BIZ BUZZ: Fine art up for grabs
Fresh off his stunning success in bringing home the long-lost Juan Luna masterpiece “Hymen, oh Hymenee!”, one would be forgiven for expecting Leon Gallery owner Jaime Ponce de Leon to rest on his laurels a bit and bask in the well deserved limelight for a while.
After all, he did manage a near-impossible feat when he acquired the famed Filipino master’s painting which, many thought, had disappeared (and was, in fact, considered missing for half a century) after the artist’s death.
On Saturday, however, Ponce de Leon will not be buying famous masterpieces but instead selling them. Auctioning them off, to be precise.
Biz Buzz learned that Leon Gallery’s mid-year auction will feature the entire collection of the late Zita Feliciano—one of the so-called Blue Ladies who formed the intimate circle of friends of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
This painting was acquired directly by Feliciano from Anita Magsaysay-Ho (signed, of course), and bidding for it on Saturday, June 17, will start at P20 million. And just as in previous Leon Gallery auctions, expect the hammer to fall only after several frenetic rounds of bidding among its well-heeled clientele.
Other paintings in the Feliciano collection include works by Vicente Manansala, Juvenal Sanso, Benedicto Cabrera and H.R. Ocampo.
Another collection which will be up for grabs will be those of Don J. Antonio Araneta (the uncle of Greggy Araneta, we’re told) which includes a 1966 oil on wood painting called “Talim Island II” by Jose Joya which will start at P8 million, a Sanso that will start at P2 million, as well as a painting by Federico Alcuaz.
All told, 184 lots—worth over P300 million at their starting prices, we hear—will go under the hammer on Saturday. Going once … going twice …
—Daxim L. Lucas
Urquijo joins Ayala Foundation
Members of the new generation of the Zobel family are getting more responsibilities with Jaime Zobel Urquijo taking over as chair of the executive committee of Ayala Foundation.
Urquijo, 34, son of Bea Zobel Jr., one of the sisters of Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, took on the top position effective June 13, replacing longtime Ayala Group top executive Gerry Ablaza.
Urquijo got the chance to meet a number of the key partners of Ayala Foundation during the long-awaited unveiling last week at the Ayala Museum of Juan Luna’s lost masterpiece “Hymen, oh Hyménée!”, which was last seen 132 years ago.
Urquijo was joined by his cousin, Jaime Alfonso, who is likewise taking on more roles in the group together with his sister, Mariana.
Aside from heading the executive committee of Ayala Foundation, Urquijo is also the assistant vice president for international business development at AC Energy Corp. and a senior manager at Ayala Corp. He was also appointed non-executive director of the Bank of the Philippine Islands in September 2022.
By all indications, the reins of the country’s oldest conglomerate are being transferred to more than capable hands.
Urquijo is also advisor to the board of the Philippine Rugby Football Union. And that he graduated with a BA in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 and received his MBA from INSEAD in 2018.
