The first
auction of the evening is "A Discerning Eye:
Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection," a
group of 14 works highlighted by a superb landscape by Diego Rivera,
a very fine work by Rufino Tamayo, a tiny self-portrait by Frida
Kahlo and some very good works by Fernando Botero.
Lot
6, "The Old Hamlet, Toledo," by Rivera (1886-1957)
is a 1913 oil on canvas that measures 32 by 39 3/8 inches that
is very reminiscent of landscapes by Cézanne.
The catalogue
entry by Professor Luis-Mrtin Lozano provides
the following commentary:
"From 1912 to
1923..., Rivera explored cubism carefully,
approaching it through composiitional solutions he experimented
with in a series of landscape paintings of the plains of
Castilla
and surroundings of the city of Toledo. He particularly
focused
his interest on the modulation of space, fragmenting it into geometric
forms according to the consructions and natural topography he found
on the landscape. He thus achieved a more enveloping and dynamic
composition consisting of curvilinear perspectives and...disagonal
lines like those he had seen in works by El Greco.
In this way La Vieha
Aldea
reveals Rivera's experiment with
the avant-garde, as much for its use of Cubism as a
theoretical reference as for its study and reinterpretation of
the
great
masters, proving that in art, the avant -garde and the traditional
are not always incompatible."
The work has a
modest estimate of $800,000 to $1,000,000. It
sold for $992,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results
mentioned in this article.
Lot
13, "Mujer en Extasis," by Rufino Tamayo, oil
and sand on canvas, 51 3/8 by 76 5/8 inches, 1973
Lot 13 is a very
strong painting by Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)
that has been widely exhibited and published,. Entitled "Mujer
en Extasis," it is an oil and sand on canvas that measures
51 3/8 by 76 5/8 inches and it was the frontispiece of Emily Genauer's
1974 book on Tamayo.
In her catalogue
essay, Rachel Tobol notes that the female lies
on a stone altar protected by two humanoid figures, one a mountain
man and the other a cactus man.
The lot has an
estimate of $900,000 to $1,200,00. It
sold for
$962,500.
Lot
4, "Morphology of Desire (Pscyhological Morphology
No. 37), oil on canvas, 28 7/8 by 36 1/4 inches, 1938
Lot 4 is
"Morphology of Desire (Psychological Morphology
No. 37) by Matta (1911-2002), one of his most important works. An
oil on canvas, it measures 28 7/8 by 36 1/4 inches and was painted
in 1938. It has been widely exhibited.
Matta got a
degree in architecture in Chile before settling
in Paris where he worked in the studio of Le Corbusier. "Ultimately,"
the catalogue entry said, "he gave up his work as an architect
and devoted himself full-time to experimenting with collage,
as well
as drawing with colored crayons, graphite and colored pencils.
Once Matta was ride of the constraints imposed by his rigid
architectural
training, his fluid line developed to create mesmerizing work.
His depictions of mathemtically derived landscapes became eloquent
vistas based on the algebraic models of the mathematicis of Jules-Henri
Poincaré (1884-1912) that were published in Cahiers d'Art.
The work of
photograghers Blossfeldt and Renger-Patsch, who captured
the cell during mitosis, also caught the attention of Matta. To
the uninitated, these photographs went beyond encapsulating the
gelatinious
minute life forms suspended in plasma, to mirror the vast expanse
of the universe. Matta's artistic exploration of these images
created celestial worlds that depict the conception, gestaton, birth,
life and death of a star exploding in a supernova in the same
space-time. Conversely, these worlds asusme microscopic proportions, as
incubated genetic material replicating in mucous membranes. Matta's
quest to capture metamorphosis and to depict objects in transformation
in the same space and time has continued to remain a preoccupation
throughout his prolific career.
In 1938, at the
suggestion of Gordon Onslow-Ford, Matta attempted
to paint with oils. Matta's early paintings were executed using
some of the techniques and ideas of other Surrealists with whom
he was in contact. One such tecnique was automatism, the automatic
drawing or painting that is achieved by the unconscious movement
of the artist's hand, pencil or brush working faster than the mind
can think. Each of the Surrealists experimented with and ultimately
developed their own form of automatism.
By the late
1930s, new images inspired by the automatic processes
were appearing in the works of the Surrealists, the furnages of
Wolfgang Paalen, the decalomania
of Oscar Dominguez, the collages of Gordon Onslow-Ford, and
the
