ART-AUCTION/LATAM-SOTHEBY'S Sotheby's adds abstract collection to spring Latin art sale

Record ID: 154207

  • Title: ART-AUCTION/LATAM-SOTHEBY'S Sotheby's adds abstract collection to spring Latin art sale
  • Date: 22nd May 2015
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 22, 2015) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE TO EXHIBITION OF WORKS IN SOTHEBY'S LATIN AMERICAN ART SALE SIGN AT ENTRANCE TO EXHIBITION EXHIBITION OF LATIN ART VARIOUS OF 'LA FAMILIA' BY RUFINO TAMAYO (EST 1.2 TO 1.6 MILLION DOLLARS (USD)) AXEL STEIN, HEAD OF LATIN AMERICAN ART DEPARTMENT AT SOTHEBY'S, LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AXEL STEIN
  • Embargoed: 6th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABQEZHEX0YIFV0WEXPD4UNQ8ZO
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Sotheby's unveiled its spring sale of Latin America art in New York on Friday (May 22) and as usual the auction will include works by artists like Fernando Botero, Wilfredo Lam and Rufino Tamayo. But this season the auction house has included a special sale of abstract art, a category not usually associated with Latin Art.
    Sotheby's top lot is a large canvas by Tamayo called 'La Familia", a work that has been in the possession of the artist's family and is fresh to the market, says Sotheby's.
    Axel Stein, Sotheby's head of Latin American Art, says 'La Familia' comes from the artist's late period and contains all the great elements you would expect in the work of the painter.
    "His (Tamayo's) work with sand, earth and pigments is extraordinarily evident in this painting. His composition is very round and it makes 'the family' a subject that Tamayo has been working on throughout his career and it makes it one of his best pieces of late period," said Stein.
    Sotheby's expects 'La Familia' to fetch between 1.6 and 1.2 million dollars (USD).
    Two of the top lots in the sale are by Wilfredo Lam, a Cuban artist who combined elements of surrealism and primitivism in much of his work.
    'Les Oiseaux Violes' from the year 1945, is estimated to sell for between 1 and 1.5 million dollars, and a work called 'Le Sorcier de L'ocean' is priced at between 800,00 and 1.2 million dollars.
    This spring Sotheby's is continuing the auction houses' recent trend of including special, themed sales to their regular rundown and this time around a special auction on abstract art called "Latin America, the Legacy of Abstraction" will be featured.
    Stein points out that Latin American artists have long been influenced by the abstract movement, usually associated with artists from Russia, France and the United States. While the traditional face of Latin art is surrealistic and figurative, Latin artists have been been part of the abstract art scene from the beginning, says Stein.
    "There is a very important school that hasn't been recognized to this day with artists such as Torres-Garcia, Soto, Fontana, who was born in Argentina as we all know. So let's say we took this opportunity and we looked to put together this group," said Stein.
    Stein was referring to works by Argentinean artist Lucio Fontana, Venezuelan kinetic artist Jesus Rafael Soto and Uruguayan painter Joaquin Torres-Garcia.
    Stein said he expects the upcoming Latin Art sales "to be a success", riding the buoyant wave art has been enjoying in general for the past few years.
    The recent big spring auctions of Impressionist, Modern, Contemporary and Post War art in New York brought in well over $2 billion USD at Sotheby's and rival Christie's. This includes a new record for history's top auction price with Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')," which fetched $179.4 million at Christie's.
    "There's a general feeling that the art market in general is very strong and we believe we can surf that wave, if you wish."
    Sotheby's Latin American Art sales take place on May 26th and 27th in New York.
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