Auction to feature works by Tampinco, Zobel

Masterpieces by revered Filipino artists will go under the hammer at Casa de Memoria’s third major auction this year on September 26. 

Dubbed Tercero, the sale, happening online at 2:00 p.m. will feature over 200 European and Filipino pieces including a pair of 20th century fine prints by Spanish-Filipino artist and philanthropist Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo. 

Titled “La Piedra del Caballo” and “Fragmento del Altar Mayor de la Catedral de Santiago,” the pair of numbered facsimiles traces its provenance back to the sold souvenirs from the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca, Spain. 

“La Piedra del Caballo” is a fine print based on the 1975 original watercolor and ink on paper work in Zóbel’s sketchbook, while “Fragmento del Altar Mayor de la Catedral de Santiago” is his abstract rendition of a section of the Altar Mayor with the pulpit of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. 

Starting bid for the Zobel prints (lot 194) is P30,000.

A sculpture by the Father of Philippine Art Nouveau, Isabelo Tampinco is also a much-awaited piece to be auctioned off. A gladiator soldier in plaster cast, the sculpture bears a comparable likeness to his work at the National Museum of the Philippines, especially in terms of size and subject. 

It is up for sale with a starting bid of P90,000.

Other specially curated lots to be sold at Tercero include the 20th century Spanish lithograph titled “The Creation of Eve” by renowned surrealist artist Salvador Dali whose price starts at P60,000. 

Part of the auction proceeds will be donated to the Santa Ana Hospital in Manila for the construction and maintenance of an enhanced quarantine facility for medical frontliners and COVID-19 patients.