Nena Saguil Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Nena Saguil Art Value Price Guide

Feb. 22, 2025
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Peinture Bleu Cil
Est: ₱1,600,000 - ₱2,080,000
Property from the Ricco and Tina Ocampo collection Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Peinture Bleu Cil signed and dated 1965 (lower right) oil and mixed media on board 23 1/4" x 27 1/4" (59 cm x 69 cm) Provenance: Sotheby's, South East Asian Paintings, Singapore, 10 October 2004, Lot 97. Power Couple Ricco and Tina Ocampo The Nineties’ power couple that started it all in Philippine fashion, Ricco and Tina Ocampo figured in the success of “Sari-Sari”, founded with the Ocampo cousins, and went on to open stores such as “Mix”, “The Black Shop” and “Anonymous”, bringing cutting-edge foreign trends to Manila. There was also “Dalagita” and “Pambahay.” Tina was the most famous faces of the period doing campaigns with top photographers such as Neal Oshima and Jun de Leon. Press reports would say, “Because Ricco and Tina are also foodies, they also ventured into the food business as well with establishments like Kai, the modern Japanese restaurant in Greenbelt; Cerveseria, a vibrant Spanish restaurant in BGC known for its authentic flavors and lively atmosphere; Mangan, which serves beloved Kapampangan dishes; and Isogi, a quick-service Japanese eatery at San Antonio Plaza for on-the-go diners.” In the millennium, the irrepressible duo would jump feet first into fashion and accessory design, members-only private clubs, and property development. Through it all, they would collect art to decorate their homes as well as those of their many friends and clients. In his book Nena Saguil: Landscapes and Inscapes from the Material World to the Spiritual, critic Emmanuel Torres categorized Nena Saguil’s art into five distinctive periods. This work, done in 1965, belongs to her Lyrical Abstraction period, also defined as her blue and green period. Spanning from the 1960s to the early 1980s, Saguil’s Lyrical Abstraction period embodies a sort of musicality emblematic of the period. Done in various shades of blues and greens, the works categorized in this era carry a sense of melancholy to them, as evidenced by this 1965 piece. In this work, Saguil employs various overlapping ovals in the piece, highly reminiscent of the bubbles rising from the ocean. Despite the abstraction with which she will become known, Saguil's works draw heavy inspiration from nature. If one looks deeply, visages of nature can be gleaned from her lines and curves; mountains, valleys, whirlpools, and – in the case of this work – oceans find their way onto her canvases. This piece, in particular, adds a human touch to the work – these bubbles could only be done by humans as they playfully jostle each other underwater. Considered the first Filipina abstractionist by some, Saguil’s works deftly incorporate the physical worlds in her abstract landscapes. It speaks of her dexterity, then, that even through abstractions, her figurative inspirations shine through without diminishing the style she uses. (Hannah Valiente)
Leon Gallery
Feb. 22, 2025
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Night II
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Property from the Ambassador Rosario Manalo collection Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Night II signed, dated 1962 and inscribed "Paris" (lower left) watercolor and Chinese ink on paper 39 1/4" x 27 3/4" (100 cm x 70 cm) Provenance: A gift from the artist to Amb. Rosario Manalo Literature: Torres, Emmanuel. Nena Saguil - Landscapes and Inscapes: From the Material World to the Spiritual. Full-color illustration on page 89 and painting description on page 88. Writer and critic Emmanuel Torres in his book Nena Saguil: Landscapes and Inscapes from the Material World to the Spiritual categorized Saguil’s art into five distinct periods. This work at hand, which was done in 1962 and created in Paris, belongs to her second-to-the-last period, the Lyrical Abstraction period which lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The 1960s to the 1970s of her works are her blue and green periods, and though it was noticeably not present in this piece, the qualities that made her Lyrical Abstraction period stand out are. In multiple swirls of varying shades of black and gray, Saguil expressed various states of feelings. As the title of the period suggests, there is something lyrical and emotional in her works during this period – this piece, with its dark color palette and staccato swirls, portrays a creeping source of dread overtaking logic and happiness as this smoke-like swirls cover the only spots of color. “One of a handful of Filipino artists to delve into abstraction in the 1950s, Nena Saguil was the only woman to feature in an unprecedented exhibition of non-objective art organised by the Philippines’ first art critic, Aurelio Alvero, in 1953,” Archives of Women Artists, Research & Exhibitions praised her in their website. Indeed, Nena Saguil, like another Filipina abstractionist Rosario Bitanga, opened a new door not just within their art circles but in Philippine art history as a whole, paving the way for many other women artists to take up space in what previously was a male-dominated field.
Leon Gallery
Feb. 22, 2025
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Night I
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Property from the Ambassador Rosario Manalo collection Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Night I signed, dated 1962 and inscribed "Paris" (lower left) watercolor and Chinese ink on paper 39 1/4" x 27 3/4" (100 cm x 70 cm) Provenance: A gift from the artist to Amb. Rosario Manalo Literature: Torres, Emmanuel. Nena Saguil - Landscapes and Inscapes: From the Material World to the Spiritual. Full-color illustration on page 89 and painting description on page 88. The Virtuoso Diplomat: Amb. Rosario Gonzalez Manalo Personal Life In 1959, at the very young age of 24 and still a fresh graduate from her University courses, with no work experience, Rosario Gonzalez became the first Filipina to pass the competitive foreign service examinations for Filipino career diplomats given by the Department of Foreign Affairs. In 1958, she had successfully hurdled the bar examinations of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, landing among the first twenty topnotchers. Her undergraduate degrees obtained from the University of the Philippines were: bachelor of science in foreign service, bachelor of science in jurisprudence and bachelor of laws. While still unable to assume her post in the Department of Foreign Affairs because she had not reached the mandatory age of 25, the then-Ms. Gonzalez pursued the degree of Master of Arts in Public administration and governance in the same University, while commencing her law practice in her father’s law firm. Eventually, Ms. Gonzalez met Dr. Edward W. Mill, then the Dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy of Long Island University (Zeckendorf Campus), Brooklyn, New York who offered her a full scholarship for an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy in said University. Dr. Mill was the US State Department Reserve Officer who trained the first 40 Filipino diplomats who were all male and who became the first batch of career officers in the Philippine Diplomatic Service. Ms. Gonzalez assumed her post as a Cadet Officer at the age of 26 in the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. In the course of her training, she met her future husband, Armando D. Manalo, the renowned, brilliant and highly respected intellectual/ writer/ journalist and Filipino career-diplomat himself, who had been newly recalled to Manila from his posting in New York. Fifteen years her senior, a widower with a 12 year old son (the former Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Delegate in New York, Philippine Ambassador to the Unted Kingdom and currently Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Enrique Manalo), Ms. Gonzalez married Armando. They had four children, and currently, Amb. Rosario Manalo is a grandmother to eight grandchildren. Career as a Diplomat Philippine Ambassador to France and the UNESCO Led Her to a Friendship with Nena Saguil in Paris From 1962 to 1979, Amb. Manalo served in various capacities as a Career Officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs. She attended innumerable conferences either as a delegate or a leader of the Philippine delegation involving bilateral negotiations and multilateral for the UN, APEC, ASEAN, EC. She eventually served as the Philippine Ambassador to the following capitals and institutions: in Brussels accredited to the Belgian King and concurrently to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. She officially opened the relations of the Philippines to the European Economic Community (EEC) when she was accredited as Philippine Ambassador to said institution. From 1990 up