{"id":343805,"date":"2025-04-17T13:54:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/?p=343805"},"modified":"2025-04-17T13:54:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:54:49","slug":"collecting-focus-latin-american-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/collecting-focus-latin-american-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting Focus: Latin American Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Mexican modernism to Brazilian sculpture, this thrilling collecting category is rapidly growing in prominence\u2014and now is the perfect time to invest, writes Florence Hallett<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Frida Kahlo\u2019s 1949 painting \u201cDiego y yo\u201d, exhibited at Sotheby\u2019s prior to its record-breaking US$34.9 million sale. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

From the surrealist dreamworlds of Remedios Varo to the shifting colorscapes of Carlos Cruz-Diez\u2019s \u201cPhysichromies,\u201d Latin American art has something to suit every sensibility. It\u2019s this diversity of styles\u2014across painting, sculpture, prints and more\u2014that makes the category so exciting. Vibrant and still underexplored, Latin American art is the perfect hunting ground for collectors looking to complement and enhance an existing interior or anchor a new one.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re someone who collects geometric abstraction, then maybe you have a Josef Albers or a Victor Vasarely, but what you might not have is a Jes\u00fas Rafael Soto,\u201d says Emily Nice, assistant vice president and specialist in Latin American art at Sotheby\u2019s. \u201cHe\u2019s working around the same period, exploring related ideas about optics and the relationship of the spectator to the artwork, but the price point is more accessible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s is the market leader in Latin American art, for which it recorded unprecedented demand in 2024, when surrealist Leonora Carrington\u2019s 1945 masterpiece \u201cLes Distractions de Dagobert\u201d made an astonishing US$28.5 million at auction. This was both a record for a British-born woman artist and good news for collectors of Latin American art: Carrington (1917-2011) moved to Mexico in her 20s, where she lived for long periods. While her works are now inevitably less accessible, the buzz around Carrington brings other figures to the fore, just as Sotheby\u2019s <\/span>May New York sales<\/span><\/a> approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cLes Distractions de Dagobert\u201d (1945) by Leonora Carrington went under the hammer in 2024. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A prime example is Bridget Bate Tichenor (1917-1990), another British artist who went to Mexico to reinvent herself as a surrealist painter. \u201cShe studied Hieronymus Bosch\u2019s techniques and made these really beautiful jewel-like paintings,\u201d says Nice. \u201cThey\u2019re relatively rare but they do come up at auction, and the price point is a fraction of a Carrington but for a very similarly inventive and fascinating artist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The availability of extraordinarily high-quality works, including by such sought-after names as Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and the Colombian Fernando Botero, who only died in 2023, is a legacy of past neglect by institutions focused on European and North American art. What was once a specialist niche now attracts collectors from all over the world, whose tastes are less constrained by geographical regions and more holistic\u2014their interests in artistic influence and practice leading them to seek out works that speak to the pieces they already own.\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a>Diego Rivera\u2019s \u201c<\/span>Aguadoras otom\u00edes\u201d <\/span>(1955) will be auctioned at Sotheby\u2019s New York, Modern Day Auction, May 2025. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shift reflected and fuelled by the academic and museum worlds. In London, the Royal Academy\u2019s 2025 exhibition \u201c<\/span>Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism<\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/i> and Whitechapel Gallery\u2019s <\/span>2024 retrospective<\/span><\/a> of Brazilian Lygia Clark (1920-1988) follow recent U.S. surveys of Mexican modernism as evidence of Latin American art\u2019s growing prominence in the global lexicon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exhibitions like these are perfect entry points for newer collectors, according to Nice. \u201cEducating your eye and learning about what you\u2019re seeing is so important to being able to recognize opportunities when they come up,\u201d she says. Certainly, the May sales cater to the current interest in Brazilian art and the ongoing appetite for Mexican modernism, which hit a high in 2021 when Sotheby\u2019s sold Frida Kahlo\u2019s 1949 work \u201cDiego y yo\u201d for US$34.9 million, making it the most expensive work by a Latin American artist ever sold at auction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lygia Clark\u2019s sculpture, Bicho Desfolhado (1960) will be auctioned at Sotheby\u2019s New York, Contemporary Day Auction, May 2025. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Amazingly, there are still trophies to be had, including major oil paintings by Diego Rivera and another Mexican great, Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991). Meanwhile, <\/span>a beautiful <\/span>bicho <\/span><\/i>sculpture<\/span> by Lygia Clark and<\/span> a stunning large-scale relief<\/span> by fellow Brazilian Sergio Camargo (1930-1990) are joined by a true rarity\u2014a landmark history painting by Colombian modernist Alipio Jaramillo (1913-1999). It\u2019s a real spread, with the promise of some hidden gems nestling among the showstoppers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find out more about <\/span><\/i>Sotheby\u2019s New York sales here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/a> Our Collecting Focus series also features expert advice on <\/span><\/i>Americana<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>modern and contemporary prints<\/span><\/i><\/a> and <\/span><\/i>historic books<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Mexican modernism to Brazilian sculpture, this thrilling collecting category is rapidly growing in prominence\u2014and now is the perfect time to invest, writes Florence Hallett Frida Kahlo\u2019s 1949 painting \u201cDiego y yo\u201d, exhibited at Sotheby\u2019s prior to its record-breaking US$34.9 million sale. