León Gallery sets four world records : Edades, Orlina, Pacita Abad and Jigger Cruz

Victorio Edades (1895 – 1985), Poinsettia Girl, signed and dated 1976 (lower right); oil on wood board, 28″ x 24″ (71 cm x 61 cm)

León Gallery set four world records in its Spectacular Mid-Year Auction June 11, 2022.

Nena Saguil (1924-1994), Peace & Plenty,  signed and dated 1950 (lower left); oil on board, 25 1/2″ x 19 1/2″ (65 cm x 50 cm)

Victorio Edades’ Poinsettia Girl, from an opening bid of P2 million, went up to P23.4 million (inclusive of buyer’s premium). It was a world record for the Father of Philippine Modern Art whose Cezanne-like works confounded the art scene in the 1920s.  (Another lady in red, a farmer’s wife by Nena Saguil in Peace & Plenty went up for almost P6 million.)

Pacita Abad (1946-2004), Tevan Galano (Batanes Series), signed and dated 1982 (lower right); oil on canvas, 33 1/2″ x 33 1/2″ (85 cm x 85 cm)

Pacita Abad’s Tevan Galano, a scene from her Batanes childhood, went up from P300,000 to P9.3 million. “This reflected the rarity of this piece,” said Jaime Ponce de Leon, director of León Gallery. “Only a handful or so of these Philippine scenes are to be found.”

However, it came as no surprise that the colorful homage to the Filipino fiesta, titled Moriones Festival, by Carlos “Botong” Francisco, went for as much as P35 million. Ponce de Leon pointed out that three of the four top prices ever paid for a Botong have been at León Gallery auctions. Moriones Festival, a rare easel-sized work, was the second-highest paid in Philippine auction.

An Archaic Hagabi. Kiangan, Ifugao, 19th century. Narra wood with native repair. Length: 4 meters/13 ft 2″, height from floor to highest peak of the center bench: 19″ (48 cm), width of bench at widest point: 48 cm.

Another record-setting was Hagabi or Ifugao “prestige bench”—from three of the top collections of Filipino tribal art—which went for P20 million. (A similarly auctioned piece in 2021 went for P22 million, setting a world record.)

Ramon Orlina (b. 1944) Torso, signed and dated 1997 (on the base). Carved asahi glass, 21″ x 19 1/2″ x 10″ (53 cm x 50 cm x 25 cm).

Another world record was made by Ramon Orlina’s glass masterpiece Torso, for P7 Million. “It was a happy combination of being a large piece— measuring 21 inches high—and a provenance coming from Geny Lopez,” said Ponce de Leon. “Both were huge factors in hitting this figure.”

Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978),  Analogy (B), signed and dated 1969 (lower left and verso); oil on canvas. 32″ x 24″ (81 cm x 61 cm)

Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978),  Hat Weavers, signed and dated Manila 1940 (lower right); Oil on canvas. 26 1/8″ x 32 5/8″ (66 cm x 82 cm)

It was Geny Lopez’s informed eye for Filipino art that led to his acquisition of two H.R. Ocampo covering the artist’s prolific stage when he was active on the labor front up to the time his stage mural became the iconic visual symbol of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Lopez’s two H.R. Ocampo fetched P20.5 million.

Vicente Manansala (1910-1981), Madonna No. 2, signed and dated 1970 (upper right); oil on canvas, 21 1/2″ x 28 1/2″ (55 cm x 72 cm)

Formerly from Aurora Silayan Go collection, Vicente Manansala (1910-1981), Still Life, signed and dated 1973 (upper left); oil on canvas, 21″ x 27 1/4″ (53 cm x 69 cm)

Jose Joya (1931-1995), Alay (Offering), signed and dated Feb. 15, 1976 (lower right and verso); acrylic on canvas, 34″ x 34″ (86 cm x 86 cm)

Arturo Luz (1926-2021), Carnival Forms, dated 1958; enamel on canvas, 22″ x 24″ (56 cm x 61 cm)

The mid-century Moderns continued to dominate. Two Manansala pieces made a strong showing:  Madonna No. 2 and a lyrical still life fetched P12 million and P10 million, respectively. A mystical work titled Offering by Jose Joya went for P12 million, Arturo Luz’s seminal Carnival Forms, for P6.4 million.

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972),  Sabungero, signed and dated 1914 (lower left); oil on canvas. 18″ x 22″ (46 cm x 56 cm)

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972), Maid of Bataan, signed and dated 1946 (lower right). Oil on canvas. 20″ x 16″ (51 cm x 41 cm)

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972), Lavanderas, signed and dated 1957 (lower right); oil on canvas, 30″ x 24″ (76 cm x 61 cm)

The oldest Amorsolo Sabungero from 1914 went for P10.5 million, his war-time Maid of Bataan for P8.4 million. Lavanderas and portraits were also in high demand.

Laureano Atlas (1743-1773), Nuestra Señora Del Santisimo Rosario en la Yglesia de Santo Domingo, signed and dated 1759 (lower right); copper engraving on finely–combed cotton. Binondo, Manila. 30 1/4″ x 20 1/2″ (77 cm x 52 cm)

From the Dona Nene Quimson collection, Betsy Westendorp (b. 1927), Portrait of Doña Nene Quimson, signed and dated 1976 (lower left); oil on canvas, 62″ x 46″ (157 cm x 117 cm)

From Dona Nene Quimson collection. Betsy Westendorp (b. 1927), Milflores, signed and dated 1992 (lower left). Oil on canvas, 51 1/2″ x 64″ (131 cm x 163 cm)

From Dona Nene Quimson collection. Betsy Westendorp (b. 1927), English Primroses, signed and dated 1984 (lower right); oil on canvas, 50″ x 64″ (127 cm x 163 cm)

From Dona Nene Quimson collection. Betsy Westendorp (b. 1927), Portrait of Doña Nene Quimson, signed and dated 1976 (lower left). Oil on canvas, 62″ x 46″ (157 cm x 117 cm)

The oldest work of art in the auction was a copper engraving by the enigmatic Laureano Atlas of the miraculous Lady of La Naval, which went for P2.2 million. Gems from the Don Benito Legarda and Doña Nene Quimson collections also drew sizeable bids.

Jigger Cruz (b. 1984), Blissful Thrones in the Tune of a Lazy Afternoon, signed and dated 2018 (lower right); oil on canvas, a) 60″ x 48″ (152 cm x 122 cm), b) 60″ x 72″ (152 cm x 183 cm), overall: 60″ x 120″ (152 cm x 386 cm)

The latest world record set at the auction was for Jigger Cruz’s Blissful Thrones in the Tune of a Lazy Afternoon, at P12 million. “Two things made this happen,” said Ponce de Leon. “Its pedigree from a New York exhibit and the fact that it gives us a never-before-seen glimpse of Jigger’s bedroom.”

Rarity, beauty, and outstanding artistry combined to make auction history.

Relleve depicting God the Father, holding an orb. Hardwood with original polychromy, carved in two parts. Mid-  to late 19th century. 42″ x 19″ x 1 1/2″ (107 cm x 48 cm x 4 cm)

A Set of Five Relleve Panels. Probably from a large pulpit Visayas, probably Panay. Mid to late 19th century hard wood with polychromy, paint flaking in some parts, conservation and repair on one panel.