to 1994, she became the Philippine Ambassador to the Quai D’ Osay, Paris and concurrently to Lisbon and UNESCO. Subsequently, Amb. Manalo was transferred to Stockholm, Sweden and concurrently became Philippine Ambassador to the four other Nordic States of Norway, Denmark, Finland and the Three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (1994 - 1997). From 1988 - 1990, Amb. Manalo was seconded by the Phil. Government to UNESCO, Paris under the then Director General Federico Mayor Zaragoza from Barcelona, Spain. She served in his Cabinet as adviser for almost two years in charge of an:Education Program (K to 12) and the Culture of Peace Program (in collaboration with Butros Butros Gali, who eventually became Secretary General of the UN. From 1997, Amb. Manalo became the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Philippine Foreign Office and retired as a career official in 2003. Yet still, she was recalled by various Presidents of the Philippines to undertake special diplomatic assignments such as: Philippine Expert on CEDAW, Special envoy to draft and chair the asean charter negotiations, Philippine representative to the board of governors of the Asia-Europe foundation based in Singapore and the Philippine commisioner to the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Amb. Manalo wrote the first draft of CEDAW in 1973. Life as An Educator Currently, as to her involvement in academic institutions, Amb. R. Manalo is: Dean of Philippine Women’s University (PWU) School of International Relations and Diplomacy and Director of PWU’S Center for Gender Equality, a Fellow and Lecturer of The National Defense College of The Philippines (DND); Professorial Lecturer of The Foreign Service Institute of The Philippines (DFA), Lecturer and Professor in various leading universities in The Philippines. King Leopold Award, rank of Commander, Bestowed through a royal decree of his majesty, King Badouin of Belgium (1988); Philippine highest diplomatic award Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu, bestowed by H.E. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2010); and the ever precious loyalty award of the Department of Foreign Affairs (2016); Premio Zobel for her efforts in the promotion of Spanish heritage, language and culture in the Philippines (2001). Currently, Amb. Rosario G. Manalo was handpicked by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to be the Chairperson of the Independent Commission of Inquiry (ICOE) since July 2018; has been reappointed as the Philippine Representative to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on human rights last May 2019. Last November 9, Amb. Manalo was reelected to be the Philippine Expert in the CEDAW Committee in Geneva for the next four years, 2021-24, the one and only Expert out of 23 others who is serving a fourth term. Languages Mastered Amb. Manalo masters the Filipino, English, Spanish and French languages. She has a working knowledge of Italian languange because she is a messo soprano in the singing of Belle Canto under the Italian Repertoire. Recent Development Amb. Rosario G. Manalo has completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Social Development last July 2024.
Leon Gallery
Feb. 22, 2025
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Crepuscule de Dieu (The Twilight of God)
Est: ₱400,000 - ₱520,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Crepuscule de Dieu (The Twilight of God) signed and dated 1975 (lower right) watercolor on paper 25" x 19 1/4" (64 cm x 49 cm) Provenance: Metropolitan Museum of Manila Literature: Torres, Emmanuel. Nena Saguil - Landscapes and Inscapes: From the Material World to the Spiritual. Full-color illustration on page 119 and painting description on page 118. Exhibited: The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Nena Saguil Retrospective, Manila, 1995 Nena Saguil’s La Crepuscule de Dieu (which translates from French to The Twilight of the Gods) belongs to what critic Emmanuel Torres considers her Lyrical Abstraction period. In his book Nena Saguil: Landscapes and Inscapes from the Material World to the Spiritual, he categorized Saguil’s art into five distinct periods with this work at hand, which was done in 1975 and created in Paris, belongs to her second-to-the-last period, the Lyrical Abstraction period which lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s. Her blue and green period, La Crepuscule de Dieu features Saguil’s notable pointillistic art style. She washes the scene in light blues and soft yellows, perfect for depicting the twilight of the gods. She brushes in a soft cloud, a reward at the end of the road. Her Lyrical Abstraction period, as the name suggests, infused musicality into her works. La Crepuscule de Dieu perfectly embodies it – as the light shines through from behind the cloud, it looks almost ethereal, a beauty that should not have been possible in the mortal world. The light was too effusive, the color too vibrant; it makes sense that it is a sight reserved only for the gods. Much in the same way as she (who was considered the first Filipina abstractionist) opened the door for more and more Filipinas to take on the easel and the paint, Saguil served as a vessel who opened the heavens to the mortal world, infusing a fraction of its otherworldly beauty onto her canvas and creating even for the briefest of moments heaven on earth. (Hannah Valiente)
Leon Gallery
Nov. 30, 2024
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Still Life with Flowers
Est: ₱1,200,000 - ₱1,560,000
Still Life with Flowers signed and dated 1950 (lower right) oil on canvas 22" x 28" (56 cm x 71 cm) PROVENANCE: León Gallery, The Spectacular Mid Year Auction 2017, Makati City, 6 October 2017, Lot 133 *THIS LOT IS SOLD TO BENEFIT THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MANILA Simplicia “Nena” Laconico Saguil (1914 - 1994) was a pioneering Filipino modern artist. In 2006 President Arroyo posthumously awarded Saguil a Presidential Medal of Merit. She was known as a feminist, a mystic and a recluse. She spoke of being a lonely child in a large family. Not wanting to attend Catholic school, as her conservative parents wished her to, Saguil instead studied art at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where the artist Anita Magsaysay was a classmate. Saguil was awarded a certificate in painting in 1933. It was not surprising that after World War II, Saguil was able to complete her studies at the University of the Philippines. She found herself in the circle of Hernando R. Ocampo and his many artist friends. During this period Saguil became increasingly interested in modern art, and was attracted to the work of Pablo Picasso. She completed her Bachelors Degree in 1949, earning an Award of Excellence. Her works of this period include a satirical self portrait entitled |”Vanity” showing a woman preening before a mirror, a take-off on a work by Monet. She also produced a number of floral still lifes painted with a light, Impressionist touch. One of these, dated 1950, is in this exhibition. Saguil eschews traditional composition. Her flowers are strewn on a surface seemingly in disarray. She barely attempts to be botanically correct, but the blooms appear to include frangipani or plumeria, hibiscus, and lilies. Some colors and textures hint of languorous softness; some suggest robust resilience. In the language of flowers, plumeria symbolizes “waiting for love”; they lie beside what appear to be bluebells, which may symbolize humility and love. The hibiscus symbolizes “delicate beauty” and “perfect bride”. Interestingly, the orange lilies, which may symbolize “hatred” are sustained in a glass full of water. They are surrounded by a multitude of orange blooms rendered with slashed fiery impasto, which lie fuming beside an empty earthenware pot, which may allude to virginity and solitary life. We have no evidence that Saguil was conversant with the Victorian language of flowers. But was she subconsciously expressing the frustrations of her 36 years of life? She was not that successful in her relationships, and she maintained the myth that she was 10 years younger than she really was. Nevertheless, this still-life is evidence of her efforts to break from the academic mold and that in her art she lay in the full embrace of modernism. At the time this painting was done, around 1950, Saguil became active in the newly formed Philippine Art Gallery (P.A.G.) run by Lyd Arguilla, serving as a volunteer watching over the gallery. Saguil exhibited there and became associated with other notable Philippine modernists. In 1956 Saguil moved to Paris to further her studies at the Ecole des Artes Americaine. Her work often contains a sense of spirituality and religious feeling, in which she subsumed her earlier aspirations and desires. Her inner landscapes or “inscapes” represented her journey from the Material World to the Spiritual. But her later works lack the vibrant energy and intriguing contradictions of her early paintings.
