Ossorio, Luna, and rare manuscript copy of PH Independence declaration also achieve new world records
Leon Gallery’s recently concluded The Magnificent September Auction 2024 has witnessed yet another important milestone in Philippine art; the country’s most trusted auction house broke its own world record for the most expensive Fernando Amorsolo painting. Under the Mango Tree, the magnum opus of the country’s first national artist, was sold for PHP 57,676,800, surpassing the record set by the Peracamps Mango Gatherers, which was sold for PHP 46.7 million at Leon Gallery’s The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction 2018.
Dubbed the greatest masterpiece of Amorsolo, Under the Mango Tree, comes from the collection of the pre-war American industrialist Edward Joseph Nell, who is called the “Father of Philippine Air-conditioning” for his legacy of bringing Carrier Incorporated here in the country. The masterwork, which hails from the peak of Amorsolo’s “Golden Period” when he became the prime painter of the Philippines, possesses the trifecta of impeccable provenance, historical context, and beautiful subject matter. These qualities combined made a perfect recipe for the stellar success of the painting, which has long been in the Nell Family for almost a century—from when it was painted in 1929 until it was recently repatriated to the country through the efforts of Leon Gallery director Jaime Ponce de Leon.
READ: The most expensive Filipino artworks ever sold on auction
Also fascinating was Amorsolo’s Ifugaos in Mines View Park, which brought in PHP 18,042,000. The work captures both Amorsolo’s homage to the Cordillera people of the Northern Philippines and the historic gold rush in the region (particularly in Benguet and Baguio City) during the 1930s, in which the American mining magnates commissioned Amorsolo to paint them souvenirs of their golden exploits.
READ: Fernando Amorsolo: A refresher on the first-ever Filipino National Artist
Breaking another impressive new world record is Alfonso Ossorio’s 1957 Untitled from the collection of his own kin, the affluent Ossorio Family. The work clocked in at PHP 33,644,800. The dynamic, almost chaotic interplay of black, white, and hints of color in this work both echoes the influence of the action painting of Ossorio’s dear friend, the American avant-garde Jackson Pollock, and Ossorio’s unique signature of combining abstraction with deeply personal, symbolic content.
Juan Luna’s aristocratic Portrait of Adele della Rocca, which depicts the lovely niece of the senior aide-de-camp of King Umberto I of Italy, also achieved a new record for the most expensive Luna portrait sold at auction, hitting PHP 31,241,600. Aside from its enchanting subject matter, the work’s magnificent result comes from the fact that it was painted in 1884, the same year Luna produced Philippine art’s most iconic and recognizable work, the Spoliarium.
Filipino contemporary art shined brightly with the new world records set by Jason Cortez and Arce. Cortez’s enigmatic and evocative The Graces (sold for PHP 2,283,040) and Arce’s dynamically spiritual Surrender All Unto Him and Everything Will Bloom According to Thy Will (sold for PHP 1,922,560) both set new benchmark prices for the contemporary stars. Jose John Santos III’s monumental Hide and Seek, showcased at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2014, garnered PHP 3,124,160.
The rare manuscript copy of the 1898 Declaration of Independence, hand-copied by Lt. Col. Jose Bañuelo, one of President Emilio Aguinaldo’s closest confidantes and himself a signatory of the official declaration, secured the record for the most expensive Philippine historical document sold at auction, coming in at PHP 11,415,200. The landmark sale of this highly essential document, christened “The Birth Certificate of the Filipino Nation,” broke the record previously set by the “Extremely Rare and Historically Important Letter from Andres Bonifacio to Emilio Jacinto” dated 24 April 1897, which was sold for PHP 5.6 million in Leon Gallery’s The Asian Cultural Council Auction 2018.
Significant documents extensively detailing the rich history of Pasig also became auction highlights, with two separate lots of documents selling for PHP 3,845,120 and PHP 1,201,600, respectively.
Leon Gallery partakes in the birth centennial of one of the Philippines’ most revered modernists, Fernando Zobel, with the impressive sale of La Terazza III. The work, which captures Zobel’s enduring love for his hometown of Cuenca in Spain and painted by the artist during his peak years of the Serie Blanca period (late 1970s), yielded PHP 20,427,200.
The Manansala collection of Priscilla L. Chiongbian, Sarangani’s first governor and one of the Cubist maestro’s closest and loving friends, attained outstanding results, with Women Playing Guitar and Still Life, both painted by Manansala during his vacations with Priscilla to her Beverly Hills mansion, secured PHP 15,620,800 and PHP 14,419,200, respectively. Meanwhile, Candle Vendor, the poignant “Manansala” of the Father of Philippine Healthcare, Dr. Roberto K. Macasaet, amassed PHP 15,620,800.
Other auction highlights include Leo Valledor’s Movement (PHP 4,566,080) and a 1960s Arturo Luz titled Celebration (PHP 9,012,000) from the earlier phases of his prolific artistic career.
Leon Gallery’s The Magnificent September Auction 2024 took place on Sept. 14, 2024, Saturday at 2 p.m.