From Eugenio Lopez, Jr. collection, Benedicto Cabrera (b. 1942), ‘Three Faces of Sabel, ‘ signed and dated 2008 (lower right), oil on canvas, 48″ x 60″ (122 cm x 152 cm), sold for PhP: 24,032,000
From the Eugenio ‘Geny’ Lopez collection, Vicente Manansala (1910 – 1988), ‘Vendors,’ signed and dated 1963 (lower right), oil on canvas, 39″ x 27″ (99 cm x 69 cm), sold for PhP 19,225,600
Leon Gallery and the Asian Cultural Council, on their ninth annual partnership, staged a successful Asian Cultural Council Auction 2024, with the 1961 Jose Joya’s Yellow Abode commanding PhP 24.03 million (inclusive of buyer’s premium), from the collection of the late captain of Philippine business and industry Eugenio “Geny” Lopez, Jr.
Now on their 9th year of collaboration, Leon Gallery and ACC have been doing this to support Filipino artists for foreign grants and to foster cultural dialogues. Significantly, in the early years of ACC, Joya was a recipient of the grant for visual arts.
Yellow Abode, the artist’s abstract expressionist masterpiece, was done in the same year he was awarded two of his most important awards (the Republic Cultural Heritage Award and the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award). Other important pieces from the Lopez collection, notably Benedicto Cabrera’s Three Faces of Sabel and Vicente Manansala’s Vendors, commanded impressive figures: PhP 24.03 million and PhP 19.2 million, respectively.
Jose Joya (1931 – 1995), ‘Picnic at the Great Wall II,’ signed and dated 1973 (lower right), oil on wood, 48″ x 64″ (122 cm x 163 cm), sold for: PhP 20,427,200
Another Joya, Picnic at the Great Wall II, representing the artist’s evolution to geometric expressionism, brought in PhP 20.4 million.
Fernando Amorsolo (1892 – 1972), ‘Mango Vendor,’ signed and dated 1933 (lower right), oil on canvas, 18 1/2″ x 13″ (47 cm x 33 cm), sold for PhP 22,830,400
Fernando Amorsolo (1892 – 1972), ‘Tinikling,’ signed and dated 1960 (lower left), oil on canvas, 24″ x 32″ (61 cm x 81 cm), sold for PhP 12,016,000
From the Carlos P. Romulo collection, Fernando Amorsolo (1892 – 1972), ‘Lavandera,’ signed and dated 1956 (lower left), oil on canvas, 18 1/2″ x 14 1/4″ (47 cm x 36 cm), sold for: PhPP 4,325,760
Fernando Amorsolo (1892 – 1972), Ang Mga Ulila, signed and dated 1952 (lower right), oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″ (51 cm x 41 cm), sold for PHP 7,810,400
A stunning collection of eight works by Fernando Amorsolo fetched considerable sums: Mango Vendorsfrom the artist’s “Golden Period,” PhP 22.8 million; two Tinikling paintings from industrial magnate Dennett Howe’s collection, PhP 12.01 million and PhP 14.4 million, respectively; Lavandera, from the collection of statesman Carlos P. Romulo, PhP 4.3 million, Ang Mga Ulila, a rare relic of a lost Amorsolo masterpiece, PhP 7.8 million.
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (1855 – 1913), Barcos de la Vela (Sailboats), signed and dated 1908 (lower right), oil on canvas, 24″ x 37″ (61 cm x 94 cm), sold for PhP 24,032,000
From the Jorge B. Vargas collectionn, Juan Luna y Novicio (1857 – 1899), Idilio (Idyll), signed (lower right), ca. 1880s, oil on canvas, 28 1/2″ x 15″ (72 cm x 38 cm), sold for PhP 18,024,000
Juan Luna y Novicio (1857 – 1899), ‘Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”)’ or ‘El Cristo de la Paciencia (The Christ of Patience),’ signed (lower right), ca. 1896 – 1897, oil on canvas, 43″ x 27″ (109 cm x 69 cm), sold for PhP 10,213,600
From the Ambassador Pedro Conlu Hernaez collection, Juan Luna y Novicio (1857 – 1899), ‘Landscape in Bilbao,’ signed (left), ca. 1893, oil on wood, 12″ x 17″ (30 cm x 43 cm), sold for PhP 5,046,720
The “sun and moon” of Philippine art, Juan Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo, fetched bountiful prices. Hidalgo’s Barcos de la Vela, from the collection of Irish-born railway tycoon and banker William Sproule, fetched PhP 24.03 million. Luna’s ‘Idilio, representing his fruitful 1880s decade that produced the iconic Death of Cleopatra and Spoliarium and from the collection of patriot and art patron Jorge B. Vargas, sold for PhP 18.02 million. Other works by Luna also stood out: Ecce Homo at PhP 10.2 million, Landscape in Bilbao, PhP 5.04 million.