Leon Gallery
Nov. 30, 2024
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
Est: ₱500,000 - ₱650,000
Untitled signed and dated 1972 (lower right and verso)\ oil on canvas 19 1/2” x 23 3/4” (50 cm x 60 cm) PROVENANCE : A gift from the artist to Tetta Agustin A Gift To Hubert De Givenchy’s First Filipina Muse by HANNAH VALIENTE - When 24-year-old Tetta Agustin flew from Manila to Rome in 1973, the young model had no idea she would land herself in one of the most illustrious fashion houses in Europe—and indeed, in the annals of Philippine fashion history as the first Filipina to model for Givenchy and Yves St. Laurent in Paris. With the world at her feet and her dreams right before her, Tetta is set to take the world by storm. Woman of Style - Standing five foot seven inches and boasting an enviable 21-inch waist, Tetta Agustin was first deemed too petite for Rome’s fashion scene. First starting with modeling gigs in Manila, she caught the eye of Italian designer Renato Balestra who urged the then-24-year-old to branch out to Rome. However, Rome disappointed her, as its statuesque models were far from Tetta’s slim petite figure. “I did not work in Rome because when I went to see Emilio Pucci, he told me I was too petite for Rome fashion,” she told Philstar in 2012. “He told me to go to France because he was quite certain I would have more chance to work in Paris.” And success in Paris she had. Almost immediately after landing, she found herself at the Catherine Harley Modeling Agency where she found herself hired on the spot by M. Hubert de Givenchy himself for his upcoming show. Givenchy was looking for an Asian model and despite already having one, a Vietnamese, one look at Tetta was enough for him to bump the prior model to sign her up on the spot. "I put on [Givenchy's] dress," she recalls in another 2018 Philippine Daily Inquirer interview. "Then finally, he walked into the room, looked at me, and nodded me on, to say 'thank you.'" Thus begins her illustrious career in Paris. From 1973 to 1979, Tetta walked for Givenchy, rubbing elbows with elites like Audrey Hepburn, socialite Bunny Mellon, and former American First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Givenchy himself had a huge impact on Tetta’s life. Affectionately called “Papa” by the model, Tetta endeared herself to the "gentle giant" as he was called (Givenchy himself stands at six foot six inches). He took the young ingénue under his wing, introducing her to the international fashion world at large. “He would always ask me over to his atelier perhaps because I made the seamstresses laugh,” Tetta said. “He treated me like his little girl.” From One Trailblazer to Another - Tetta’s singleminded pursuit of her dreams bore great success. Armed with feistiness, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “The rejection stung, but it was more because I couldn’t book a job than me being too petite,” she recalls. “I came to Europe to model, and I refused to work if it wasn’t going to be a job that I liked.” However, with Givenchy as a sponsor, Tetta soon found herself intermingling with illustrious guests in banquets and yacht parties and even private shows, where she developed friends with prominent women such as horticulturist and art patron Bunny Mellon, socialite and philanthropist Barbara Hutton, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, and then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. It wasn’t only these high society women that Tetta endeared herself to. Upon her signing with Givenchy, Tetta sought out the model she replaced, a Vietnamese named Doti, and forged a lifelong friendship with her, even serving as godmother to Doti’s child. Kindness and spunk propelled Tetta’s career. Her vivacious attitude endeared her to the staff of Givenchy, its clients, and the man himself, who is involved in Tetta’s personal life as her daughter Tosca’s godfather. “Perhaps that’s why we were always fighting, as if in a love- hate relationship. He would always ask me if I was getting married, and when. And my personality is, I’d get queasy about being asked,” Tetta (or as Givenchy loved to call her, “Tetta the hardheaded”) recalled their unique dynamic. But still, she holds Givenchy in a place of respect. In half a jest, she said, “I like to say that the was the only gentleman left in Europe.” Even after leaving the modeling world to focus more on her many businesses, Tetta still carried her unique blend of feistiness and gratefulness moving forward. She had surrounded herself with like-minded mentors, friends, and colleagues, propelling her career to higher heights. It is then unsurprising that she also found herself in acquaintance with the Philippines’s first Filipina abstractionist Nena Saguil, close enough for the artist to gift her this abstraction piece. Like Tetta herself, Nena forged her own path back when few artists delved into pure abstraction, and even fewer of them women. This untitled 1972 work, gifted to Tetta by Nena herself, echoes the freshness of Tetta’s career. Utilizing a series of circles that overtake the canvas, one can discern the sun, the mountain, and the sea as he depicts a novel vision of the horizon. The work was created during what critic Emmanuel Torres categorized as the artist’s lyrical abstraction period, with the piece done in shades of blues, pinks, and violets. This gift bestowed on the model portrayed not just Saguil’s impeccable handle on pure abstraction but also the paths both women took as the first Filipinas to excel in their respective fields. Both Nena Saguil’s artistry and Tetta Agustin’s career boast of their eminent characteristics, the two of them acting as trailblazers in their own right.
