NEW YORK, NY.- On 24 November 2014 Sotheby’s New York will present the most important collection of Latin American Art ever to appear at auction with A Vision Of Grandeur: Masterworks From The Collection Of Lorenzo H. Zambrano. The prestigious single-owner evening sale will offer outstanding works by many of the most famous names in 20th Century Mexican art, including Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, and Leonora Carrington. The collection was assembled by Lorenzo H. Zambrano, a leading businessman, visionary collector, and generous patron of the arts who meticulously put the group together over several decades. Reflecting the significance of the works being offered, the sale is expected to fetch $30/40 million, by far the highest estimate ever placed on a Latin American Art auction. Highlights will be exhibited in Mexico City, Los Angeles, Miami and New York in the lead up to the sale.

Axel Stein, Head of Latin American Art at Sotheby’s commented: “The extraordinary nature of the works in The Zambrano Collection is matched only by the man who assembled it. With a vision that ranged from monumental canvases by the mid-century giants such as Rivera and Toldeo, to surrealist masterpieces by the likes of Carrington and Varo, and perhaps the most important group of Latin American self-portraits in private hands. Lorenzo Zambrano embraced nothing less than the grand sweep of Latin American artistic expression.”

Lorenzo Zambrano was one of Mexico’s leading businessmen. As Chief Executive of Cemex since 1985 he led a series of expansions and acquisitions across the globe to create the biggest cement maker in the Americas. Famously, Mr. Zambrano applied the same methodical and diligent approach he used in business to his collecting. Known as a connoisseur across many fields, as an art collector Mr. Zambrano primarily focused on acquiring the very best works by the mid-century Mexican masters but also encompassed self-portraiture and outstanding paintings by other Latin American artists.

Highlights

The Zambrano collection is led by Diego Rivera’s Río Juchitán - the first ever mural by the artist to appear at auction (estimate on request). The vast scene is spread over four panels and immerses the viewer in the bucolic glory of the Mexican countryside. Dating from circa 1955 Río Juchitán draws heavily on the work of Paul Gauguin and is one of the last late masterpieces of Rivera’s career outside of a museum. Throughout the 1950s Rivera painted many brilliant society portraits, but works such as Río Juchitán show he stayed connected to his roots in working class Mexican society.

Rufino Tamayo’s Still Life was painted in 1939 and is one the largest works from that decade by the artist (est. $3/4 million). The table is laden with the bounty of Mexico - fish, coffee, tequila, grapes, and of course, watermelon, the red, white and green of which defines so many of Tamayo’s paintings. The artist used a toned down background to help accentuate the richness of the offering.

The Temptations of St. Anthony is one of the most important paintings by Leonora Carrington ever to appear art auction (est. $1.8/2.2 million). It was part of a major competition of surrealist works which was won by her former lover Max Ernst. A further important surrealist work is Hacia la Torre, an unusually large painting from 1961 by Remedios Varo (est. $2.5/3.5 million)

Francisco Toledo is the most important living artist in Mexico. His work Sin título from 1966 features a large cat as the focal point of a mysterious scene. This painting, which was first sold in the early 90s is a classic example of Toledo’s monumental works, the cat can be found in many paintings by the artist representing the Toldeo himself making Sin título a sophisticated form of self- portraiture.

SELF PORTRAITS

The Lorenzo Zambrano Collection includes several of the most important self portraits in the history of Mexican and Latin American Art. This unique collection is led by the heroic José Clemente Orozco Autorretrato from 1938 which has been reproduced in every single art history book of Mexican and Latin American Art. Other Mexican self-portraits include María Izquierdo’s famous Autorretrato from 1940, David Alfaro Siqueiros self-portrait from 1939 (below right), and others by Dr. Atl, Tamayo, and Montenegro. The highlight of the paintings from elsewhere in Latin America in this section of the sale include the joyful self-portrait of Armando Reveron, a mysterious Amelia Pelaez, and the magnificent 1938 self portrait by Wifredo Lam.