{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":3514,"auction_id":6,"set_id":8,"lot_number":"115","artist":"Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914 - 2012)","title":"Women with Chicks","starting_price":6000000,"signed_dated":"signed (lower left)
dated 1985","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"16\" x 20\" (41 cm x 51 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Won as a raffle prize in 1985","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"One of Magsaysay-Ho’s significant contributions to Philippine art was her portrayal of everyday Filipino life, particularly rural scenes and the lives of ordinary people. Her paintings often depicted farmers, fisherfolk, and women engaging in everyday activities. Magsaysay-Ho had a keen eye for capturing the laborious yet resilient spirit of the Filipino people. Through her art, she celebrated their struggles, joys, and the strong sense of community that pervades rural life in the Philippines.
Though one may argue that Magsaysay-Ho was not alone in the depiction of everyday lives and peoples. Her peers, which include Victorio Edades, Vicente Manansala, Galo Ocampo, were also ahead of the curve when it came to subject-matter. Much like Magsaysay-Ho, their interests were no longer confined to the grand, historic, or even the idyllic. Their farmers and workers, free from any sort of idealized connotations, farmed and worked, labored and toiled. But their representations were far from accurate. For what the Modernists were concerned with was not merely physical reproduction, but an expression of the condition of man. For the first time in recent human history, our actions and will were seemingly not animated by any other force, whether soul or spirit, but our own. The human condition was, at its very core, human. Flawed though it may be, it was malleable. It was not permanent. And thus hope sprung forth. For suffering was no longer going to come from the heavens, but from within. The Modernists embraced the idea. They welcomed with open arms the idea that man and his labors, free from a previously pre-requisite divination, were enough to change the world. But if man could change the world, couldn't women do the same thing as well?
There is a sort of thematic connection between Anita’s works and the fact that she is the only woman amongst the pioneering Thirteen Moderns. Though her works were adjacent to her peers, it was only Anita that had women front and center. From fisherfolk to farmers, laundrywoman and weavers, it was only Anita that seemingly revealed that women were capable of the dignified fruits of labor.
This piece depicts a much lighter and even arguably playful side to the artist. Anita is no stranger to depicting women amidst animal and farm work. One of her most iconic works, a piece titled Egg Vendors, which Leon Gallery had the privilege of offering in its Magnificent September Auction 2021, showcases her fascination with the industry. Curator Lisa Guerrero-Nakpil writes, “This eternal symbol of new life is cupped gingerly in the hands of one of them, for such hopes must be carefully nurtured and protected. Their faces, upturned and illuminated by the single lamp, also egg-shaped, are gripped in various expressions of mystical fervor. All of them peer closely, seemingly hypnotized, eyes half-shut to see more clearly. Their hands are clasped as if praying, their heads turned heavenward. One of the maidens is pictured breathless, with lips parted as if she were ready to receive the Host in sacred rites. Anita Magsaysay Ho thus creates this enchanting narrative of motherhood, women and children in this single, almost transcendental work.”
But Woman with Chicks seemingly does not express the same transcendental allure of Egg Vendors. But that undoubtedly does not make it any less of a masterpiece. For what is one of art’s cardinal functions than to elicit emotion. But this time, instead of jouissance, it is joy. Pure and simple. The work comes off as friendly and approachable, as if these women are not symbols but acquaintances or friends. This mood is further exacerbated by the fact that Anita is seemingly breaking the fourth wall by having the chicks pop out of the frame and scurry around the matting. Such a technique may have been uncommon at the time, but Anita was not the only one employing it. Hundreds of kilometers away, artists such as Salvador Dali?, Rene? Magritte, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Barbara Kruger embraced this technique to challenge traditional notions of art and engage the viewer in a dialogue. By disrupting the illusion of a static canvas, fourth-wall breaks allowed artists to create dynamic and immersive experiences. But what makes Anita’s work stand out, aside from it being among the few Modern Filipino works that employ the fourth-wall break, is its seemingly humorous and lighthearted use that elicits an emotion that is unarguably on par with the transcendental; happiness.
Eventually, Anita would depict women in more traditional social graces and contexts. But one cannot truly appreciate the fruits of one’s labor unless one understands the very foundation it was planted on. Anita’s women, though not overtly political or social, will be remembered as the cornerstone of one of the pillars of Filipino art. (J.D.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":14000000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":14000000,"userBid":5926,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":16352000,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":3745,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/6/8/lot/115.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":3751,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/6/8/lot/115a.jpg","isFeatured":0}]},"increment":[11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":114,"next":116,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}