Lot 11, Matta, Endless Nudes, painted circa 1941-1942. Est. $2/3 million, sold for $2,490,500. Sotheby's New York, Latin American Art, 18 and 19 November, 2009.
Sotheby's Latin American Art Auction held in New York City last evening, raised some of the highest bids for Latin American Art in the past decade–a total amount of $16,883,750.
The top-seller of the evening was Endless Nudes by Roberto Matta, which sold for $2,490,500.
Among some of the auction’s highlights were Brazilian artists Sergio Camargo, whose piece Relief originally estimated at $350,000 was sold for $1.594.500 and Cildo Meirele’s Jogo de Velha sold for $170,500 when estimated at $60,000.
Raquel Arnaud, who has represented Camargo since 1972, was not surprised to see Relief hit such a high mark. According to her, the piece is a rare one and easy to appeal to international collectors, as it was created by the artist while he lived in Paris.
Said Arnaud, the piece Relief was last sold to Italy and given certification by her in 2006.
Maria Bonta de la Pezuela, Vice President and Senior Specialist in Latin American Art at Sotheby's attributed the success of the sales during today’s soft market to the use of conservative prices and high quality art. “The way we got to this [$16,883,750 mark] was by taking property that we think will be accepted well and serving conservative estimates,” she said.
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Fernanda Silva developed an affinity for Brazilian Contemporary art after spending a portion of her childhood at the house of well-known Brazilian art collector Joao Sattamini. Ms. Silva holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and an associate of arts degree in film history and production from the Universidade Estacio de Sa in Rio de Janeiro. She is the founder of Otima PR, a special event production, public relations and marketing company focused on nonprofit organizations and luxury and international brands.
Lot 5, Sergio Camargo, Relief, 1964. Est. $350/450,000, sold for $1,594,500. Sotheby's New York, Latin American Art, 18 and 19 November, 2009.
