Annie Cabigting sets a personal auction record with “‘An Afternoon With Rothko,” which sold for ₱22 million.
Annie Cabigting’s celebrated painting An Afternoon With Rothko recently made history at Salcedo Auctions’ The Well-Appointed Life sale, achieving a personal record-breaking ₱22,192,000 and setting a new auction benchmark for the artist.
Held on September 27, the auction drew Manila’s top collectors, art collectors, and cultural tastemakers to an afternoon that blended spirited bidding and celebration. The live auction capped a highly successful online session earlier that day—clear evidence of the market’s growing confidence in Filipino art across generations.
“We are deeply honored to have been entrusted with this luminous piece,” said Ramon “Richie” Lerma, Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist. “Annie’s works are exceptionally rare and coveted, and this remarkable result reflects the deep respect and enthusiasm she commands among discerning collectors. It has been thrilling for our team to witness this success.”
With this landmark sale, Cabigting joins an elite circle of contemporary Filipino artists whose works continue to break records and expand the global conversation on Philippine art. (The POST reached out to Ms. Cabigting but she declined to comment.)
The auction marked a milestone moment for contemporary Filipino women artists, reaffirming Cabigting’s stature among the country’s most significant painters.
A painting from Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s early 1940s impressionist work also sold for ₱5,606,400, or 1,700% more than its low estimate. Fernando Amorsolo’s 1939 masterpiece Rice Harvest—Cooking the Noonday Meal sold for ₱9,344,000, reaffirming the National Artist’s enduring appeal as a cornerstone of Filipino art collecting.
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As the Philippines’ first National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo shaped a visual language that seamlessly fused technical mastery with cultural soul, transforming the simplicity of everyday life into radiant scenes of light, warmth, and grace. His body of work—ranging from historical tableaux to idyllic rural vignettes and jubilant portrayals of community—embodies both his rigorous academic foundation and his deep, lifelong devotion to the spirit of the Filipino people.
Fellow modernist BenCab achieved equally impressive results, with his 2000 masterpiece Sabel fetching ₱8,760,000 and his 1991 work Mother and Child realizing ₱2,336,000, underscoring his enduring appeal and the continued confidence of collectors in his artistic legacy.
National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera stands as one of the Philippines’ most celebrated and influential contemporary artists, renowned for his expressive fusion of social realism and modernist abstraction. Over a career spanning more than five decades, BenCab has chronicled the Filipino experience through powerful imagery—his iconic Sabel series, in particular, capture both the fragility and resilience of the human spirit. Rooted in empathy and identity, his works traverse painting, printmaking, and sculpture, blending technical mastery with emotional depth. Today, BenCab’s art continues to inspire generations, embodying a vision of Filipino life that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Salcedo Auctions listed highlights of the event in its Facebook page: Mauro Malang Santos’ Vendors (2007) sold for ₱8,760,000; Mother and Child for ₱2,336,000; Sleeping Woman (1998) for ₱1,109,600. Lao Lianben’s Inner Voice (1984) went for ₱5,256,000; Pacita Abad’s Pandu Dewanata III for ₱5,256,000; H.R. Ocampo’s Revelation-P, (1978) for ₱4,088,000; Fernando Zóbel’s Acento Grave (1964) for ₱4,088,000; and José Joya’s Black Magic (1983) for ₱2,803,200.
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