New record set for Leonora Carrington painting as artwork sells for $28.5 million
Les Distractions de Dagobert, a classic painting by Surrealist painter and writer Leonora Carrington, has just sold for a whopping $28.5 million at auction, making it the artist’s most expensive work to date.
Eduardo F. Costantini, an Argentinian businessman who founded the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, purchased the artwork. After just 10 minutes of bidding, he secured the painting during the Sotheby’s auction, surpassing predictions that it would be bought for a price between $12 million and $18 million.
Costantini has also bought many other iconic pieces of art in the past, including works by prominent artists like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Remedios Varo, and Wilfredo Lam. In a statement, Costantini said: “An iconic painting, The Distractions of Dagobert, is one the most admired works in the history of surrealism and an unparalleled masterpiece of Latin American art.”
He added, “I was the underbidder when she reached the artist’s record 30 years ago and tonight once again, we made a new auction record! This masterpiece will be part of a collection where amongst other two important works by Remedios Varo and another record breaking Frida Kahlo are also found.”
Before this sale, Carrington’s most expensive artwork was The Garden of Paracelsus, which sold for $3.2 million. This significant jump in price suggests that, within the past few years, more female Surrealists, and female artists in general, have been taken more seriously by art collectors and the public.
Carrington was one of Surrealism’s most prominent figures. She was born in England and lived there during childhood, although she temporarily relocated to Italy for a short while to study at Mrs Penrose’s Academy of Art.
Back in London, Carrington studied art further, having been captivated by Surrealist paintings she’d seen during a trip to France. She eventually lived in France for a short while, where she began her artistic career before finding a home in Mexico City.
She gave Surrealism a distinctively feminine touch, with some of her most iconic works being Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse), The Magical World of the Mayans and the novel The Hearing Trumpet.
Les Distractions de Dagobert was painted in 1945, shortly after Carrington moved to Mexico City. It’s a chaotic yet beautiful painting, bursting with imagery on every inch of the canvas.