grattages of Esteban Frances, among others.
The Surrealists
decidated their art to making a liason between
the waking state and the world of dreams. In 1938, Matta took
Surrealism a
step further, by depicting the world beyond dreams and the waking
state. He called this word Psychological Morphology. The term
Pscyhological
Morphology describes an adventure into an alternative reality
with its own space-time.
In conjunction
with the Surrealists André Breton,Yves Tanguy,
Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Matta and Gordon Onslow-Ford left Paris
for the United States during World War II. It was the arrrival
of these exiles and émigrés that heralded the transition of the
center of the art world to New York, where it remains today. Artistic
production was spurred by New York art patrons Peggy Guggenheim
and Gertrude Stein, who facilitated the flowof ideas between the
recent émigrés and their American compatriots.
Long overlooked
within the study of this wartime creative atmosphere
has been the significant contributions made by the automatism to
the development of Action Painting and Abstract Expresionism in
the United States. Post-war artists such as Jackson Pollock, Arshile
Gorky,
Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline are deeply indebted to the work
of the Surrealists. Matta's masterpiece Morpholopgy of Desire
and other works both drawn and painted in Brittany and Paris during
1938-39
are the builing blocks whose spirit and technique inspired these
painters as well as others who later became monumental artists in their
own right.
Morphology of Desire
was the first painting by Matta to be reproduced
in color. It appeared in the Surrealist
Review Miotaure No. 12-13 in
1939.
At the time Morphology of Desire
was paintied, Matta had been reading
the French art critic Elie Fauré who proposed the theory that in
every masterpiece there were four main components: (1) a natural
object;
(2) an animal; (3) a human being; (4) some form of human creation.
Morphology of Desire
features: (1) a stone, situated bottom
right; (2) a bird, upper right; (3) a human personage on the left;
(4) an architectural construction, center bottom. Matta has depicted
these four entities and their inter-relations in the marvelous
space-tme of what he called Pyscholoigical Morphology.
A note on the
techniques in the painting Morphology
of Desire:
First the canvas
was automatically covered with a thin ground
of warm and cool greys of varying tones. Then Matta placed small
quantiies of different colours next to each other along the blade
of a palette knife and made a rapid palette knife gesture on the
canvas. This was repeated with different colours for each of the
four components of the painting.
Over the next
week and even months, the next stage of the pianting
took place. The painting was contemplated and the physical
inter-relationships between the four objects and the whole were modeled
as they appeared with brushes and fingers and slowly and inevitably
took on form.
(1) The stone is
shown in its life-span as it became transformed from
gaseous, to liquid, to solid state, being shaped by the give and
take from the enevironment near and far.
(2) The bird is
shown in song, silence in flight, in nesting, in
migration, in relation to other forms of life. The life of a bird shown
in a single form.
(3) The pink and
red human being shows a drama of human relations,
the interaction of matter and mind, the continual dance of events
with other human beings and Mother Earth. All told in a single
form.
(4) The
architectural construction is shown as an essence of
straight lines and auras in impact with the environment and human
evoloution.
Finally there
are the relationships between the four components
of the painting that in this space-time become visible and take on
subtle forms. As consciousness grows over the years, so does the
mystery of Morphology
of Desire.
The tehnical
aspect of Matta's palette knife gestures of painting were
an immmediate influence on Action Painting and Asbstract Expressionism
that appeared in New York City in the 1940s. The subtle poetry and
the intimation of other realities in depth, that to be
seen, fequire
contemplation are now being appreciatede by more and more people.
Matta would
probably have spoken of Morphology
of Desire using other
words. This painting has been a presence in my mind ever since it
was painted, and I hope my words have come close to its spirit.
Gordon
Onslow-Ford, April 5, 2001
He had acquired
it from the artist in 1938 and sold it at Sotheby's
May 31, 2001. It sold at Christies New York July 1, 2008. It sold
at Christie's London July 1, 2008.
The lot has an
estimate of $700,000 to $900,000.
It sold for
$902,500.