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s From the surrealist dreamworlds of Remedios Varo to the shifting colorscapes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770370,"featured_media":343806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1393],"tags":[1487],"class_list":["post-343805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture","tag-sothebys"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/header-3.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1rrf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":395,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/collecting-focus-americana\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":0},"title":"Collecting Focus: Americana","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"January 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. folk art and furniture bring history, craft and comfort to the home interior. A Sotheby\u2019s auction highlights rare finds, writes Melissa Feldman Celebrated designer Ken Fulk guest-curates the pre-sale installation of \u201cVisions of America\u201d at Sotheby\u2019s New York. Photo: Pascal Perich, courtesy of Sotheby\u2019s After introducing the inaugural \u201cVisions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Art and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/art-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/header-4.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":344432,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/collecting-focus-contemporary-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":1},"title":"Collecting Focus: Contemporary Art","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"August 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Sotheby\u2019s New York is inviting first-time buyers to explore art at auction with its upcoming Open House, writes Katie Armstrong David Hockney\u2019s \u201cTerrace Hollywood Hills House with Banana Tree,\u201d 1982 at the Contemporary Day Auction on 16 May 2025 at Sotheby\u2019s New York. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s Buying contemporary art and collectables\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Art and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/art-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Header-2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":387,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/significant-sales-2024-highlights\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":2},"title":"Significant Sales: 2024 Highlights","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"January 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From a US$74.25M sale in Palm Beach Florida, to a \u00a315.5M sale in London, England, here are ten of the top sales represented by the Sotheby\u2019s International Realty global network in 2024. Palm Beach, Florida Todd Peter, Frances Peter | Sotheby's International Realty \u2013 Palm Beach Brokerage, US$74.25M View Properties\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Market Insights"","block_context":{"text":"Market Insights","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/market-insights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Bahamas1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":411,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/sothebys-international-realty-expands-in-tennessee\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":3},"title":"Sotheby’s International Realty Expands in Tennessee","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"February 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Sotheby's International Realty has announced that Realty Center of\u00a0Chattanooga\u00a0in\u00a0Tennessee\u00a0has joined the network and its two offices will now operate as Horizon Sotheby's International Realty. This addition signifies the brand's continued growth in\u00a0Tennessee\u00a0with six offices in the state. Horizon Sotheby's International Realty, headquartered in\u00a0Chattanooga, will serve communities spanning from\u00a0Athens, Tennessee, to\u00a0Dalton,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Brand News"","block_context":{"text":"Brand News","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/brand-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chatanooga.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":346456,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/collecting-focus-fine-art-photography\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":4},"title":"Collecting Focus: Fine Art Photography","author":"Natalie Davis","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"One couple\u2019s remarkable private collection perfectly captures the transportive power of photography, writes Katie Armstrong A 2024 exhibition of photography at Sotheby\u2019s New York. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s The world\u2019s oldest surviving photograph,\u00a0\u201cView from the Window at Le Gras,\u201d was taken by Joseph Nic\u00e9phore Ni\u00e9pce in the mid-1820s. The subject was simple:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Art and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/art-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"an exhibition of fine art photography at Sotheby's New York","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Photographs-Exhibition-Sothebys-New-York-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":430,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/sothebys-international-realty-expands-into-the-philippines\/","url_meta":{"origin":343805,"position":5},"title":"Sotheby’s International Realty Expands into the Philippines","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"March 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Sotheby's International Realty today announced the opening of Philippines Sotheby's International Realty, marking its 18th\u00a0office in\u00a0Asia. The company is headquartered in the financial and commercial hub of\u00a0Makati. Leading Philippines\u00a0Sotheby's International Realty is\u00a0Catherine Ocariz-Florencio, a seasoned real estate professional with over 15 years of industry experience. As the 2019 president of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Brand News"","block_context":{"text":"Brand News","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/brand-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eibner-saliba-3T9dDY0WqDI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/232770370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}