Focus on this artwork and analyze the Condition and location.
Camote Diggers was left unfinished and was stored inside Botong Francisco's studio until 1973, when Francisco's widow presented the artwork as a gift to then-President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos. The Marcoses are patrons of Francisco, with their last commissioned work being The Life of Ferdinand Marcos. It was then hanged inside the Malacañang Palace, in a room next to the study of the President.By 2004, Camote Diggers was in the possession of a son of a senator who sold it to former Central Bank Governor Jaime C. Laya.The artwork was lent to the Yuchengco Museum from 2011 to 2019 and as part of a rotating exhibition of various National Artists. In 2012, the painting was also featured in a special retrospective on the artist called Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined at the Ayala Museum that was subsequently published in its exhibition catalogue.In 2019, Camote Diggers was auctioned off at the Leon Gallery Fine Art and Antiques in Manila for ₱23.4 million, inclusive of buyer's premium. However the artwork's provenance became subject of controversy with the heirs of Francisco believing that the painting should be in Malacañang. This led to the consignor, with consent of the buyer who successfully bought the painting in the auction, to donate Camote Diggers to a national museum.
Ayala Museum provenance Imelda Marcos Botong Francisco National Artists buyer's premium Malacañang Palace Ferdinand Marcos Jaime C. Laya National Artist Central Bank Governor