Lot
12, "Autorretrato en Miniatura," by Frida Kahlo,
oil on thin panel with tin border, 2 by 1 5/8 inches
Lot 12 is a tiny
self-portait in oil on thin panel with no
border by Frida Kahlo (1910-1954). It has an estimate of $800,000
to $1,200,000. It failed
to sell.
In her 1983
biography of the artist, Hayden Herrera wrote that
"within this tiny oval she has packed a charge of energy
that brings to mind the Surrealist poet André Breton's desciption
of her art as a "ribbon around a bomb."
The lot sold at
Sotheby's November 20, 2000
Lot
12 failed to sell.
Fernand Botero: A Celebration

Lot
18, "El Poeta," by Fernando Botero, oil on canvas,
36 3/4 by 47 inches, 1970, front; Lot
26, "Woman Eating Ice Cream," by Fernando Botero, bronze, 13 1/2 inches
high, numbered 9/9, 1985, front
The second Latin
American Art auction the evening of May 25 was"Fernand Botero: A
Celebration." It has a pre-sale estimate of $6,700,000 to
$9,300,000. Its
offerings totalled $7,456,125.
Lot 18 is a
large bucolic scene by Fernando Botero (b. 1932)
of a man lying on grass enjoying "a solitary picnic." An oil
on canvas, it measures 36 3/4 by 47 inches and was
painted in 1970. It has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold
for $602,500.
The catalogue
provides the following commentary:
"The
representation of pure joie
de vivre is undoubtedly one of the most significant
underlying motifs in Fernando Botero's oeuvre. Inspired by
Manet's Dejeuner sur
l'Herbe
of 1863, Botero frequently revisited the Sunday picnic scene from 1966
to 1973. We find the poet, a recurring outsider in the artist's
catalogue of social characters, on a solitary picnic. The
poet, a man
dressed in a dark suit and tie, a flower in his lapel, a hankerchief in
the pocket and a hat atop his head, reclines and occupies the forefront
of the composition in this and in the many other variant paintings
representing this archetype. Some of Botero's poets exhibit
attributes
associated with a lettered man: books, paper and pencil. Like
many of
the picnic figures, this early version of the poet...presents the
reclining figure of a man in a moment of contemplation against a
backdrop of lush green trees and lawn of a city park. In
search of
inspiration, he has just smoked a cigarette and is enjoying a drink
straight from the bottle. A volcano fumes behind the trees
and the
hills of grass, an allusion to the ideas formenting in the mind of this
gentleman and also to the cigarette which has just been extinguished.
As perhaps the only sign of disruptive natural activity, the
volcano
breaks the tranquility of the scene and opens the otherwise dense
composition far into the horizon. In this dreamy vignette,
Botero has
presented us not with a resting poet but with an invitation to consider
the portrait of a common man turned fugitively into a poet by the grace
of the moment that he is enjoying so placidly."
Botero's
plump, inflated, bloated world is charming and intimidating and a
remarkable attack on the "thinness" craze of much of the Western world
in the post-World War II era. His oeuvre, furthermore, is
consistently
stylish and very recognizable, perhaps more so than any other artist's.
In this composition, it is very easy to overlook, if not
completely
miss, the volcano in the background, or the cigarette on the lawn, or
the very small green bottle in the "poet's" hand.
The
poet's expression is blasé. His eyes are open and he is
probably
day-dreaming and certainly is oblivious to the volcano's eruption
behind him. One senses that Botero probably likes Velasquez's
cynical
take on pompous royalty.
Lot 26 is a
charming small bronze
by Botero entitled "Woman Eating Ice Cream." It is 13 1/2
inches high
and is numbered 9/9 and was created in 1985. It has
an estimate of
$225,000 to $275,000. It
failed to sell. Like many of his bronze
sculptures, the patina is oozy, delicious chocolate.