Leon Gallery
Oct. 26, 2024
PROPERTY FROM THE LORNA REVILLA MONTILLA COLLECTION Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱35,000 - ₱45,000
a.) Untitled pastel on paper 7" x 9" (18 cm x 23 cm) b.) Untitled signed (lower left) pastel on paper 7" x 9" (18 cm x 23 cm) c.) Untitled signed (lower left) pastel on paper 7" x 9" (18 cm x 23 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 18, 2024
Nena SAGUIL (1914-1994) Filipin - French
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Nena SAGUIL (1914 Santa Cruz, Laguna, Philippines - 1994 Paris, France) ; Untitled (Cosmos) ; 1971 ; oil on canvas / unframed ; diameter 100 cm (39 1/3 in.) ; signed and dated ; Shipping to USA - DHL $650 , National post with tracking service $450 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $520 , National post with tracking service $380
Art-Torg
Sep. 14, 2024
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Untitled
Est: ₱350,000 - ₱400,000
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) Signed and dated '89' (1989, lower right) Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm (39 1/4 x 39 1/4 in)
Salcedo Auctions
Apr. 20, 2024
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱45,000 - ₱58,500
Untitled signed and dated 1980 (lower right) ink on paper 12" x 18 1/2" (30 cm x 47 cm)
Leon Gallery
Apr. 20, 2024
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱35,000 - ₱45,500
Untitled signed and dated 1968 (lower right) watercolor on paper 12" x 9" (30 cm x 22 cm) Accompanied by a certificate signed by Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Mar. 09, 2024
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Composition en noir et blanc (Composition in Black and White)
Est: ₱3,800,000 - ₱4,940,000
Composition en noir et blanc (Composition in Black and White) signed and dated 1958 (lower right) oil on canvas 39 1/2" x 28" (100 cm x 71 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Finale Art File confirming the authenticity of this lot PROVENANCE: Private collection, France WRITE UP: Saguil’s Self-Titled “Lyrical Cubism” by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL Striking out on her own from the Philippine Art Gallery to make her own mark in the Ecole de Paris, it is not surprising that Nena Saguil would absorb Picasso’s cubism in the same way that she drank of the heady air of one of the greatest art capitals of the world. Her friend and fiercest defender, Leonidas V. Benesa would chronicle her “rectangular patternings” under the influence of one of her most significant mentors in the late 1950s, Alfred Manessier (1911-1993). Manessier was associated with the French movement of Lyrical Abstraction (Abstraction lyrique). Interestingly, in an interview with the art critic Cid Reyes published in his “Conversations in Philippine Art,” Saguil would use the similar term of “Lyrical Cubism” to describe this particular series of her artworks. More significantly, Mannesier also appeared to be an influence not only on her artistic but also her spiritual development. Notes from the Guggenheim Museum archives offer these insights : “In 1943, Manessier experienced a religious awakening during a three-day retreat to a Trappist monastery. Soon after he converted to Roman Catholicism and began to pursue an increasingly ascetic lifestyle. "In 1945 his compositions started to recall stained-glass windows and turned more abstract, although figurative elements connected to religion and landscape continued to appear. His paintings allude to religious meanings through their titles and through combinations of discernible symbols and abstract imagery.” The French artist, with the zeal of the newly converted, would thus seek to express his interest in mysticism, sacred art and of spiritual ecstasy, concepts that would dominate Saguil’s art more and more. The work at hand pictures a dark universe that seems to be traveling in space. It is illuminated by an other-worldly light that comes from fallen stars and fragmented moons. It is one of the rare examples of Saguil’s “Lyrical Cubism” that draws from the original elements of the Ecole de Paris or School of Paris. Cid Reyes would later write, “The late critic Leo Benesa wrote of “stillness” and “nightness” as distinguishing qualities of her paintings. Her works affirm the consistent themes of Saguil : order and serenity, the solitude and mystery of the cosmos, and exploration of man’s sense of eternity.”
Leon Gallery
Mar. 09, 2024
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Three Marys (Three Monks)
Est: ₱2,800,000 - ₱3,640,000
Three Marys (Three Monks) signed and dated 1952 (lower right) oil on wood 24" x 30" (61 cm x 76 cm) PROVENANCE Collection of Mauro "Malang" Santos EXHIBITED The Fifties, Cultural Center of the Philippines, January 22 - February 28, 1971. LITERATURE: Lyd Arguilla, Romeo Tabuena, Fernando Zobel, 7 Years of the Philippine Art Gallery (1951-1957), Published by the Philippine Art Gallery, 1958, Listed as No.584, Page Ap — 11. WRITE UP: Three Marys’ by Nena Laconico Saguil was created at ground-zero of the Neo-Realists and the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG), who had both exploded on the Filipino art scene in such quick succession that they would inevitably merge. Nena was one of the important triad of women in art — counting Lyd Arguilla, founder of the PAG and Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Nena’s friend and classmate from the U.P. College of Fine Arts. One could almost hear them being called the ‘Tres Marias’, so few yet influential they would be. ‘Three Marys’ is a portrait in fact of woman power, encapsulated by the ageless scene at the foot of the Cross at Golgotha, where Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of God, and Mary the mother of James the Lesser, would be gathered. They were the female disciples of Our Lord Jesus, in the same way that the three women were the foremost female exponents of modernist Filipino art. The voluptuous pinks and reds remind the viewer of their femininity. ABOVE: PAG Catalog entry, Three Marys, No.584, Ap - 11 . BOTTOM EFT: PAG Sticker, confirming PAG Catalog No.584, but mistakenly titling it as "Three Monks",. BOTTOM RIGHT: Cultural Center of the Philippines Sticker. The ‘Three Marys’ are represented in various stages of emotion, not only pain and mourning but also exaltation and courage, hope and faith. One figure has her back turned looking to the future, the other has her face (free of all expression like the others) upturned in awe, while the third is bowed down in solemn humility. The trio are surrounded by a panoply of three crosses, five to be exact, with the fifth cleverly suggested by heavy black lines. It is as if Saguil wants to remind us that there were with these three crosses were three different men who lived three different lives — God the Son, and the good thief and the bad on either side of them. As the final modernist flourish, Saguil paints a background for this parable that is not the forsaken mountain of Calvary but the concrete canyons of the big city : A tiled floor, three crosses that form large windows and a skyscraper with the same mystical number of three windows down its side. It is the ultimate Neo-Realist landscape of mind and heart. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil)
Leon Gallery
Mar. 09, 2024
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Sans Titre (Untitled)
Est: ₱3,800,000 - ₱4,940,000
