Salcedo Auctions celebrates the eighth year of the Philippines’ longest-running and biggest annual auction, The Well-appointed Life.
Established in 2010, Salcedo Auctions pioneered in the fine art and collectibles auction industry in the Philippines with highly curated sales that, over time, have built grown a reputable following here and abroad.
Now on its eighth year, held September each year, The Well-Appointed Life is Salcedo Auctions’ marquee sale that has set world records and has brought to a wider audience here and abroad the historic works—and stories behind them—of the country’s most significant visual artists.
These art works have historic and aesthetic significance, each masterpiece redefining its milieu and physical space—indeed, the sheer power of art and of connoisseurship to bring about “the worlds we create.” The annual auction has been yielding works of some of the country’s old, modern, and contemporary masters—a veritable history of important Philippine art. A hark back to those years:
2014
A photo of Juan Luna in his Paris studio, ‘Aesop after Velazquez’ prominent behind him
In 2014, Salcedo Auctions opened The Well-Appointed Life with a tour-de-force discovery, Juan Luna y Novicio’s Aesop after Velázquez.
Juan Luna y Novicio, ‘Aesop after Velazquez,’ 1881, oil on canvas
The painting first surfaced in an auction in Geneva, consigned by a collector who acquired it in Zurich. It was traced through an old photo of Luna’s studio in Paris held by the Frick Collection in New York (taken by a photographer of known expatriate artists in the city in the late 19th century), where this very lot can be seen hanging on a wall directly behind the artist. On that wall, Aesop after Velasquez is accompanied by Luna’s other paintings, both recognized and yet to be discovered. The painting was inspired by Diego Velázquez’s Aesop, which currently hangs in Madrid’s Prado Museum. It must be noted that Aesop after Velázquez was the first artwork by Luna of undisputed authenticity to be offered at auction in the Philippines.
2015
The year brought pieces that enabled viewers to not only stimulate their senses through the various artistic techniques and influences presented, but also to challenge notions of quality, bringing another level of excellence to the well-appointed lives of discerning clientele.
Luna was again the centerpiece that year with another priceless find, ¿A Do…Va la Nave?, whose only record of existence had been a reproduction in a Barcelona literary journal.
Juan Luna y Noicio, ‘¿A Do…Va la Nave?’, 1885, oil on canvas
Before its discovery by Salcedo Auctions in a private collection in Cordoba, Argentina, this masterpiece traveled a path that was nothing short of labyrinthine. Taken from a poem written by the 19th century Spanish Romantic poet Jose de Espronceda, the piece’s title translates to “And there goes the ship; / Who knows where it will go?” It was painted the year after Spoliarium’s triumph in the Madrid Exposition in 1884, and obtained by a Cuban doctor-friend of the artist’s favorite model, before it was passed on to a family of industrialists who took the painting with them when they escaped the revolution. It was passed down over three generations—a fateful and poetic journey leading back to Philippine shores.
2016
The Well-Appointed Life’s 2016 line-up of artworks was newsworthy, drawing the collectors’ focus to the scale and significance of the careers of the country’s foremost visual artists:
BenCab, ‘Transition,’ 1968, acrylic on canvas; Ang Kiukok, ‘Dogs,’ 1976, oil on canvas; Juvenal Sansó, ‘Untitled (Topiary),’ undated (c. 1960s), oil on canvas
2017
Major works by National Artists BenCab, Hernando R. Ocampo, and Arturo Luz were among those featured in the launch of The Well-Appointed Life at The Peninsula Manila in 2017. It would be the beginning of a storied partnership between the two premier brands that combined tradition and values of quality and excellence. The partnership was marked by the construction of an impressive architecture installation that combined understated classical lines with contemporary luxury detailing.
(Clockwise from left) BenCab, ‘Long-Haired Woman,’ 1998, acrylic on canvas; H.R. Ocampo, ‘Mga Kiti,’ 1978, acrylic on tetoron; Arturo Luz, ‘Still Life,’ undated (c. 1965), enamel on canvas
2018
In 2018, its fifth year, the highlight of The Well-Appointed Life would be arguably the most important Philippine art historical find in recent memory, the documented and hitherto unlocated boceto of Juan Luna’s monumental Spoliarium, which drew a standing-room-only crowd attending the auction at The Peninsula Manila’s Rigodon Ballroom. It earned the highest price ever achieved for any Luna painting sold in the country. The sale was also marked by a stunning display at the iconic fountain of the hotel at the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenue, the only time that a Philippine company has ever been featured in this landmark.