Lot
24, "Pedro on a Horse," by Fernando Botero, epoxy, resin and synthetic
hair, 58 1/2 inches high, numbered 4/6, 1977, left; Lot 27, "A Family,"
by Fernando Botero, oil on canvas, 74 inches square, 1972, right
Lot 24
is a delightful sculpture
of a boy on a toy horse by Botero. Executed with epoxy resin and
synthetic
hair in an edition of six in 1977, it measures 58 1/2 inches high and
has an estimate of $350,000 to $450,000 It sold for $362,500.
When it was offered at Christie's New York in the fall of
2007, it has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000 and
sold for $289,000.
Lot 27 is an
excellent Botero oil
painting, 74 inches square, of "A Family." Created in 1972,
it has an
estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,398,500.
The
catalogue entry quotes the artist: "The family is the theme par
excellence. I like it because the complex composition admits
surprise
solutions. There is a beautiful tradition of family portraits
in the
history of art."

Lot
21, "Cat," by Fernando Botero, bronze, numbered 1/6, 43 inches long,
1981
Lot 21 is an
alert and probably mischieveous "Cat," a 1981 bronze by Botero that is
numbered 1/6 and is 43 inches long. It has an estimate of
$350,000 to $450,000. It
sold for $434,500.
Latin
American Art
May
25, 2011
Lots
36-69
May
26, 2011
Lots
71-270

Lot
41, "Les Oiseaux Voilés." by Wilfredo Lam, oil on canvas, 43 5/8 by 49
1/2 inches, 1945
The third part
of the Latin American Art auction at Sotheby's New York the evening of
May 25, 2011 was the first part of the regular Latin American Art
auction featuring Lots 39 through 69. Lots 71 through 250
were auctioned the next day.
The back-cover
illustration of the auction catalogue is Lot 41, "Les Oiseaux Voilés,"
by Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982). An oil on canvas that measures
43 3/8 by 49 1/2 inches, it was painted in 1945. It has an
estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It
sold for $1,022,500.
According to the
catalogue entry by Julia P. Herzberg, this painting belongs to "a
cohesive group of works distinguighed by delicately drawn lines and
impressionatically dappled paint." "Les Oiseaux Voilé's
exquisite coloration - blues, touches of light greens and reds - is
held together by alternating light and dark black lines that imbue the
animated forms with a sense of movement and buoyancy. The
jewel-like surface features, winged beings (the 'veiled birds'),
crescents or moonshapes, and triangles. Two eggs are anchored
in the foreground, a candle sits in the middle of a cone-shaped form,
and the ever present round head appears supported by the barely drawn
lines of a hand...The familiar motifs allude to beliefs and/or
ceremonies in Afro-Cuban culture and at the same time re-create a sense
of a lush tropical landscape."
Lot
208, Untitled, by Lam, pastel on paper, 20 1/4 by 28 1/8 inches, 1974
Lot 208 is an
untitled pastel on paper by Lam that measures 20 1/4 by 28 1/8 inches.
It was created in 1974 and has an estimate of $22,000 to
$28,000. It
sold for $28,125.
Lot 197,
"Untitled," by Lam, charcoal and pastel on Fabriano paper, 18 5/8 by 26
5/8 inches, 1969, top; Lot 196, "Untitled" by Lam, charcoal and pastel
on paper, 18 7/8 by 25 3/4 inches,1970, bottom
Lot 197 is an
untitled work by Lam that is a charcoal and pastel on Fabriano paper
that measures 18
5/8 by 26 5/8 inches. It was created in 1969 and has an
estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $25,000.
Lot 196 is an untitled work by Lam that is a charcoal
and pastel on paper that measures 18 7/8 by 25 3/4 inches.
It was created in 1970 and has an estimate of $25,000 to
$35,000. It
sold for $25,000.

Lot
47, "Personajes Cogidos de la Mano," by Rufino Tamayo, oil on canvas,
76 1/8 by 51 inches, 1971
Lot 47 is a very
fine oil on canvas by Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) that is entitled
"Personajes Cogidos de la Mano." It measures 76 1/8 by 51
inches and was painted in 1971. It has an estimate of
$500,000 to $700,000.
It failed to sell.

