Sotheby’s has opened its first single-artist exhibition at its New York Breuer headquarters, presenting 25 rare paintings and sculptures by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, per observer.com.
Organised in partnership with The Fernando Botero Foundation, “Botero in New York” runs through September 7 and focuses on the formative period between 1960 and 1973, when the artist lived in Greenwich Village and developed his signature figurative style.
The selling exhibition features works drawn directly from the artist’s family archive, including several pieces previously unseen by the public. Among the highlights on view are Monalisa a los Trece Años, a variant of the painting acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 1961, and Apotheosis of Ramón Hoyos (1959). The selection traces Botero’s commitment to figurative art, volume, and form during an era dominated by Abstract Expressionism.
Botero arrived in New York in the late 1950s after studying European masters and exhibiting across Latin America. His encounter with key curators and dealers led to international acclaim, culminating in a sold-out debut at Marlborough Gallery in 1972. The exhibition highlights how his distinct visual language–characterised by rounded, voluptuous forms known as “Boterismo”–defied prevailing aesthetic trends of the mid-20th century.
The show comes during a period of sustained market growth for the artist, who died in 2023. Annual auction sales for Botero rose from $9.7 million in 2020 to $25.1 million by November 2024. Top-tier works, particularly major paintings from the 1960s and 1970s and large-scale bronzes, regularly exceed pre-sale estimates amidst expanding demand from collectors in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
While Botero remains one of Latin America’s most recognisable artists, his auction record stands at $5.132 million, achieved for The Musicians in 2023. Market experts attribute this modest peak relative to his global fame to a large lifetime output and historical critical division over his figurative style. The current Sotheby’s exhibition forms part of broader estate and gallery efforts to recontextualize his core period works for a global market.
°Featured image: “Botero in New York”/ Ben Levine, courtesy of Sotheby’s