The Latin American sales this season had very different results at Christie¿s and Sotheby¿s, but the continued tendency of the market has been for a concentration of interest on the works of great quality. The highlight of the season was a selection of works by Rivera that appeared at Sotheby¿s. The most expensive painting of the season was by Rivera, La Ofrenda which made a total of $$1,584,000 (Est. $1,500,000/2,000,000). Perhaps one of the most interesting developments in the market was the steady selling of works by Botero paintings which had suffered in past seasons from a market adjustment. As a matter of fact the success of his works at Christie¿s evening sale proved to be a crucial asset. His A family from 1996 had been estimated at a conservative $300,000/400,000 and realized $732,800, surely a triumph for his more contemporary works which had been precisely the most difficult to sell in past seasons. As a final note we should bring attention to the fact that both auction houses had new heads of the departments for the sale this season, an unprecedented situation. Carmen Melián is the new head of the Latin American Art department at Sotheby¿s after Kirsten Hammer¿s departure and at Christie¿s Virgilio Garza is the new Department head after the departure of Ana Sokoloff. We take this opportunity to wish them both good luck as well as encourage them on their efforts for the continued growth and success of this exciting collecting area. Fall Latin American Auctions Christie¿s November 15 at 7:00 pm November 16 at 10:00 pm Sothebys¿s November 16 at 7:00 pm November 17 at 10:00 pm