Lot
67, "Re-Encuentro(Danzantes)," by Rufino Tamayo, oiland sandoncanvas,
51 3/8 by 38 3/8 inches, 1972
Lot 67 is an
excellent oil andsand on canvas by Tamayo entitled "Re-Encuentro
(Danzantes)." It measures 51 3/8 by 38 3/8 inches and was
painted in 1972. It has a modest estimate of $350,000 to
$450,000. It
failed to sell!

Lot
42, "El Arbol de la Vida," by Leonora Carrington, oil on canvas, 36 1/4
by 25 3/4 inches, 1960
Lot 42 is a
large oil on canvas by Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) entitled "El
Arbol de la Vida." It measures 36 1/4 by 25 3/4 inches and
was painted in1960. It has an estimate of $500,000 to
$700,000. It
sold for $578,500.

Lot
44, "Mujer Sentada," by David Alfaro Siqueiros, oil on burlap, 28 1/2
by 16 1/2 inches, 1931
Lot 44 is an oil
on burlap by David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) that is entitlted
"Mujer Sendata." It measures 28 1/2 by 16 1/2 inches and was
painted in 1931. It has an esimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $314,500.
The catalogue entry
notes that the technique in this work was typical of his output while
living under house arrest in Taxco form November 1930 to April 1932 in
which he used a gunny-sacking made of maguey fiber as a
canvas and coated it with lime. and then shaved the fibers
smooth before coating. In his published memoirs, the artist
recalled that 'one day a peasant woman came to my door, she was about
60 years old. When I opened the door she said, 'They
have told me you do portraits of people. And I want to have a
portrait done in oil....She was so beautiful and interesting that I
would have painted her anyway, just for me.' The woman found
it strange that I wanted her to come several times to pose. I
think she once was at the point of saying 'you know [the photographer]
does this a lot quicker.' With an extraodinary punctuality
she came every day, sat in the assigned place, and never asked to see
what I was doing...I remember that she had a dark green skirt and a
pinkish rebozo. The old woman
was completely austere, with that hieratic expression of the
Mexican pesantry....Without a doubt, it is one of my small works done
with tenderness."
The artist
made an copy without informing her and the entry said thus two versions
possibly exist of this painting. It was once owned by Charles
Laughton, the actor.
Lot
103, "Untitled," by David Alfaro Siqueiros, gouache and pyroxilin on
masonite, 22 5/8 by 30 3/4 inches, 1963
Lot 103 is a
strong untitled landscape by David Alfaro Siqueiros. A
gouache and pyroxilin on masonite, it measures 22 5/8 by 30 3/4 inches
and was painted in 1963. It has been consigned by the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art to benefit acquisitions of Latin
American Art. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. It sold for $37,500.

Lot 151, "El
Mar de Lurin," by Fernando de Szyszlo, oil and charcoal on canvas, 65
1/4 by 50 3/8 inches, 1990
Lot 151, "El
Mar de Lurin," is a magnificent oil and charcoal on canvas by Fernando
de Szyszlo (b. 1925). It measures 65 1/4 by 50 3/8 inches and
was painted in 1990. Most of the artist's dramatic
abstractions are red but this marvelous dark work is much more complex
in its composition and tone. It has a very modest estimate of
$12,000 to $18,000. It
sold for $40,625. It has hints of David Smith and early
abstract Giacometti sculptures.

Lot
191, "Serie de Los Reyes," by Ides Kihlen, paper and canvas collage,
oil on canvas, 21 3/4 by 25 1/2 inches
Lot 191 is a
very beautiful paper and canvas collage and oil on canvas by Ides
Kihlen (b. 1917). Entitled "Serie de Los Reyes," it measures
21 3.4 by 25 1/2 inches. It has a modest estimate of $10,000
to $15,000. It
sold for $12,500. It has the charm of Miró and
Mark Bradford.

