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Collections Abound in Christie’s Latin American Sale

October 30, 2018 by Marion Maneker

The Latin American sale at Christie’s is dominated at by estates and collections this season. The entire 250-lot sale has an aggregate estimate of $18m with the top lot coming from Rufino Tamayo, Hombre feliz (1947) estimated at between $2m and $3m. The cover lot for the sale is Franscisco Toledo‘s Tortuga poniendo huevos (1973) carrying a $900k low estimate.

What may be a sleeper in the sale is Bennington College’s deaccessioning of a Diego Rivera work. The sale includes six other examples of Rivera’s work, some acquired acquired directly from the artist, from multiple estates.

Here’s Christie’s release with more details:Continue Reading

Latin American Art Hasn’t ‘Matured,’ Sotheby’s Just Needs More Contemporary Artists

August 22, 2017 by Marion Maneker

Hélio Oiticica

This commentary on the Sotheby’s inclusion of Latin American art in its Contemporary sales is available to AMMpro subscribers. Monthly subscriptions come with a free first month grace period. Subscribers are welcome to sign up for the service and cancel at any time before they are billed.

Artnet covered Sotheby’s announcement that Contemporary Latin American art would be sold in the auction house’s Contemporary art sales with a headline that exclaimed the move was, “signalling the sector’s maturity.”

The move recognizes the growing audience and appetite for work by Latin American artists and comes at a time when collectors and museums alike are beginning to seamlessly integrate Latin American work into their postwar art collections.

While the quote is undoubtedly true and has been part of a longer-term trend in the art market, the idea that Latin American art has matured is dismissive of, and condescending to, a broad range of artists who have been at the forefront of the art world for half a century.

There’s also something else entirely taking place here. And it is all about the Contemporary art market. Let’s take a step back.Continue Reading

Latin American Art Auction Analysis, Spring 2017

July 28, 2017 by Marion Maneker

The full analysis of the Latin American art sales—including charts of individual artists’ markets—is available to AMMpro subscribers. Monthly subscriptions begin with the first month free. You are welcome to cancel your subscription before the end of the month and pay no fee.

The most expensive Latin American art lot that exceeded its estimates this Spring was Costa Rican/Mexican scupltor Francisco Zuniga’s Grupo de cuatro mujeres de pie which made more than$3.1m at Christie’s. Described as Zuniga’s successor to the Rodin work, Burghers of Calais, and the apex of Zuniga’s long international career. Indeed, the bronze statue representing four inflection points in the lives of women was used on the cover of Zuniga’s catalogue raisonné.

That work was one of the bright spots in the week of Latin American sales which struggled on several fronts. The overall sell-through rates were below 60%; the combined total for all three houses was $42m against an aggregate low estimate of $49m. Without the buyer’s premium, the hammer ratio of $34.3m against that $49.2m aggregate low estimate was a demoralizing .69.

Put another way, the Latin American art work only realized two-thirds of its low estimate market price. Of the 218 lots that did sell, only 41 or less than 20% made prices above the high estimate like the Zuniga pictured above. Nearly half the lots sold, 91, were sold at prices below the low estimate disappointing consignors. A greater number, 146, failed to sell.

Those numbers don’t give us a true sense of the Latin American market. As the sales stats show, the top ten lots accounted for half of the hammer total and 41% of premium total.Continue Reading

Sotheby’s Latin American = $21m

November 25, 2016 by Marion Maneker

sothebys-latam-1116-tt-1Continue Reading

Phillips Latin American = $4.1m

November 25, 2016 by Marion Maneker

phillips-latam-1116-tt

Phillips had a rough Latin American sale with a 61% sell-through on 103 lots that were offered. The top picture was a Diego Rivera work from 1916 which accounted for nearly a quarter of the sale’s total. Nonetheless, the auction house was able to set new artist records for four artists, including Os Gemeos.

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