Sans Titre (Untitled) signed and dated 1959 (lower right) oil on canvas 31 1/2" x 38 1/2" (80 cm x 98 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection, Manila WRITE UP: At the time this painting was created, Nena Saguil was transitioning from a period she described a “Lyrical Cubism” — the logical heir to her studies with Alfred Mannesier, a French abstract painter, a non-figurative artist from the new School of Paris, and her mentor. Manessier was associated with the French movement of Lyrical Abstraction (Abstraction lyrique). Interestingly, in an interview with Cid Reyes in his monumental “Conversations on Philippine Art,” Saguil would use the very similar term “Lyrical Cubism” to describe this series of her artworks. “I was doing these squares, no, not the Vasarely style — not rigid — but floating in different tones,” she would tell him. More significantly, he also appeared to be an important influence not only on her artistic but also her spiritual development. The French artist, with the zeal of the newly converted, would seek to express through art his interest in mysticism, sacred art and the expression of spiritual ecstasy, concepts that would dominate Saguil’s art more and more. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil) Saguil's pioneering contributions to modern art in the country are distinctive, marked by features that draw the observer into a profound connection with the vast universe or the enchanting expanse of space. This captivating oil painting, infused with surrealist undertones serves as a testament to her artistic mastery. It not only evokes a contemplative and meditative mood but also provides a glimpse into Saguil's cherished solitude—a solitude deeply intertwined with her spiritual influences as an artist. The allure of this specific artwork lies in its ability to transcend the canvas, inviting viewers into a realm where the boundaries between reality and the mystic blur. Saguil's valued solitude is eloquently expressed, creating a visual narrative that resonates with the profound introspection inspired by her spiritual journey. The infusion of mysticism, a hallmark of Saguil's visual language, manifests prominently in this particular piece, further highlighting her distinctive ability to articulate the ineffable through her art. (Jed Daya)
Leon Gallery
Mar. 09, 2024
Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) Still Life No. 2 signed and dated 1953 (lower right) oil on masonite board 17 1/2" x 23 3/4" (44 cm x 60 cm) -
Est: ₱2,200,000 - ₱2,860,000
signed and dated 1953 (lower right) oil on masonite board 17 1/2" x 23 3/4" (44 cm x 60 cm) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Davao EXHIBITED: Philippine Cultural Exhibition, 1953-1954. An Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by 21 Philippine Artists. Arranged by the Philippine Art Gallery. Shown at the Carnegie Endowment International Center on 46th Street, New York City, from September 1 to October 1, 1953; at the American International Underwriters Building at 102 Maiden Lane,New York City, from November 16 to December 15,1953; at the Chancery of the Embassy of the Philippines, Washington, D. C., from February 24 to March 9, 1954. LITERATURE: Philippine Cultural Exhibition, 1953-1954, Catalogue. Published by the Philippine Art Gallery, New York, 1953. Complete Catalog of Works Exhibited, Page 41; Lyd Arguilla, Romeo Tabuena, Fernando Zóbel, 7 Years of the Philippine Art Gallery (1951-1957), Published by the Philippine Art Gallery, 1958, Listed as No. 650, Page Ap — 12. WRITE UP: Saguil’s Gauguin Table by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL Nena Saguil’s first impulses were inspired by Gauguin, so said Parisian art critic Waldemar George. The lush colors, voluptuous shapes of this Frenchman in Tahiti are to be found in this early work, Still Life No. 2. It’s a countryside feast of fruit spread out on a bamboo table, under a bending banana tree, painted in the aftermath of World War II: There’s an air of optimism in the painting, as expressed by the bright colors. certainly it was the end of a period of want and destruction. There is an array of fruit from that era: mangos and rice cakes, avocados and macopas, papaya and suha, but also duhat and a pile of mangosteen, one of them tantalizingly open. Saguil would be at the intersection of the classical and the modern non-objective art in 1951. Schooled by Fabian de la Rosa and Fernando Amorsolo, she would however embrace their diametrical opposites, Victorio Edades and Hernando R. Ocampo. She would take that important plunge to join the Neo-Realists as they merged with the Philippine Art Gallery. She would be one of the rising stars of the PAG and the Art Association of the Philippines alongside her former classmate at the University of the Philippines, Anita Magsaysay-Ho. (They were just a few months apart in age, both born in 1914.) Saguil’s Still Life No. 2 would travel to the United States to be part of the landmark Philippine Cultural Exhibition, featuring 21 of the Philippine Art Gallery’s roster. It was originally in the collection of PAG founder, Lyd Arguilla, making it doubly historic.
Leon Gallery
Oct. 21, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924-1994)
Est: ₱50,000 - ₱65,000
Untitled signed and dated 1972 (lower right) pen and ink and watercolor on paper 22” x 29” (56 cm x 74 cm) Accompanied by a certificate signed by Douglas Saguil confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Oct. 20, 2023
NENA SAGUIL (1924-1994) Cosmos oil on canvas 54.5 x 94.5 cm. (21 1⁄2 x 37 1
Est: $40,000 - $80,000
NENA SAGUIL (1924-1994) Cosmos oil on canvas 54.5 x 94.5 cm. (21 1⁄2 x 37 1⁄4 in.)
Christie's
Jul. 29, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924-1994)
Est: ₱100,000 - ₱130,000
A New Heavens and a New Earth signed and dated 1989 - 93 (lower right) oil on canvas 19 1/2” x 39” (50 cm x 99 cm) PROVENANCE From The Nena L. Saguil Foundation Art Collection
Leon Gallery
Jun. 17, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Untitled (Assemblage) signed and dated 1986 (lower right) mixed media on canvas unframed: 38 1/2" x 24" (98 cm x 61 cm) framed: 50" x 39" (127 cm x 99 cm) PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Manila Though Filipino art in the 20th century was not only diverse but considered groundbreaking given the development of different styles and techniques, it was still plagued by the same problem as its Western counterparts; it was very much dominated by men. Although women and female artists were not unheard of, relatively speaking they were few and far between. While those who managed to join the ranks of the country’s artistic canon occupy a unique position of setting the standard for future generations. The artistic practice of Nena Saguil is among those who not only defined the landscape of Philippine visual art , but arguably of abstraction as well. A sizable portion of Saguil’s career was spent in Paris where she supported her art through odd jobs. When asked why she wouldn't return to the country to live out a much more comfortable existence, Saguil noted that the local art world was too patriarchal, thus choosing the more liberating albeit more laborious existence abroad. One can argue that this emancipatory act eventually affected her art. Once perceived as mathematical or strictly methodological, Saguil’s unique brand of abstraction is undoubtedly both spontaneous and organic. Its various shapes alluding to all sorts of naturally occuring patterns, shapes, and ephemera. This insistence on the organic, on the natural can be seen as a liberating act by an artist no longer constrained by expectations; an artist that is truly herself. (J.D.)
