Ángel Botello "Cabeza" Bronze Bust
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GUEST:
It belonged to my grandmother. I'm originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and so I grew up with this piece. She had many sort of art pieces. She would travel some and collect things that she liked. And so always growing up, I just loved to go over to her house and just stare at all the different pieces. And this is one that I was just always attracted to because it has a sort of really delicate beauty to it. And it's also a little bit curious, though, too. She traveled to Europe, really all over, but as far as this piece, I believe that they might have picked it up in Haiti or the Caribbean or something like that, but I'm not sure exactly about whether that's right or not.
APPRAISER:
And do you know anything about the artist?
GUEST:
I have no idea. For the longest time, I think... right below a little bit, there seems to be some letters, and I thought that might be the artist's initials, but it's really hard to discern.
APPRAISER:
I don't believe this shelf, this bracket shelf, has anything to do with this bronze bust, and probably didn't start out life with it.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
So as you've mentioned, it is signed on the back of the bust, the lower part of her neck. And it's signed by the artist Botello, and that's Ángel Botello. He was born in Spain in 1913...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...and served as a cartographer during the Spanish Civil War.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
Leaving Spain after the Civil War, he moved to France at first, and then later spent time in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, briefly Cuba, and eventually settled in Puerto Rico.
GUEST:
Ah, wow.
APPRAISER:
So after Botello settled in Puerto Rico in the early 1950s, he and his wife opened an art gallery to showcase his works. He was a very prolific artist, working in multiple fields, including painting, print making and, as we have here, sculpture.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So this is a patinated bronze bust that's titled "Cabeza," or sometimes "Cabeza de Niòa." And he did die tragically of lung cancer in 1986. Botello is widely regarded as one of the most important postmodern Latin American artists. And his works often sell in Latin American art auctions and at Latin American art galleries next to the huge names in Latin American art, including Botero, Frida Kahlo, and many others. He's a very, very fine artist.
GUEST:
Wow. Holy smokes.
APPRAISER:
If I was putting an insurance value on this bronze bust, I would give an insurance value of $20,000.
GUEST:
Holy smokes. That is... that's pretty amazing. $20,000. I never... this has been sitting in a room. I cannot believe that. That is insane.
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