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Sotheby’s to sell the most important collection of Latin American Art ever to appear at auction

Remedios Varo  Hacia la Torre

Remedios Varo
“Hacia la Torre”, 1961 (est. $2.5/3.5 million

Historic sale of Latin American Art at Sotheby’s On 24 November 2014 Sotheby’s New York will present the most important collection of Latin American Art ever to appear at auction with ‘A Vision Of Grandeur: Masterworks From The Collection Of Lorenzo H. Zambrano’.]]>

October 28, 2014, source: Sotheby’s

The prestigious single-owner evening sale will offeroutstanding works by many of the most famous names in 20th Century Mexican art,including Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, and Leonora Carrington. Thecollection was assembled by Lorenzo H. Zambrano, a leading businessman, visionarycollector, and generous patron of the arts who meticulously put the group together overseveral decades. Reflecting the significance of the works being offered, the sale is expectedto fetch $30/40 million, by far the highest estimate ever placed on a Latin American Artauction. Highlights will be exhibited in Mexico City, Los Angeles, Miami and New York in thelead up to the sale.

The Zambrano collection is led by Diego Rivera’s “Río Juchitán” – the first ever mural by theartist to appear at auction (estimate on request). The vast scene is spread over fourpanels and immerses the viewer in the bucolic glory of the Mexican countryside. Datingfrom circa 1955 Río Juchitán draws heavily on the work of Paul Gauguin and is one of thelast late masterpieces of Rivera’s career outside of a museum. Throughout the 1950s Riverapainted many brilliant society portraits, but works such as Río Juchitán show he stayedconnected to his roots in working class Mexican society.

Rufino Tamayo’s “Still Life” was painted in 1939 and is one the largest works from thatdecade by the artist (est. $3/4 million). The table is laden with the bounty of Mexico – fish,coffee, tequila, grapes, and of course, watermelon, the red, white and green of which definesso many of Tamayo’s paintings. The artist used a toned down background to helpaccentuate the richness of the offering.

“The Temptations of St. Anthony” is one of the most important paintings by LeonoraCarrington ever to appear art auction (est. $1.8/2.2 million). It was part of amajor competition of surrealist works which was won by her former lover Max Ernst. Afurther important surrealist work is “Hacia la Torre”, an unusually large painting from 1961 byRemedios Varo (est. $2.5/3.5 million).

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Sotheby’s New York to offer Important Mural by Rufino Tamayo, entitled “America” (news, 2008)

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Sotheby’s to sell the most important collection of Latin American Art ever to appear at auction