Fernando Zóbel (1924 – 1984), ‘El Rió V,’ signed (lower left and verso), dated 1978, and inscribed “El Rió, 78-28″ (verso), oil on canvas,40″ x 40” (102 cm x 102 cm), sold for PhP 15,620,800
Nena Saguil (1914 – 1994), ‘Sans Titre (Untitled)’, signed and dated 1959 (lower right), oil on canvas, 31 1/2″ x 38 1/2″ (80 cm x 98 cm), sold for PhP 4,806,400
The works of Fernando Zobel and Nena Saguil—in celebration of their birth anniversaries this year (Zobel’s centennial and the 110th of Saguil, who will also be represented in this year’s 60th Venice Biennale)—also attained outstanding results. Zobel’s El Rio V, from his highly acclaimed Serie Blanca, sold for PhP 15.6 million, Saguil’s Sans Titre (Untitled)and Composition en noir et blanc, for PhP 4.8 million and PhP 4.5 million, respectively.
From the collection of architect Emmnnuel ‘Manny’ and Denise Minana,. Ronald Ventura (b. 1973), ‘Airhome,’ signed and dated 2016 (lower right), oil on canvas, 84″ x 60″ (213 cm x 152 cm), sold for PhP 14,419,200
Ronald Ventura’s tribute to the OFW, Airhome, from the collection of architect and Mrs. Emmanuel “Manny” Minana, sold for PhP 14.4 million.
From the Romeo Jorge collection, ‘San Miguel Arcangel, ’17th century, Binondo, Manila, ivory, silver, and gold, ivory santo: H: 19″ (48 cm) L: 3 1/2″ (9 cm) W: 13″ (33 cm), sword: 18k gold, 36 grams, virina: H: 35″ (89 cm) L: 15″ (38 cm) W: 23″ (58 cm), silver base: H: 4 3/4″ (12 cm) L: 8″ (20 cm) W: 11 1/2″ (29 cm), sold for PhP 6,008,000
formerly from the Romeo Jorge collection,, ‘A Malacañang Carlos Trece Armchair (“Isabelina” / Renaissance Revival)’, last quarter of the 19th century (1875–1900), narra wood (Pterocarpus indicus), H: 53 1/4″ (135 cm), L: 23″ (58 cm), W: 27″ (69 cm), sold forP 1,321,760
The Romeo Jorge collection proved timeless. A 17th-century ivory image of San Miguel Arcangel went for PhP 6 million. A late 19th-century Malacañang Carlos Trece Armchair sold for PhP 1.3 million, from its starting price of PhP 120,000.
Hugo Yonzon, Jr. (1924 – 1994), ‘Boats,’ signed and dated 1959 (lower right), oil on masonite board, 22″ x 28″ (56 cm x 71 cm), sold for PhP: 1,441,920 , world record for the artist
Hugo Yonzon Jr. achieved a record-breaking price with his 1959 early work Boats, his entry to the 12th Art Association of the Philippines Annual Exhibition, competing with Joya’s iconic Space Transfiguration. Boats sold for PhP 1.4 million, or 14x from its starting price of PhP 100,000.
A portion of the proceeds from this sale will help fund various ACC grants for Filipino and other Asian artists and arts-based practitioners.
“We acknowledge the generous contribution of friends and patrons whose invaluable help and support through the years has been a source of encouragement and goodwill. We are forever grateful to everyone who has journeyed with us in this endeavor. Let this new year inspire us all with a renewed sense of purpose as we make each day better for everyone,” says ACC Philippines chairman Ernest L. Escaler.
“The Asian Cultural Council Auction is always an occasion close to our hearts, not least of all because it brings to the forefront the abilities of our young Filipino artists,” says Leon Gallery director Jaime Ponce de Leon.
Words by Adrian Maranan
