Anita Magsaysay-Ho tops Leon Gallery’s The Magnificent September Auction

Anita Magsaysay's Laughter, her first oil painting, goes for P63.7 million; Girl in a Maria Clara, influenced by Amorsolo, fetches P7.8 million.

Leon Gallery’s The Magnificent September Auction made world records anew for Filipino masters.

Anita Magsaysay-Ho took firmer  hold of her title as the  “Queen of Philippine Auctions,” with Laughter, her first oil painting, going under the hammer for P63.7 million. Laughter is among the celebrated works by Magsaysay-Ho from her golden age of the 1950s, immortalizing the triumphs and resilience of the Filipina. Another Magsaysay-Ho, Girl in a Maria Clara, which bares the influence of her mentor, Fernando Amorsolo, went for P7.8 million.

Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914–2012), ‘Girl in a Maria Clara,’ signed and dated 1944 (lower left), oil on masonite board, 24” x 18” (61 cm x 46 cm), sold for P7,810,400.

Works by the Neo-Realists Vicente Manansala and H.R. Ocampo reached the P30 million mark. Manansala’s Fish Vendors, from the collection of movie star Celia Flor, went for P28.8 million. Ocampo’s Dilemma, from the collection of former Press Secretary Kit Tatad, commanded P26.4 million.