Nena Saguil Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1924 - d. 1994

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        • PROPERTY FROM THE LORNA REVILLA MONTILLA COLLECTION Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena SAGUIL (1914-1994) Filipin - French
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Untitled
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Composition en noir et blanc (Composition in Black and White)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Three Marys (Three Monks)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1914 - 1994) - Sans Titre (Untitled)
          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
        • 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) -
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924-1994)
          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
        • NENA SAGUIL (1924-1994) Cosmos oil on canvas 54.5 x 94.5 cm. (21 1⁄2 x 37 1
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924-1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Self-Portrait
          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
        • Nena Saguil (Philippines, France, 1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil - Blue Cosmos
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled (Landscapes of the Mind)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Cosmos Series (Thumbnail)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
          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
        • Untitled (Blue Abstract)
          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
        • Untitled (Blue Waves)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled (drippings of black ink)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Still Life with Flowers
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Cosmos Series
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled (Cosmos Series)
          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
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          Oct. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled

          Est: ₱80,000 - ₱104,000

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1971 (lower left) ink on paper 19” x 25” (48 cm x 64 cm)   León Gallery wishes to thank Mr. Benjamin Saguil Jr. for confirming the authenticity of this lot.

          Leon Gallery
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          Oct. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled

          Est: ₱150,000 - ₱195,000

          1079 Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled signed and dated 1979 (lower right) oil on canvas 18” x 24” (46 cm x 61 cm)   Accompanied by a certificate issued by Benjamin B. Saguil J . confirming the authenticity of this lot

          Leon Gallery
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled
          Oct. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled

          Est: ₱50,000 - ₱65,000

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 2004) Untitled signed and dated 1972 (lower right) oil on canvas 6 1/2” x 13 1/2” (17 cm x 34 cm)

          Leon Gallery
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
          Jul. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled

          Est: ₱80,000 - ₱104,000

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1978 (lower right) India ink on paper 18 1/2” x 24 1/2” (47 cm x 62 cm)

          Leon Gallery
        • Nena Saguil - Untitled
          Jul. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil - Untitled

          Est: ₱200,000 - ₱260,000

          Nena SaguilUntitled signed and dated 1975 (lower right) oil on canvas 31” x 21” (79 cm x 53 cm)

          Leon Gallery
        • Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled
          Jul. 16, 2021

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) - Untitled

          Est: ₱100,000 - ₱130,000

          Nena Saguil (1924 - 1994) Untitled signed and dated 1963 (lower right) watercolor on paper 20” x 29” (51 cm x 74 cm)

          Leon Gallery
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