British-Mexican painter Leonora Carrington's 1945 surrealist painting: "Les Distractions de Dagobert" fetched $28.5 million including the buyer's premium last Wednesday, May 15, at the Sotheby's "Modern Evening Auction" in New York.
The record-setting sale for the artist also saw the painting go for more than double its lower estimate of $12 million. Conversely, the piece had a high estimate of $18 million.
About the 'Les Distractions de Dagobert' Sale
Winning the bid in person was Argentinian businessman Eduardo F. Constantini, who triumphed over other buyers on the phone. At the time, he was with Alejandra Rosseti, the auction house's VP for business development in Miami, and Jen Hua, deputy chairman of Sotheby's Asia.
Speaking of his recently acquired piece, Constantini said after the sale: "An iconic painting, The Distractions of Dagobert, is one the most admired works in the history of surrealism and an unparalleled masterpiece of Latin American art."
I was the underbidder when she reached the artist's record 30 years ago and tonight once again, we made a new auction record!" Constantini continued. "This masterpiece will be part of a collection where amongst other two important works by Remedios Varo and another record-breaking Frida Kahlo are also found."
The Argentinian collector is among the most recognized in the art world, specifically as the founder of Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires and for setting records for Latin American artists by buying their vital pieces off of auctions.
Just last 2020, Constantini broke records when he acquired pieces from Remedios Varo and Wilfredo Lam. In the same year, he bought Lam's 1945 piece: "Omi Obini" for $9.6 million, the highest price ever stamped on a Latin American artist's work at the time.
A year later, that record was broken by none other than Constantini himself, when he purchased Frida Kahlo's "Diego y Yo" (Diego and I) at a Sotheby's sale for $34.9 million.
Now, he has recently broken the artist's record for Carrington, seemingly exemplifying the upward trend of her works' price going up in recent years.
