Fabelo achieves almost 400 thousand dollars for one of his paintings at a Christie's auction

August 3, 2020

Roberto Fabelo has just received 399 thousand dollars obtained in a Christie's auction held this week, in which he managed to sell his painting 'Journey to the Fantastic Garden' at double the estimated price, making it a record for a work by this artist.

The auction, held on July 30th, featured works by Cuban painters such as Wilfredo Lam, Carmen Herrera, Rufino Tamayo, Amelia Peláez, Mario Carreño, René Portocarrero, Víctor Manuel, Tomás Sánchez, Manuel Mendive, among other renowned artists from the Island's artistic circle.

Fabelo's painting became the star of the night, which was painted in 2016, and surpassed the previous record of 312 thousand dollars reached by one of his earlier works.

The work that commanded the highest price was a 1950 Wilfredo Lam painting titled Femme Cheval and it went for two million 415 thousand dollars. To that figure are added another 200 thousand for the auction of The Rooster and the Hen (1950) and 30 thousand for Femme Cheval (II).
This was followed by a sculpture by Agustín Cárdenas titled Lui from 1969 that reached its highest bid at 250 thousand dollars and Figures in the Palm Grove, by Mariano Carreño was valued at 225 thousand dollars.

Other works auctioned at Christie's included Amelia Peláez's Still Life for $112 thousand 500; two paintings by Tomás Sánchez, Shared Contemplation in the Lagoon and Meditation Before the Waterfall valued at 93 thousand 750 and 81 thousand 250 dollars each; two works by Manuel Mendive, The Mambisa Virgin and another untitled, for which bidders went up to 62 thousand 500 and 43 thousand 750 dollars; a 1965 painting by Zilia Sánchez valued at 56 thousand 250 dollars and 30 thousand for a Cathedral by René Portocarrero from 1960.