The awaited auction for art aficionados
National Artist Vicente Manansala’s favorite masterpiece, ‘From the Market; (1975).
Leon Gallery’s Derek Flores and Juan Ponce de Leon and the columnist.
Artist Ramon Orlina and Roberto ‘Bobby’ Alvarez.
Antonio Ressano and Geoff De Boissieu.
Sylvia Lichauco and Bing Carrion.
Bonnie Tan and Sheila Romero.
Kifu and Artist Patrick Courd.
Jorge Mojarro, Lizza Nakpil and Pam Bigornia.
Robbie and Jia Estrella.
Mia Borromeo, Marivic Rufino and Marilou Batchelor.
Don Gaspar Vidal and Doña Georgina Padilla Zobel.
León Gallery opened its doors recently to one of its annual highlights, The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction 2025. This marks their 15th year of successfully curating and celebrating Filipino art! Not missing an opportunity to see these pieces up close, I excitedly joined the preview cocktails event with a room full of art aficionados and dear friends.
This year’s works include some of the stunning and sought-after pieces by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Fernando Amorsolo, and a rare set of Retana’s Archivo del Bibliófilo Filipino, among others. I was also drawn to the cubist works of National Artist Vicente Manansala, specifically From the Market (1975), which was his iconic self-portrait with his wife Hilda Diaz. He was a master of his craft, indeed. This gorgeous piece sold for over P36 million, I believe! Every piece was precious, all worth thousands to millions of pesos — a testament to our culture’s craft excellence.
I look forward to the next curation of pieces. As always, a splendid job to the team behind León Gallery for keeping these pieces in pristine condition and preserving our artists’ legacy. Cheers!