Leon Gallery
Apr. 22, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Self-Portrait
Est: ₱40,000 - ₱52,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Self-Portrait signed and dated September 21, 1968(lower right) black marker on paper 9 1/2” x 6 1/2” (24 cm x 17 cm)
Leon Gallery
Apr. 02, 2023
Nena Saguil (Philippines, France, 1924 - 1994)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Nena Saguil (Philippines, 1924 - 1994) Untitled - 1970 Oil on Canvas. Accompanied by a certificate issued by Benjamin B. Saguil Jr confirming the authenticity of this lot Sight Size: 26.75 x 34 in. Overall Framed Size: 29 x 36.25 in.
Helmuth Stone
Feb. 18, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱2,400,000 - ₱3,120,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Composition Red signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1959 (lower left) oil on canvas 22" x 52" (56 cm x 132 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Finale Art File and signed by Ramon Villegas confirming the authenticity of this lot OLIVIA YAO Collector of the Avant-Garde Banker, collector, and most recently publisher of art books, Olivia Yao has followed her unique passions, creating a unique world all her own. She helmed the production of the book Art After War: 1948- 1969, assembling a team of art historians, researchers, writers, photographers, and book designers to produce this landmark book on Philippine Modern Art. Mrs. Yao would next be involved with the St. Luke’s Medical Center for resource development; and with its foundation as director for resource generation. She is known among Manila’s cultural circles as a discerning and sophisticated collector of avant-garde modern and contemporary art. Olivia first cut her teeth in the world of finance in Boston in the 1990s, having graduated with an MBA from Boston College. She has been quoted as saying, “Living in Boston opened my eyes to the world of museums since I would take trips from Boston to New York often and my interest in art carried on when I moved back to Manila. Collecting art became a life passion from then on. Curating my collection is an expression of my individual personality. The emotions evoked when seeing and acquiring art are very personal whether you identify yourself with the image, color, or the artist. For me, collecting art is an evolving process and one should not remain stagnant.” (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil) Simplicia “Nena” Laconico Saguil (1914-1994) was a pioneering Filipino modern artist. In 2006 President Arroyo posthumously awarded Saguil a Presidential Medal of Merit. She was known as a feminist, a mystic and a recluse. She spoke of being a lonely child in a large family. Not wanting to attend Catholic school, as her conservative parents wished her to, Saguil instead studied art at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where the artist Anita Magsaysay happened to be a classmate. Saguil was awarded a certificate in painting in 1933. It was not surprising that after World War II, Saguil found herself in the circle of Hernando R. Ocampo and his many artist friends. During this period Saguil became increasingly interested in modern art, and was attracted to the work of Pablo Picasso. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in 1949, earning an Award of Excellence. She would soon, however, break from the academic mold and lie in the full embrace of modernism. Saguil would become active in the newly formed Philippine Art Gallery (P.A.G.) run by Lyd Arguilla, serving as a volunteer watching over the gallery. Saguil exhibited there and became associated with other notable Philippine modernists. She would move to Europe on a scholarship in 1954 and in 1956, Saguil would make her home in Paris The following year Saguil had a solo show at Galerie Raymond Creuze in Paris, where she exhibited works with linear and geometric elements. It was in this period that the work at hand was created, a synthesis of not only the influence of the Manila NeoRealists but also her study at the Ecole d’Art Americaines. Composition Red is bold and brash, a gestural piece laden with bravado and impasto. From an essay by RAMON VILLEGAS
Leon Gallery
Jan. 21, 2023
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱100,000 - ₱130,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Celestial signed and dated 1972 (lower right) acrylic on canvas 20 1/2” x 22” (51 cm x 56 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil, Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Oct. 22, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱50,000 - ₱65,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Thinking (Thumbnail) signed and dated 1960 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 8 1/2” x 11” (21 cm x 28 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Oct. 22, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱60,000 - ₱78,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) The Starry Sunset signed and dated 1981 (lower right) gouache on paper 15” x 20” (38 cm x 51 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Oct. 22, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱70,000 - ₱91,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1975 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 19” x 25” (48 cm x 64 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Sep. 10, 2022
Nena Saguil - Blue Cosmos
Est: ₱300,000 - ₱390,000
Nena Saguil Blue Cosmos signed and dated 1964 (lower right) watercolor on paper 24 3/4" x 18 3/4" (63 cm x 48 cm) For the greater part of her artistic life, the artist Nena Saguil utilized the color blue with such varied connotations into depicting her own fantasies and visions unto the canvas. Upon her decision to permanently reside in Paris, Saguil was motivated to break out from the mold of her more illustrious male contemporaries: Hernardo R. Ocampo, Galo Ocampo and Cesar Legaspi who were becoming respective vanguards of the Philippine Neo-Realist School. Saguil ventured into more contemplation in her art through her fervent readings of realist literature and f ictions George Elliot, Somerset Maugham, Immanuel Kant and even the Marquis de Sade made available in her fervent visits to the Malraux Library, a stone thrown away from her apartment. In the process of obsessive readings, Saguil embarked into producing a series of monochromatic abstractions in color blue, thus beginning her “Blue Period’. The abstract work is truly a sight to behold. Saguil’s masterful control of tone, shape, and color imbues the piece with a sense of ethereal wonder. While orientation of the canvas forces the viewer to study the piece as if one were gazing upon the wonders of the night sky. (J.D.)
