• Press release
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  • New York
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  • For immediate release
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  • 11 March 2022

Christie's Latin American Art totals $27,741,240

DIEGO RIVERA’S REDISCOVERED MASTERPIECE ACQUIRED BY MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON

8 NEW AUCTION RECORDS, INCLUDING FERNANDO BOTERO AND TOMÁS SÁNCHEZ

FERNANDO BOTERO (B. 1932)
Man on a Horse

bronze
137 x 90½ x 63 in.
Executed in 1999.
Price realized: $4,320,000
AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST 

New York – Christie’s live sale of Latin American Art totaled $27,741,240, with 82% sold by lot and 138% hammer above low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Fernando Botero’s monumental bronze sculpture Man on a Horse, which achieved $4,320,000 and set a new auction record for the artist.

Another notable highlight of the sale was Diego Rivera’s rediscovered masterpiece La bordadora, which realized $4,140,000 and has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Additional top lots of the sale include Tomás Sánchez’s Llegada del caminante a la laguna, which sold for $1,800,000 and achieved a new record for the artist, and Rufino Tamayo’s Personajes en la sombra, which achieved $882,000.

The auction also achieved strong results and auction records for a range of contemporary works, including: Antonio Bandeira’s rediscovered work, Untitled, which sold for $504,000; Beatriz González’s Vermeeriana I, which realized $138,600; and Roberto Fabelo’s triptych, Perrerío, which achieved $579,600.

Virgilio Garza, Head of Department, Latin American Art, Christie’s, commented: “The results show there is great demand for exceptional paintings, ranging from Fernando Botero’s sculpture to Eugenio Landesio’s 19th Century landscape and a rediscovered contemporary work by Antonio Bandeira, all achieving new auction records for the artists. We are especially pleased to share the acquisition of Diego Rivera’s masterpiece by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.”

ARTIST RECORDS

Fernando Botero, Man on a Horse, $4,320,000
Tomás Sánchez, Llegada del caminante a la laguna, $1,800,000
Eugenio Landesio, Paesaggio con Corzo d’Acqua (La Garita de la Viga), $819,000
Roberto Fabelo, Perrerío, $579,600
Pedro Coronel, Untitled (fruta, sandía y candelabro), $529,200
Antonio Bandeira, Untitled, $504,000
Beatriz González, Vermeeriana I, $138,600
Sarah Grilo, Mi Buenos Aires querido, $60,480

About Christie’s

Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).

Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019). 

Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.

Recent innovations at Christie’s include the groundbreaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats. 

Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.

Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps. The COVID-related re-opening status of our global locations is available here.