, Rahon, Julio Galán, Francisco Zúñiga and Rafael Coronel. In addition to examples of 17th century colonial art, generated in Mexico, it includes handcrafted pieces, for example, Tree of Life with Nativity Scene, by Oscar Soteno Elias (Metepec, 1971).
The announcement of Christie’s upcoming auctions, made virtually, includes a special sale called Stories. It is a private sale of 15 works that will begin on September 23 and run through October 22. The prices of the pieces vary with the idea of attracting collectors to “this new area of collecting that has to do with artists of Latin American descent, based in the United States,” said Nieves. The themes of these contemporary artists have to do with memory, narrative, community and place of residence.
Historias includes, on this occasion, the work of Aliza Nisenbaum (Mexico City, 1977), a New York-based painter whose main theme is portraiture, although with a “particular and innovative” approach. Her work is linked to “a social practice in which she develops close relationships with the people she includes in her portraits, who generally represent the immigrant communities in the United States, as well as essential workers,” said Nieves.
The on-site auction of Latin American Art features several works by Fernando Botero, including paintings, sculptures and drawings. Regarding the market for the Colombian artist, who passed away on September 15, Nieves said: “He was a prolific artist. His market has always been very strong, solid, both for his paintings, drawings and sculptures. We understand that will continue. Shortly after our catalog of the works to be presented at the auction came out, we have received a lot of interest from collectors internationally. We understand that the market will respond favorably to his work.
TYT Newsroom