Leon Gallery
Jul. 30, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱100,000 - ₱130,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1983 (lower right) oil on canvas 12” x 18” (30 cm x 46 cm) PROVENANCE León Gallery, The Magnificent September Auction, September 8, 2018, Makati City, Lot 140
Leon Gallery
Jul. 30, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱25,000 - ₱32,500
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Thinking (Thumbnail) signed and dated 1960 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 8 1/2” x 11” (21 cm x 28 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Jul. 30, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱30,000 - ₱39,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1975 (lower right) watercolor on paper 12” x 8 1/2” (30 cm x 21 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Jul. 30, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱250,000 - ₱325,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Oscillating Cosmos signed and dated 1974 (lower right) oil on canvas 37” x 32” (94 cm x 81 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Jun. 11, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱3,200,000 - ₱4,160,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Poésie de nuit (Poetry of the Night) signed and dated Paris 1956 (lower right) oil on canvas 36 1/4" x 28 3/4" (92 cm x 73 cm) PROVENANCE Acquired at auction from the Societe Thierry de Maigret, SARL, Prints Sculptures & Modern Paintings Art Nouveau Art Deco XXth Century Furniture, Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, France. Held on 14 December 2016, Lot 109 . The art of Nena Saguil,” wrote the French critic Waldemar George, “is an evasion and a compensation. It defies the principles of terrestrial gravity and violates the inexorable law of time. Such an art is an elevation. It transforms our passivity into activity by quenching our thirst for the absolute.” Commentators of Saguil’s works, reported the Filipino art historian Leonidas V. Benesa, “attest to the dreamlike quality and the tender sensibility underneath, (which for the Parisian observer), was explained as Oriental in origin.” Moreover, Benesa said, the French found her color sense as ‘perfect’ and her painting ‘full of poetry.’ By the 1960s, Benesa related, Saguil had transitioned “from the rectangular patternings executed under the spell of Mannesier with whom she had studied in Paris.” Alfred Mannesier (1911-1993) has been described as “one of the most important figures of his generation.” He was a leading artist in the post-war French abstract expressionist movement or School of Paris. His work would be included in groundbreaking shows at the Museum of Modern Art in the 1950s. Benesa also noted that in this period, Saguil’s palette was of “a color sense from red through green.” In 1954, Saguil had left Manila and the Philippine Art Gallery to find her destiny in Europe. She went first to Spain on a study grant; and in the next year, she had devised to receive a second scholarship, from the Walter Damrosch fund, this time in Paris. She would stay for the rest of her life. The work “Poetry of the Night” marks a major transformation in the arc of her career : Bold and geometric color that would foretell her more cosmic explorations. The painting suggests a red moon framed by a window, the light of a Parisian streetlight casts a golden glow. A jumble of shapes infer an empty bed that is, however, far from lonely. Benesa called her “an artist-astronaut of psychic space” and her impetus was “to discover new worlds of inner experience.” He believed that the art of Nena Saguil was universal and thus “would find its admirers anywhere, at any time.” Poesie de Nuit is thus a romantic and highly important relic from 1956 Paris. Totally preserved with the original frame, with inscription by Nena Saguiol herself on the stretcher and the original label from the framer in Paris. It is a time capsule of the spirit of Paris in the 1950s as captured by Nena Saguil.
Leon Gallery
Jun. 11, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱4,000,000 - ₱5,200,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Peace & Plenty signed and dated 1950 (lower left) oil on board 25 1/2" x 19 1/2" (65 cm x 50 cm) PROVENANCE; Acquired from Ramon Villegas by the present owner, c. 1990s. Like her mentor Victorio Edades, Nena Saguil rebelled against the Amorsolo standard of Filipino beauty: Slim, smiling and bright-eyed. Building on the solid figures Edades preferred, she depicts in Peace and Plenty the very picture of these titular qualities. Yet it is a full-figured older woman who sits placidly beneath a bamboo tree who expresses these postwar hopes and dreams. The motherly figure — no Amorsolo maiden here — sits comfortably with her feet half out their hard bakya (wooden clogs). Her eyes are averted, perhaps even halfshut, visible underneath the traditional head kerchief worn by farmwomen in the Philippines. She smiles half to herself as she feeds the chickens who peck lazily around her. There are a rooster, a hen and several chicks who perhaps remind her of her preoccupations with her own family unwittingly. In contrast to the recent War years, the fields are green and the harvests are now bountiful; there is more than enough rice to go around. The rhythms of life have returned. In the distance the business, hard as it may be, of planting, threshing and winnowing have been restored. A pair of carabao, one in a lightfooted gambol, complete the picture of bucolic bliss. In the work at hand, however, Saguil appears to be at one with Amorsolo in extolling the virtues of a country life. It must be remembered, that while Edades had opened the doors to modern art in the Philippines as early as 1928, that impetus was cut short abruptly by World War II. The Philippine Art Gallery, the first to support abstract art exclusively, was still a twinkle in its founder Lyd Arguilla’s eyes. It was to open its doors a little more than a year after this painting was made. The label affixed on the reverse of the work carries the following details apart from the artist’s name and the title of the painting : It includes ‘Place of Painting” as ‘2035 Escaler, Manila’ (Escaler Street in Sta. Cruz, Manila still exists to this day); and ‘Date of Painting’ as ‘Jan. 30, 1950’ with the ‘Price’ of P50. The main location for selling exhibitions were to be found at the events organized by the Art Association of the Philippines, which had been founded by 13 charter members led by Purita Kalaw-Ledesma in 1948. Its first site was at a building on Padre Faura which is now home to the Supreme Court. The A.A.P.’s actual offices would be at the ‘pock-marked National Museum’ on Herran Street, where its early exhibitions were held. It would start these exhibits in 1948 as well. The 17 year old Nena Saguil (seated, second from right) at a party at the home of Victorio Edades, (seated, second row at the center.) In 1950, there were three such exhibitions, two at the National Museum: The 3rd Annual Art Exhibition, on January 28, 1960, making it too late for this work to have been submitted. There were two others : The 3rd Semi-Annual Art Exhibition on July 4, 1950; and the Manila Grand Opera House Art Exhibition. Either may have been this work’s locus. (It was at the latter that Vicente Manansala created a sensation with his work “Barong Barong No. 1” that took home the first prize.) Interestingly, the following year in 1951, Nena Saguil would place “Honorable Mention” in the Modern Category for a work “Mother and Child”. It would be the first year that the Art Association of the Philippines would formally divide the competition between what was called “Conservative” art and “Modern.” Saguil would have gravitated to the Philippine Art Gallery by then and thrown her lot in with its vision. This work thus represents the last of an era and the beginning of a new one, as Saguil moves from one world-view to another, a historic testament to a changing order.
