{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":3568,"auction_id":6,"set_id":8,"lot_number":"163","artist":"Betsy Westendorp (1927 - 2022)","title":"Painting #989-99","starting_price":1800000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1999 (lower right)","medium":"oil on board","size":"37 1/2\" x 63\" (94 cm x 160 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Galleria Duemila, Inc.","exhibited":"Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Passages: Celebrating the Artistic Journeys of Betsy Westendorp (A Retrospective Exhibition), Manila, January 29, 2020 - March 15, 2021","literature":"Reyes, Cid. Passages: Celebrating the Artistic Journeys of Betsy Westendorp. Manila: De La Salle Publishing House and The Metropolitan Museum of Manila Foundation, Inc., 2021. Published on the occassion of Betsy Westendorp's 2021 Retrospective of the same name at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila. Full-color photograph and painting description on page 106.","write_up":"The art of Betsy Westendorp captures the beauty and purity of flowers, fresh and uncut, never placed in a vase but flourishing in their natural setting. Her floras awaken the eyes of its beholder to the wonders of nature. “I find flowers fascinating. Flowers are for everybody,” she once said.<br /><br />Betsy’s earliest floral subjects were roses and carnations, most were gifted to her. Later, she painted her flowers en plein air. Her orchid paintings started when she visited a greenhouse in Madrid called the Centro de Jardinera Bourguignon. She asked permission to paint the orchids inside the greenhouse and was fortunately permitted. The Spanish-born artist believed that in order to be acquainted with her floral subjects, she needed to be in their presence. “At the beginning, I had to paint on location. So, I can get in touch with the orchids,” she said in a conversation with art critic Cid Reyes. “It’s like getting to know a person. With flowers, you have to know them also.” Betsy even painted with a sprig of orchids hanging on a canvas she was working on. As a way to immerse herself in the subject, she acquired a collection of books on orchids, which are kept in her Madrid residence and Makati condominium, as a handy reference since she has memorized even the botanical names of various species of orchids.<br /><br /> Westendorp pieces have always found favor with all the succeeding regimes in Malacañang, as several of her works are still displayed in the palace. The Philippine government awarded Betsy Westendorp the second highest honor next to the Order of National Artists, the Presidential Award of Merit for Art and Culture. (P.I.R.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":2400000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":2400000,"userBid":7390,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":2803200,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":3845,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/6/8/lot/163.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":3846,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/6/8/lot/163a.jpg","isFeatured":0}]},"increment":[2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":162,"next":164,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}