Latin America arouses interest from art collectors

The auctions of Latin American art that recently took place in the city of New York have shown a growing interest in Latin American artists from international collectors. According to Christie’s auction house , collectors are interested in buying Latin American art pieces from different periods.

This interest became manifest when “Los Rivales” (The Rivals) , by Mexican painter Diego Rivera , broke a record when it was sold for 9.7 million dollars , the most anyone has ever paid in an auction for a Latin American work of art.

Diego Rivera breaks record for painting sold at auction

Furthermore, eight more artists broke their own records earlier this week at other auctions in New York. The most expensive painting sold this week was “Los comediantes ” (The Comedians), by another Mexican painter, Rufino Tamayo , for 572,500 dollars.

Both auction sessions gathered a total of 19.4 million dollars and an 85% of the pieces were sold above their minimum benchmark . Bidders from 36 countries in America, Asia, and Europe participated at the auction, according to Christie’s.

“The results of this season have accentuated the worldwide trend of Latin American art,” stated Virgilio Garza , head of the Latin American Art department at Christie’s.

In a press release, Garaz pointed out that, in addition to the auctions, Christie’s has also promoted Latin American art through the sale of independent collections, as in the case of “ Los rivales ,” which was part of the Rockefeller Collection.

Similarly, the painting “Naranjas” (Oranges) , by Colombian painter Fernando Botero , was sold for 1.87 million dollars , which was seven times higher than its minimum benchmark, setting a record for the artist’s still-life paintings.

Some other artists that broke personal records during the auctions were Agustín Cárdenas, from Cuba, Roberto Fabelo, Los Carpinteros (The Carpenters), as well as Augusto Torres, from Uruguay, Puerto Rican Olga Albizu, and Peruvian Juan Francisco de Rosa.

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