Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

The beauty and purity of flowers are perfectly captured in the canvases of Betsy Westendorp. As observed in the lot at hand, the flowers are fresh and uncut, not placed in a decorative vase but flourishing in their natural setting. Westendorp often depicted her floral subjects in such a manner because she used to paint flowers en plein air. For instance, if not her first, one of her earliest orchid paintings was done during a visit to Centro de Jardinera Bourguignon, a flower shop in Madrid. She asked permission to paint the orchids inside the greenhouse and was fortunately permitted. “At the beginning, I had to paint on location,” Westendorp 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.” She believed that in order to be acquainted with her floral subjects, she needed to be in their presence. Among the petaled plants Westendorp has painted, the orchid is a particular favorite, to the point that it has become synonymous with her name. Even so, she still painted other flowers, such as milflores, sunflowers, water lilies, and birds of paradise, to name a few. Her earliest floral subjects were roses and carnations, most were gifted to her. Then, her first milflores painting was done in the north of Spain during a summer vacation. For her paintings of hydrangeas, she bought flower pots so she could paint in front of them. In her garden, she also planted sunflowers and, again, painted them on her canvas. “I find flowers fascinating. Flowers are for everybody,” Westendorp once said. (Isabella Romarate)