Highglights of last season's Latin American Art Auctions in New York

The Latin American auctions started on a good note at Sotheby's where early in the sale their cover lot -Wifredo Lam's Les abalochas dansent pour Dhambala, Dieu de l'unité, which had an estimate of $1,750,000/2,250,000- sold for a new world record for the artist at $2,154,500. This accomplishment was no small victory, for the painting is from 1970 and cannot be considered within the framework of all the other great prices obtained for the artist, which were for paintings in the 1940s, long considered his golden decade by collectors and scholars alike. This was a case where the quality, size and overall impact of the picture made collectors ignore the dating. A great work from the 1940s had actually sold earlier in the sale. Untitled, dated circa 1944-45, was a magnificent piece that closely resembles the famous La Nuit; it was estimated at $400,000/600,000 and sold for $470,500. The sale of the cover lot gave the room an optimistic and euphoric mood that lasted through the rest of the auction. The Lam that followed, Femme, had an estimate of $250,000/350,000 and quickly achieved a successful result at $374,500, and later on yet another great piece from the `40s, Pour les refugiés espagnols from 1946, also sold above the estimate at $266,500 (est $180,000/220,000). To complete the picture of Lam's market, it would have been interesting to see what the beautiful Nu a la chaise from 1942 would have made, but it was withdrawn from the sale. In any case, it is hard to remember any other auction in the past at which so many great quality pieces by Lam appeared simultaneously and were so well received by the buyers, who enthusiastically bid up the prices to new levels. Sotheby's scored another major success with a new record for Alejandro Otero when his Coloritmo 9, which had carried an estimate of $250,000/350,000 sold for an amazing $752,500. Another important highlight was the Colonial stylized virgin by Fernando Botero titled Nuestra Señora de Cajicá which had been estimated at $600,000/800,000 and realized $872,500 and his reclining nude sculpture also did very well, surpassing the estimated $400,000/500,000 and sold for $674,500. An almost monochromatic painting by Alfredo Ramos Martinez, Mujeres de California con Flores, achieved $458,500 (est 400,000/600,000). From further down the continent, Chilean artist Matta achieved $518,500 for his beautiful Children Fear of Idols from 1944 (est $500,000/700,000); another of his works from a later period, The Avoiders, had also done very well earlier in the evening, achieving $242,500 with an estimate of $150,000/200,000. Armando Morales' Desnudo contra un Zócalo Azul also realized a successful result above the estimate at $242,500 (est 150,000/200,000) as did Torres Garcia's colorful Composición con sol which sold above the estimated $250,000/300,000 and realized $302,500. Sergio Camargo's No 232 had an estimate of $400,000/600,000 and realized $482,500. On the more contemporary front, Christie's realized a series of stunningly successful sales and a new record for Adriana Varejao when her Paissagem Canibal, which had carried an estimate of $250,000/350,000, sold for $602,500. In the same sale Beatriz Milhazes achieved an incredible $722,500, also a record, from an estimated $200,000/300,000 for her Machina; another of her works, Untitled from 1993 sold for $338,500 (est $200,000/300,000). Helio Oiticica's Metaesquema (Dois brancos) also surpassed the estimated $80,000/120,000 and achieving $362,500, perhaps as a reaction to the fact of the recent fire that destroyed almost the entire holdings of the artist's estate in Brazil. A new record was also obtained for Julio Le Parc when his Seuil de Perception, Continuel-lumiere Mobile, which was estimated at $50,000/70,000, soared to an amazing $506,500; earlier in the sale another of his works, Serie 26D, had pointed in this direction when it surpassed the estimated $50,000/70,000, selling at $80,500. In a similar scale of result achi...