Art from south of the border has never been hotter
For many Americans, recognition of Latin-American art goes no further than the dramatic murals of Diego Rivera or the intensely revealing self-portraits of his wife, Frida Kahlo. From the viewpoint of connoisseurs and collectors, however, there is far greater variety to the genre, and at the moment, Latin-American artworks are as hot as the tropical regions from which many of them originated.
Representative of a culture of many ancient civilizations tempered over many years by political and social upheavals, Latin-American artists began attracting attention in the early 20th century. But it was not until the 1990s that prices began to skyrocket at auction, and the trend has only continued into the 21st century.
Sotheby’s Nov. 20-21, 2007 sale of Latin-American art in New York grossed $27.7 million, and in so doing, set 20 records for artists at auction, including Cicero Dias, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Armando Reverón and Alejandro Otero.
They and Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, Wifredo Lam and Roberto Matta are included within the ranks of artists considered to be Latin-American masters. Their works are in museum collections and now beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest collectors.
Frida Kahlo, who was twice married to Rivera and died at the age of 47, has surpassed her spouse in worldwide popularity. Kahlo’s 1943 painting Roots sold at a Sotheby’s auction in May 2006 for $5,616,000, a record for a Latin-American work of art. The 12 inch by 191⁄2-inch oil-on-metal artwork was one of only a few full-length self-portraits Kahlo painted.
Jaime Villamarin, assistant director of Ro Gallery in Long Island City, N.Y., believes Kahlo’s popularity, along with a growing awareness to other Latin-American masters, has contributed significantly to the spike in art prices in that category. “Tamayo has had a lot of museum shows, one in California recently. So has Kahlo … and she had a movie, and that helped build interest in her work,” said Villamarin, referring to the 2002 feature film Frida starring Salma Hayek in the title role.
While the escalating prices can be attributed in part to a strong art market overall, there is no denying the upward momentum and greatly increased demand for Latin-American paintings.
“Right now the Latin-American economy is strong. There’s a lot of money in those countries, especially Venezuela – that’s oil money. So Venezuelans are buying all their art back,” said Villamarin.
Works by Venezuelan artists Jesús Raphael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Díez are hot commodities. “Soto is off the charts. Every time I sell one, it’s almost painful to let it go because you can’t replace them anymore. Some things that we used to sell for very little money are now so sought after that prices have just gone crazy,” said Villamarin, adding that geometric abstract art is extremely popular.
Soto’s rising star is due in part to the popularity of op art, his forte. “The master of op art is Victor Vasarely, a Hungarian artist who worked in Paris. Soto went to Paris, met him and worked with him. Soto ended up being represented by the same gallery. They had to have worked together, and the rub-off is obvious,” said Villamarin, noting that op art is in high demand across the board. “Vasarely is one of the hottest artists for us right now. So it follows that if op art is hot, Latin Americans would buy Latin-American art, especially Cruz-Díez and Soto, the two masters of Latin-American op art.”
Paintings by top-line Latin-American artists are scarce on the open market, and extremely expensive. Ro Gallery has only one oil-on-canvas work by celebrated Colombian artist Fernando Botero (b. 1932), who is noted for his distinctive style of smooth, inflated shapes, and shifts in proportion. “It came from Marlborough Gallery (in New York City), which is Botero’s gallery. We’re asking about $1.5 million for it. … If we sell it we’ll be very happy,” said Villamarin, adding that until the painting is purchased, it remains a fabulous addition to Ro Gallery’s collection. Botero’s 1969 Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe, after Edouard Manet’s famous painting from 1863, achieved the top price at Sotheby’s November sale, knocking down $1,329,000. It also represented the first time a Botero surpassed the million-dollar mark at auction.
Villamarin said that Latin-American artists’ connections to New York enhance their recognition in the art world.
“Botero was represented by Marlborough, one of the premier galleries in the world. It’s the same gallery that represented other major Modern masters over the years. Botero has an apartment in New York,” said Villamarin, noting that many Latin-American artists worked in New York in the 1950s and ’60s.
Rufino Tamayo, a contemporary of Rivera and Orozco who did not follow their political bent, moved from Mexico City to New York in 1936, then to Paris in 1954 before returning to his homeland permanently a decade later.
“Tamayo was the one who went for the fame and money. He was shunned by other guys, who were communists and created art for the people,” said Villamarin. “The value of his art was not as high as the others, probably for that reason. He was more commercial.”
Since Tamayo’s death in 1990 the value of his paintings has climbed remarkably. “I can’t even touch one now,” said Villamarin.
Tamayo’s Tres Personajes, 1970, sold for $1,049,000 at Sotheby’s November auction. The painting had been stolen in 1987 from a warehouse in Houston and, in 2003, was picked from trash by a woman taking a walk on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Sotheby’s reportedly had sold the same painting in 1977, for $55,000.
“(Tamayo) is finally getting the proper recognition as someone who’s important in his own right rather than as a follower and a sellout,” Villamarin observed.
Buyers of Latin-American art are nearly as diverse as the works they collect. “It’s not just Latin people buying the art. It also has to do with people interested in Latin culture,” said Villamarin. While Ro Gallery is located across the East River from Manhattan, its art auctions utilizing LiveAuctioneers and eBay have tapped a wider client base. “We send a lot of our Latin-American art to Texas, clearly because they are geographically connected to it. There’s no question Mexican culture has a great influence in Texas,” said Villamarin.
Mexico City was the art center of Latin America during the first half of the 20th century, but many young artists from Central and South America made their way to Spain, France and Italy to continue their studies.
Roberto Matta, born in 1911 in Santiago, Chile, studied architecture and interior design in his hometown before traveling to Paris in 1933 to work as a draftsman. Matta was introduced to Salvador Dalí and Andre Breton. Impressed by Matta’s drawings, Breton invited him to join the Surrealist group in 1937. Matta progressed to painting the following year and moved to New York with the outbreak of war in Europe. Later in life, he established homes in Rome, Paris and London, and did not care to be thought of as a Latin-American artist. Throughout his career he remained close to his Surrealist roots.
While Mexico is famous for its muralists, the predominant medium among Latin-American artists is aquatint etchings. “If you look through Latin-American art you will see aquatint etchings are the most sought-after type of print and also the most prevalent,” said Villamarin. “Roberto Matta was a master etcher. All of his etchings are sought after. He made lithographs and other things, but his etchings are what people want.”
Paintings by top-line Latin-American artists are no longer affordable for many collectors.
“You could spend under $10,000 and get a great canvas, but not by these master artists. You couldn’t touch a Wifredo Lam for less than a million dollars. Raul Anguiano – $50,000 will get you one of his best paintings, even less than that. For a lesser-known artist you’re still going to spend $7,500 to $15,000 to get a really good, good-size canvas by a well-known but not a top-line artist,” said Villamarin.
“A good way for people to buy who have a lower budget generally is to go for original prints, like signed graphics. They’re still original artworks, it’s just that they’re multiples … an edition.” [Visit Ro Gallery online at www.rogallery.com.]