Juan Luna y Novicio, ‘Boceto for Spoliarium,’ 1883, oil on canvas
Art plays a paramount role in understanding a country’s history. Spoliarium stands as a striking representation of the social, moral, and political landscape that Filipinos lived in in the late 19th century, and in many ways continues to face today. Salcedo Auctions takes pride in bringing back this most significant treasure to the Philippines and contributing to the appreciation of the nation’s rich heritage.
2019
In 2019, Salcedo Auctions drew attention to yet another long-lost masterpiece piece, which belonged to the same family that had held the Spoliarium boceto for over a century— Felix Resurrección Hidalgo’s La Pintura. After 126 years of not being seen in public, the painting resurfaced, owing to the auction house’s efforts.
Félix Resurreccion Hidalgo, ‘La Pintura,’ undated (c. 1890s), oil on canvas
Bearing the influence of French Impressionism, and in particular the Japonisme that informed many artists working in France in the late 19th century, La Pintura exhibits graceful movement and depth in addition to subtle color and detail. This oil painting was acclaimed by Rizal to have “the purest of sentiment” and an “idealized expression of beauty,” seen through Hidalgo’s soft brush strokes and delightful pastel hues. With her visage elegantly turned away, the viewer is invited to take a look at the woman artist’s unfinished canvas, with a world yet to be created from the motions of her paintbrush. By depicting the artist as a woman instead of a man, Hidalgo also sends out an impactful message about the nation’s journey towards liberalism and progress.
Roberto Chabet, ‘Untitled (Veranda),’ undated (c. early 1960s), acrylic and Pentel pen on boards; Juan Luna y Novicio, ‘Venezia,’ 1881, watercolor; Vicente Manansala, ‘Market Scene,’ 1969, oil on canvas
2020
The global pandemic the following year inspired Salcedo Auctions to reflect on new ways of interpreting The Well-Appointed Life. Showcasing masterpieces now took on another dimension—that of presenting artistic legacy as “rays of hope” amid the uncertainties of the times. The auction house’s continued efforts to uphold its commitment to the public to provide a quality venue for the sale and acquisition of art led Salcedo to pioneer the groundbreaking hybrid set-up to adapt to the new normal. It combined live-streaming and limited live in-person bidding for works by, among many others, National Artists Ang Kiukok, and Vicente Manansala, and leading contemporary artist Ronald Ventura.
Ang Kiukok, ‘Rosary Queen,’ 1989, oil on canvas
Vicente Manansala, ‘Quiapo,’ 1953, oil on board
Ronald Ventura, ’New Normal,’ 2019, oil on canvas
2021
The 2021 collection featured some of the most significant names in Philippine art, the highlight being a recently discovered 1900 oil on canvas by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo entitled Marina that, in keeping with the continued efforts to inspire hope amid challenges, radiated hope —the sun breaking out from behind the clouds to illuminate what is arguably the artist’s most beautiful seascape.
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, ‘Marina’, 1900, oil on canvas.
The sale also featured a 1975 oil on canvas by National Artist H.R. Ocampo titled Excursion to Pinaglabanan, a tribute to Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and the Katipunan militia’s successful capture of a Spanish military base.
H.R. Ocampo, ‘Excursion to Pinaglabanan,’ 1975, oil on canvas
Also in the auction was Autumnal Flowers by National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, a stunning metamorphosis of flora, fauna, and genre scenes characteristic of the early Barcelona period of renowned modernist..
The exhibit/sale of well-appointed pieces over the past eight years is a collector’s veritable trip back to a world long gone, yet these pieces can continue to redefine the worlds we inhabit and continue to create. In that way does Salcedo feels its commitment to remain at the helm of Philippine art and drives it to venture into new domains that give intellectual and aesthetic solace—the worlds that we create.
Stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook platforms for updates on “The Well-Appointed Life,” coming in September.
