Art, society and flowers from a Marcos Blue Lady

In 1940, American journalist Varian Fry was sent to France as part of the US government’s Emergency Rescue Committee to help rescue Europe’s celebrated artists and their art; the musicians, too, and the writers and the intellectuals who were fleeing Europe during World War II.

It was a dangerous mission made possible with grit, guts and fake visas so the artists could board ships fleeing Marseilles and head to America or elsewhere. It showed the importance of luminaries whose works define a period in time, a moment in history, an era never to be forgotten. In the case of some 2,000 refugees whom Fry and his team helped flee to safety – as dramatized in Netflix’s Transatlantic – these artists and their work were avant-garde challengers to the evils of fascism and war.

Indeed, what is art if not a reminder of the good that must be cherished, the evils that must never be forgotten for its lessons or simply notes from bygone eras.

The very best of Filipino art is no exception. Filipino masters have produced art works that have defined epochs of civilization. They are stark reminders of centuries past; of how we have progressed – or perhaps regressed as a society.

Whichever the case may be, the country’s art enthusiasts will have reasons to pop the champagne – or, more appropriately, bang the gavel – as another art auction of some of Filipino masters’ long-lost pieces happens this Saturday, June 17.

I recently visited Leon Gallery in Makati and this is what I learned from its director, Jaime Ponce de Leon, who’s been busy preparing for Leon Gallery’s The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction this Saturday, happening this festive month of June to mark the 125th anniversary of the Philippine republic.

“Milestones are always a cause for celebration – and no more so than the 125th year of our nation’s birth as we mark a momentous Glorious 12th of June 2023... We have thus sought to gather the very best of Filipino art to mark a watershed moment for the Philippines,” Ponce de Leon says.

I saw Vicente Manansala’s Pounding Rice (1973), which shows the ancient harvest ritual that is a testament to the Filipino values of hard work.

To me, it’s also a reminder of how once upon a time, this country was a big rice producer and not the rice importer that we are now. Note that this was in 1973 and just years after, our rice crisis started.

It also speaks volumes about how Filipinos cherish rice as a gift of life.

This particular work is from the esteemed collection of Doña Hideliza “Delly” Tambunting-Ongsiako, a philanthropist who supported various religious organizations and a passionate collector of the arts.

During my visit, I also saw Anita Magsaysay Ho’s Women with Flowers (1993), made during her prolific Hong Kong years.

This one is from the collection of Zita Fernandez-Feliciano, a dear friend of the artist and one of Imelda Marcos’ original Blue Ladies or circle of friends who helped her in her social and civic duties back when she was first lady.

Mrs. Feliciano’s son, Ito, writes that Women with Flowers was his “mom’s piece de resistance” in the family living room, “which had an Amorsolo, a Sanso, Manansala and Ocampo, all surrounding visitors to the heart of our home.”

There are also works that deeply connect to the country’s National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal and how he inspired our struggle for self-determination.

As Ponce de Leon says, “June is also always made memorable thanks to the birth anniversary of our National Hero Jose Rizal. Two works by Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Garibay capture his heroism, as well as a rare copy of Rizal’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de Morga, one of his three books that spurred and defined our country’s identity. Maximo Viola, the man famous for rescuing Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere from oblivion by lending him the money to publish it, is represented through his collection of extraordinary ivory tableaux.”
Ponce de Leon says Filipino artists are widely represented in the upcoming Mid-Year auction.

“We invite you once again to revel in the imagination of the Philippines’ greatest artists, tirelessly gathered by some of the country’s most seasoned collectors,” he says.

“Of course, passionate art collectors who are key to ensuring the continued flourishing of Filipino art are the protagonists of this auction: Dr. Victor Reyes, pioneering Filipino neurosurgeon and friend to Filipino modernists, including H.R. Ocampo and Vicente Manansala; statesman and diplomat Carlos P. Romulo; legal luminary J. Antonio Araneta; revolutionary hero Gen. Benito Natividad and the Father of Philippine Health care, Dr. Roberto Macasaet Sr., and his wife, Teresita Montinola,” Ponce de Leon adds.

As these works of art change hands on Saturday, artists and collectors alike are in for another experience filled with the very best of Philippine art.

But I’d like to think this is more than just having the finest pieces of fine art on one’s walls or collection. It should also be about educating ourselves and the succeeding generations of the lessons that Philippine art has to offer.

Our masters remind us of what it means to be Filipino. May we honor their work as we ponder on the formation of our identity as a people, especially on our 125th year of independence.

May we look to art to remind us where we’ve been but, most of all, may it guide us to where we’re heading.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.