A portrait of a young Fernando Amorsolo from the early 1900s (left); the Spanish soldier and artist Jose Taviel de Andrade.
While auctions can be thrilling, few are as emotionally charged and electrifying as the one that unfolded on September 12. That day, Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist Richie Lerma took his place at the podium, unaware of how the sale would unfold. What he did know was the extraordinary historical significance of six lots in particular — and the stories they carried with them.
Coming amid the controversy surrounding the proposed lifting of the Important Cultural Property (ICP) classification of National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s 1946 masterpiece "Kalantiao at Lubluban," the six lots offered a striking reminder of the cultural value such works can hold. All six are, in fact, important cultural properties: four paintings by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, and two rare works by Spanish soldier and artist José Taviel de Andrade.
The Amorsolos all date from the artist’s celebrated Golden Period. The two Taviel de Andrade paintings are rarer still: extraordinary depictions of a fort and the Alfonso VIII Bridge in Marawi as they appeared in 1896. Beyond their artistic merit, they are visual records of a Mindanao that has since been transformed — works that preserve, in paint, colonial military landmarks erected at the very moment the Philippine Revolution began to reshape the country.
Jose Taviel de Andrade’s 1896 landscape paintings of a fort (left) and the Alfonso XIII bridge, in Marawi.
Add to this the fact that these remarkable works had, in a sense, completed a journey home that began many decades earlier. Amorsolo’s paintings had remained for generations with two families in Idaho and Virginia in the United States. After more than a century, Taviel de Andrade’s landscapes made their way back from a private collection in Madrid, Spain. Significantly, they had descended from the collection of no less than the Spanish Governor General Ramon Blanco, who was eventually recalled due to his perceived sympathies for the cause of reform-minded Filipinos.
In a serendipitous turn, the stories behind almost all the works intersect with men who played roles in some of the great battles that defined Philippine history. The story begins with Taviel de Andrade, the young Spanish officer and artist who served as José Rizal’s personal escort. Years later, Taviel de Andrade joined a Spanish pacification campaign in Marawi. It was there that he painted the landscapes listed for auction.
National Artist Fernando Amorsolo’s pre-war works: The Fruit Vendor from 1939 (left) and Under the Mango Tree, from 1937.
Today, only remnants of the landmark, since renamed Pantar Bridge and replaced by modern structures, remain. Its earlier life as a symbol of colonial military power, however, survives in Taviel de Andrade’s paintings.
The Amorsolo paintings tell a different story. Completed in the decades immediately before and after the Second World War, "The Fruit Vendor" and "Under the Mango Tree," from 1939 and 1937 respectively, evoke the innocence, abundance and optimism of the pre-war Philippines. Then came the devastation of war. In its aftermath, Amorsolo returned to the idyllic subjects for which he was celebrated, painting "Planting Rice" in 1945 and "Tinikling Dance" in 1947 — images of rural life, movement and renewal at a time when the country itself was rebuilding.
Amorsolo’s post-war paintings, Tinikling Dance from 1947 (left), and Planting Rice, from 1945.
Bringing these works home required battles of another kind.
Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist Richie Lerma had to make a case of his own to secure Amorsolo’s coveted paintings. For "Tinikling Dance" and "Planting Rice," he had to convince the heirs of Dr. Darrell O. Overpeck, an American military surgeon who served in the Pacific and the Philippines during the Second World War, through a gallery in Virginia that they had originally entrusted the works to. Overpeck had acquired the works from Amorsolo after treating the artist’s wife.
The Amorsolos from the 1930s presented another challenge, with a major international auction house also vying for the works. “That was a challenging pitch because the heirs of the original owner, Margaret Drake from Portland, Oregon, were, from what we’ve been told, offered higher reserves,” Lerma recalls. “But then, fortuitously I managed to convince them to entrust the works to Salcedo as this was an excellent opportunity to bring important pieces from Amorsolo’s body of work back to the Philippines.”
On the day of the sale, another kind of battle unfolded — this time among collectors determined to acquire works whose significance extended far beyond their market value. Among them was one gentleman known for his deep knowledge and appreciation of Philippine art and antiques, who arrived with one particular work in his sights: Amorsolo’s "Tinikling Dance."
“It’s the earliest tinikling painting of that size, because most of them are from the '50s or '60s,” he said, explaining the artwork’s appeal and import. “And the condition is very good, because I checked it with a black light. Visually, it’s multi-figural … maganda ang composition.”
He fought a good fight, paddling down the challenges from both local and international bidders that came in the way of his intended acquisition. The sale finally closed at a final price of ₱38,544,000 — more than four times its presale estimate.
The result was emblematic of a remarkable September 12 sale, but the homecoming of these paintings carried a significance of its own.
Lerma adds: “I am very honored to have persuaded the owners of these works to bring them back to the Philippines. At the same time, we come across many important works of art and antiques, but we are also very careful about what we accept. As an industry pioneer, we are guided by ethical practice and will turn away consignments especially if there are questions about ownership. While we are a business, protecting our national cultural patrimony and ensuring that sellers have the legal right to sell are responsibilities that take precedence over commercial interests.”
The enthusiastic response to the six returning works is without a doubt, a high moment for the auction house and the collecting community. Their journey had come full circle, and perhaps ended where it had begun. It was a triumphant homecoming, and, in its own way, a victory lap for Philippine culture.