The May Latin American auctions followed the Contemporary and Modern/impressionist results set earlier in the season by a savvy and conservative market that pays top price for top quality and is as selective as a collector's market should be.
Christie's led the season with a total of $19,145,750.00, The highlights there were classical Diego Rivera with his "Nina con Rebozo" from the Placido Domingo collection selling at $1,205,000, Tamayos' "Maestros Cantores" from the '40s sold at $2,165,000 carrying the top price of the sale. The six Boteros offered from the Wynn Collectiion of Las Vegas fame, four paintings and two sculptures sold for a total of $2,689,000 demonstrating a continued interest in the artist by collectors.
Sotheby's came second with a total of $16,266, 875. 67.1% sold by lot and even better by value at 68.3%. Highlights there were Claudio Bravo's celebrated "The Emperor," a seminal work that sold for $910,000 and Rufino Tamayo's "El Fisgon" which sold for $970,000 as well as the beautiful Torres Garcia from the Cisneros Collection which surpassed the estimated $600,000/800,000 selling at $880,000.
At Phillips the total was $4,646,125 with 68% by lot sold and 77% by value. The highlight there included the cover lot, Carmen Herrera's "Black and Green" which surpassed the estimated $250,000/350,000 selling at $370,000. Recently the house had sold Diego Rivera's "Baile de Tehuantepec" for a swooping $15 million, setting a new record for Latin American art and clearly indicating that in today's market the most important transactions are now in Private Sales.