Best of Art in 2023: 10 of the most famous and impactful artworks sold

Another of Magsaysay-Ho’s works centred itself in the spotlight. This time, her oil on canvas piece, Laughter, sold at The Magnificent September Auction 2023 by Leon Gallery. It was sold for Php 63,684,800. 

Made by the artist in 1957, Laughter is an image of three women laughing candidly amid their conversation. Filipinos are often associated with laughter because of their sense of humour or positive outlook, as most people often say.

National Artist Jose Joya’s artworks reflect his love for the modern and abstract. Love Rites from 1979, oil on wood panel, is an example. The arrangement of colours led to the formation of fields in the form of shapes. According to critics, it depicts rice fields filtered through Joya’s creativity. He conjures the image of a “tranquil moment” by combining his avant-garde style with the Filipino environment.

It was sold for Php 59,568,000 at The Asian Cultural Council Auction 2023.

Art collectors consider National Artist BenCab’s Larawan series as one of his best works, which, according to the Salcedo Auctions website, is based on colonial photography and suggests parallel scenarios between the past and present; the auction of one of its pieces is sure to cause excitement and sensation—and it did. 

It was the highest-selling artwork during The Well-Appointed Life event of Salcedo Auctions in March 2023.

At León Gallery’s The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction 2023, National Artist Vincent Manansala’s Pounding Rice was sold for Php 40,880,000. 

According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts website, Manansala believes that the beauty of art is in the process—in the moment of doing a particular painting. He further associates it with the act of making love: “The climax is just when it’s really finished”.

We are mostly known for their “bayanihan”, a word that best depicts the Filipino trait of helping each other, especially in times of need, without expecting anything in return. It is the concept of the artwork Bayanihan, one of Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s most known pieces. 

The happy and positive outlook the artwork emanates attracts collectors to it, and as such was sold for Php 28,838,400 at The Kingly Treasures 2023.

One of the latest pieces in this list is Repatriated Bodies by Rodel Tapaya, which was released in 2014. According to Salcedo Auctions, the acrylic on-canvas painting tackles the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers by employing the manananggal—a Filipino mythical creature—to embody Filipinos leaving their behind to work abroad. 

The Magnificent September Auction 2023 by León Gallery featured the best of Philippine art and history, one of which is Hernando Ocampo’s Dilemma. Sold at Php 26,435,200, the piece serves as a reminder that he is a man of colour—often using bold palettes and biomorphic shapes inspired by both the Philippine landscape and fiction writing.

The sale of Vincent Manansala’s Fish Vendors soared to an astonishing Php 28,838,000 at León Gallery’s The Magnificent September Auction last year. 

Manansala’s celebration of folk and lifestyle through his works gives us an “indication of his Filipino sensibility and intimate connection with its traditional culture and heritage,” as mentioned in his profile for the gallery.

Previously owned by English actress and politician Glenda Jackson, Salcedo unveiled Subway Madonna by BenCab last year. It was sold at the Under The Tree: The Wish List auction in December 2023 for Php 9,500,000 (Php 11,096,000 inclusive of 16.8% buyer’s premium and value-added tax).

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