104

- BYTHENUMBERS

BASI Top Artiss? 

This month, Art+Auction turns its atten-
tion to the markets for Latin American
artists??which saw particularly strong
sales in 2015?and Old Masters and
19th-century artists. Our analysis

is based on total 2015 auction earnings
gathered in the nearly six-million-
record Blouin Art Sales Index (BASI).

  

LATIN AMERICAN ARTISTS

This category performed well in 2015,
with the top houses emphasizing that
they saw unprecedented international
buying in this department. Colombian

artist Fernando Botero. a market favorite for his instantly
recognizable works, tops the list, grossing over $15 million at
auction. Both Wifredo Lam and Joaquin Torres-Garcia saw

a sharp rise in their markets in 2015, with an 86 percent

and 70 percent increase in revenue respectively. Cuban-born
artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres had a landmark year: his

Untitled (LA), 1991,1?etched million at IEhristie?s New York,
setting a worldwide auction record 68 percent above the
previous record, set in 2010. Ciaudio Bravo's work Red'P-aper.
2005, almost doubled the high estimate of $700,000 and
sold for $1,385,000, just short of the auction record price for
the artist, which was set for a similar work in 2014. The only

woman who makes the cut. Remedios
Varo, who produced Surrealist works

first in Spain and then Mexico after
World War ll, notched her second

highest priced work at auction when
Vampires vegetarianos, 1962, sold well

above its high estimate last year.

ARTIST

FERNANDO BOTERO
cowl-Isms, 1932

RUFENOTAMAYO

HEXICRN. 1699-1991

WIFREDO LAM

CUBAN. 1902-1982

FEHX GONZALEZ-TORRES

CUBANMM ERICA 

ROBERTO MATTA


JOAQUINTORRES-GARUA



JESUS RAFAEL SOTO

1923-305

CLAUDIO BRAVO



DIEGO RIVERA

MEMCMA 1835-195?

REMEDIOSVARO



2015 

At Christie?s New

Yo rlt, Joaquin To rres:
Garcia's Composition
Nord-ArtC?onstructif.
1931, brought in
$2,105,000 against a
high
estimate last fall.

2015 SALES
(BU Y-INS)

$15,495,625 76137}

511394.542 17311251
511.523.1552 32 (as)

53.041225

$7,616,693 1441183}

56361072 28 {14)

$5,138,265 110 (35)
$4,175,899
$3,589,389 32 

$3,539.09?

2014 TURNOVER



$14,433,065

$5,184,074

$6,308,918



$5,830,863

$391,625

53.830.493

$4,356,211

2014 SALES


EB (29}

185(29)

as {58}

120(92}

19 (14)

125(241

101.10)

4'2015 RECORD: TITLE, YEAR

La hamster
zoos

La 
1981?

Presages
1941'

Untitied 11.4.)
1991

La rencontre du Vitreor a we
to forget me la iumi'ere {en
hallucination premiere}, 1945

Composition Nord-
ArtConstructif, 193:1

Salon De Mai
191's

Red Paper
rues

i. a vanderas con zopiio tes

":23

Vampires vegetarianos
1952

2015 RECORD: AUCTION
HOUSE DATE PRICE

Christie?s New York
5/230?15 - $345,000

Sotheby's New York
$1010.00!)

Phillips NewI York- I I - 

5! 2611-5 $2,629,000

Christie's New York
1010/15 - 57.669.000

Christie'sNew York
EIETHE - $941,000

Christie's New York
111320115 $2,105,000

Sotheby's New York
SIEGHS 5880.000

Christie?s New York
5.1215115 - $1,385,000

Christie's New York
51?271'15 - $1,049.000

Christie?s New York
Biff/15 53,301,000

SEPTEMBER 2015 I 

ML-..