Lot
193, "Nobody ever..." by Sarah Grilo, oil on canvas, 49 5/8 inches
square, 1966
Lot 193 is a
very impressive oil on canvas by Sarah Grilo (b. 1920) that is entitled
"Nobody ever..." It measures 49 5/8 inches square and was
painted in 1966. It has a modest estimate of $18,000 to
$20,000. It
sold for $34,375.
Lot
69, "Oceanes Tempetes," by Matta, oil on canvas, 78 by 117 1/8 inches
Lot 69 is a
large and vibrant oil on canvas by Matta (1911-2002) entitled "Oceanes
Tempetes." It measures 78 by 117 1/8 inches. It has an
estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $146,500.

Lot
160, "Bonheur Solide," by Matta, oil on canvas, 69 3/8 by 83 3/4
inches,1997
Lot 160 is a
large oil on canvas by Matta (1911-2002) entitled "Bonheur Solide."
It measures 69 3/8 by 83 3/4 inches and was painted in1997.
It has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It failed to sell.

Lot
164, "Blanco-Verde-Azul-Rojo," by Gunther Gerzso, oil on masonite, 32
1/4 by 33 1/8 inches, 1980
Lot 164 is a
lovely abstraction by Gunther Gerzso (1915-2000) entitled
"Blanco-Verde-Azul-Rojo." An oil on masonite, it measures 32
1/4 by 33 1/8 inches and was painted in1980. It has an
estimate of $80,000 to $100,000. It
sold for $134,500.

Lot
66, "Estela Azul," by Gunther Gerzso, oil on masonite, 28 3/4 by 19 5/8
inches, 1959
Lot 66 is a
strong vertical abstraction by Gunther Gerzso entitled "Estela Azul."
An oil on masonite, it measures 28 3/4 by 19 5/8 inches and
was painted in1959. It has an estimate of $80,000 to$100,000.
It sold for
$98,500.
The catalogue entry contains the following quotation from Dore Ashton's
1995 book on the artist:
"Gerzso's passion is for a kind of saturation He
craves the utmost degree, color drenched in itself, thinking for
itself, living in its own atmosphere, color that is possessed
by him and confined for eternity. Confinement, he has learned
produces saturation quite as much as contrast."
Gerzso's abstraction are hard-edge in contrast with the soft-edged
works of Rothko and his patches of color are generally brighter and
more textured than Rothko's and his compositions are much more complex
and subtle. In this work, for example, there are some
shadows, plenty of angles, and even a wiggly line.

Lot
135, "Verde-Azul-Naranja," by Gunther Gerzso, oil on masonite, 18 1/8
by 25 1/2 inches, 1968
Lot 135 is a
complex abstraction by Gerzso entitled"Verde-Azul-Naranja."
an oil on masonite, it measures 18 1/8 by 25 1/2 inches and
was created in 1968. It has an estimate of
$80,000 to $100,000. It
failed to sell.

Lot
256A, "Untitled," by Gunther Gerzso, oil on masonite, 6 7/8 by 7 1/8
inches, 1977, top; Lot 247, "Naranja-Amarillo-Azul-Verde-Rojo," by
Gerzso, acrylic on paper, 12 7/8 by 17 1/8 inches, 1975
Gerzso's
compositions work well even at small scale. Lot 256A, for
example, is an untitled oil on masonite that measures 6 7/8 by 7 1/8
inches and was painted in 1977. it has an estimate of $15,000
to $20,000. It
sold for $30,000.
Lot 247 is an
acrylic on paper by Gerzso entitled "Naranja-Amarillo-Azul-Verde-Rojo."
It measures 12 7/8 by 17 1/8 inches and was painted in 1975.
It has an estimate of $18,000 to $22,000. It sold for $23,750.