Leon Gallery
Apr. 23, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled (Landscapes of the Mind)
Est: ₱130,000 - ₱169,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Landscapes of the Mind) signed and dated 1974 (lower right) ink on paper 19 1/2” x 26 1/2” (49 cm x 68 cm)
Leon Gallery
Apr. 23, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Cosmos Series (Thumbnail)
Est: ₱60,000 - ₱78,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Cosmos Series (Thumbnail) signed and dated 1961 (lower right) watercolor on paper 8 1/2” x 11” (22 cm x 28 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Apr. 23, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1971 (lower right) oil on canvas 40” x 40” (102 cm x 102 cm) PROVENANCE Estate of the Artist
Leon Gallery
Apr. 23, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
Est: ₱180,000 - ₱234,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1965 (lower left) mixed media on paper 24” x 18 1/2” (61 cm x 47 cm)
Leon Gallery
Mar. 12, 2022
Untitled (Blue Abstract)
Est: ₱700,000 - ₱750,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Blue Abstract) Signed and dated '1972' (lower right) Oil on canvas 101 x 101 cm (40 x 40 in) Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued and signed by Benjamin Saguil, Jr. A 'The Nena L. Saguil Foundation Art Collection' label is affixed at the back of the frame
Salcedo Auctions
Mar. 12, 2022
Untitled (Blue Waves)
Est: ₱300,000 - ₱350,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Blue Waves) Signed and dated '1970' (lower right) Mixed media 76 x 86 cm (30 x 34 in) Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued and signed by Benjamin Saguil, Jr.
Salcedo Auctions
Mar. 05, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled (drippings of black ink)
Est: ₱140,000 - ₱182,000
Untitled (drippings of black ink) signed and dated 1990 (lower right) brush and ink on paper 18 1/2" x 24" (47 cm x 61 cm) EXHIBITED: Metropolitan Museum of Manila The pioneering modernist painter Nena Saguil has experimented with various styles and media. Constantly present in the mature works of the iconic artist are spheres intricately plotted into a cloudy, enigmatic expanse of space. This series of works have garnered great acclaim both locally and internationally. It was sometime around the mid-50s that the stylistic change in Saguil’s art took a turn towards heavy complex abstraction—as she was formerly known to work with figurative abstraction, which ever so often featured surrealist undertones. As she progressed further, works similar to this 1990 piece became her trademark. Redolent of a cosmic perspective where she has forgone the physicality and aesthetic of the material world, this powerful work comes together with all its elements in their vast, astounding splendor as if to exalt the spiritual.
Leon Gallery
Mar. 05, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Still Life with Flowers
Est: ₱2,600,000 - ₱3,380,000
Still Life with Flowers signed and dated 1950 (lower right) oil on canvas 22" x 28" (56 cm x 71 cm) PROVENANCE León Gallery, The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction 2017, Makati City, 10 June 2017, Lot 133 (Curator’s Note : We have the rare privilege of presenting an essay by the renowned scholar and collector Ramon N. Villegas on this very work by the mid-century modern, Nena Saguil.) Simplicia “Nena” Laconico Saguil (1914 - 1994) was a pioneering Filipino modern artist. In 2006 President Arroyo posthumously awarded Saguil a Presidential Medal of Merit. She was known as a feminist, a mystic and a recluse. She spoke of being a lonely child in a large family. Not wanting to attend Catholic school, as her conservative parents wished her to, Saguil instead studied art at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where the artist Anita Magsaysay was a classmate. Saguil was awarded a certificate in painting in 1933. It was not surprising that after World War II, Saguil was able to complete her studies at the University of the Philippines. She found herself in the circle of Hernando R. Ocampo and his many artist friends. During this period Saguil became increasingly interested in modern art, and was attracted to the work of Pablo Picasso. She completed her Bachelors Degree in 1949, earning an Award of Excellence. Her works of this period include a satirical self portrait entitled |”Vanity” showing a woman preening before a mirror, a take-off on a work by Monet. She also produced a number of floral still lifes painted with a light, Impressionist touch. One of these, dated 1950, is in this exhibition. Saguil eschews traditional composition. Her flowers are strewn on a surface seemingly in disarray. She barely attempts to be botanically correct, but the blooms appear to include frangipani or plumeria, hibiscus, and lilies. Some colors and textures hint of languorous softness; some suggest robust resilience. In the language of flowers, plumeria symbolizes “waiting for love”; they lie beside what appear to be bluebells, which may symbolize humility and love. The hibiscus symbolizes “delicate beauty” and “perfect bride”. Interestingly, the orange lilies, which may symbolize “hatred” are sustained in a glass full of water. They are surrounded by a multitude of orange blooms rendered with slashed fiery impasto, which lie fuming beside an empty earthenware pot, which may allude to virginity and solitary life. We have no evidence that Saguil was conversant with the Victorian language of flowers. But was she subconsciously expressing the frustrations of her 36 years of life? She was not that successful in her relationships, and she maintained the myth that she was 10 years younger than she really was. Nevertheless, this still-life is evidence of her efforts to break from the academic mold and that in her art she lay in the full embrace of modernism. At the time this painting was done, around 1950, Saguil became active in the newly formed Philippine Art Gallery (P.A.G.) run by Lyd Arguilla, serving as a volunteer watching over the gallery. Saguil exhibited there and became associated with other notable Philippine modernists. In 1956 Saguil moved to Paris to further her studies at the Ecole des Artes Americaine. Her work often contains a sense of spirituality and religious feeling, in which she subsumed her earlier aspirations and desires. Her inner landscapes or “inscapes” represented her journey from the Material World to the Spiritual. But her later works lack the vibrant energy and intriguing contradictions of her early paintings.
Leon Gallery
Jan. 29, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱150,000 - ₱195,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1979 (lower right) mixed media 35” x 43 1/2” (89 cm x 110 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery
Jan. 29, 2022
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
Est: ₱120,000 - ₱156,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1974 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 18 1/2” x 25” (47 cm x 64 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 16, 2021
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Cosmos Series
Est: ₱80,000 - ₱104,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Cosmos Series signed and dated 1981 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 19” x 25” (48 cm x 64 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 16, 2021
Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
Est: ₱90,000 - ₱117,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1971 (lower right) watercolor on paper 19” x 25 1/4” (48 cm x 64 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 16, 2021
Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
Est: ₱90,000 - ₱117,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed (lower right) and dated 1971 watercolor on paper 19” x 25 1/2” (48 cm x 63 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 16, 2021
Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
Est: ₱60,000 - ₱78,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1988 (lower right) pen and ink on paper 16” x 18” (41 cm x 46 cm)
Leon Gallery
Oct. 16, 2021
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Cosmos Series)
Est: ₱80,000 - ₱104,000
Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Cosmos Series) dated 1978 ink on paper 19” x 25” (48 cm x 64 cm) Accompanied by a certificate issued by Benjamin B. Saguil Jr. confirming the authenticity of this lot
Leon Gallery