Lot
116, "Tataniuh," by Gunther Gerzso, sterling silver, 9 7/8 inches high.
numbered 7/11
Lot 116 is a
lovely sterling silver abstract sculpture by Gerzso that is entitled
"Tataniuh." It is 9 7/8 inches high and is numbered 7/11.
It has an estimate of $20,000 to $25,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 111,
"Laboratorio en Papel No. 76," by Rodolfo Nieto, mixed media and paper
collage on paper, 25 1/2 by 19 5/8 inches, circa 1967-8, left; Lot 255,
"Untitled,' by Rodolfo Nieto, oil on canvas, 35 1/4 by 28 3/4 inches,
1964-5, center; Lot Lot 110, "Laboratorio en Papel No. 67," mixed media
and paper collage, 25 1/2 by 19 5/8 inches, circa 1967-8, right
Lot 111 and 110
are mixed media and paper collage compositions by Rodolfo Nieto
(1936-1988) that were executed circa 1967-8 and measure 25 1/2 by 19
5/8 inches and each has anestimate of $12,000 to $18,000. Lot 111 sold for
$12,500 and Lot 110 failed to sell.
Lot 255 is an
untitled Nieto oil on canvas that measures 35 1/4 by 28 3/4 inches and
was created in 1964-5 and has an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $15,000.

Lot
227, "Untitled," by Kcho, oil and charcoal on canvas, 46 by 61 1/2
inches, 2004
Lot 227 is a
dramatic, untitled oil and charcoal on canvas by Kcho (b. 1970) that
depicts a boat with a few people about to bump into the ladder of a
circular swimming pool that is not big enough to contain their vessel.
It measures 46 by 61 1/2 inches and was created in 2004.
It has a modest estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. It sold for $12,500.

Lot
146, "Selva," by Armando Morales, oil on paper laid down on canvas, 18
by 15 inches, 1992
Lot 146,
"Selva," is a nice, dense forest scene by Armando Morales (b. 1927).
An oil on paper laid down on canvas, it measures 18 by 15
inches and was created in 1992. It has an estimate of $45,000
to $55,000. It
failed to sell.

Lot
199, "Tropical Flower," by Alejandro Obregon, oil on masonite, 11 3/4
by 7 5/8 inches, 1954
Lot 199 is a
very nice oil on masonite of a "Tropical Flower" by Alejandro Obregon
(1920-1992). It measures 11 3/4 by 7 5/8 inches and was
painted in 1954. It has an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It failed to sell.

Lot
49, "Fourteenth Street (Business Town)," by Joaquin Torres-Garcia, oil
on board, 21 7/8 by 17 7/8 inches, 1920
The cover
illustration of the auction catalogue is Lot 49, "Fourteenth Street
(Business Town)," by Joaquin Torres-Garcia (1974-1949). An
oil on board, it measures 21 7/8 by 17 7/8 inches and was painted in
1920. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $362,500.
It was the cover illustration of the 2009
exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York entitled "Nexus New York:
Latin American Artists in the Modern Metropolis."
Lot
230, "A La Deriva," by José Bedia, mixed media on arrate paper, 47 1/2
by 93 3/4 inches, 1998
Lot 230 is a
very large mixed-media work on arrate paper by José Bedia (b. 1959)
entitled "A La Deriva." It measures 47 1/2 by 93 3/4 inches
and was created in 1998. It has an estimate of $10,000 to
$15,000. It
sold for $10,000.

Lot
226, ""Working for Freedom," by The-Merger: Mario Miguel Gonzalez,
Niels Moleiro and Alain Pino, stainless steel, 50 3/4 inches long,
number 1/7
Lot 226 is a
stainless steel, two-handed saw whose "cutting edge" consists of a arch
of 12 silhouettes of the top of the Statue of Liberty. It was
created by The-Merger: Mario Miguel Gonzales (b. 1971), Niels Moleiro
Luis (b. 1970), Alain Pino (b. 1974). The work is 50 3/4
inches long and is number 1/7. It has an estimate of $18,000
to $22,000. It
sold for $26,250.

Lot
172, "The Rain-maker," by Marcelo Bonevardi, acrylic and wood on
canvas, 70 by 50 inches, 1965
Lot 172 is a
very fine work entitled "The Rain-Maker," by Marcelo Bonevardi
(1929-1994). An acrylic and wood on canvas, it measures 70 by
50 inches and was created in 1965. It has an estimate of
$18,000 to $22,000. It
sold for $25,000.
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2010 Latin American Art auction at
Sotheby's
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2010 Latin American Art auction at
Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2010 Latin American Art auction at
Sotheby's