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Russian Week fetches almost $50 million to UK auction houses

The most expensive lot of the sale was Ivan Kliun’s Spherical Suprematism

Ivan Kliun’s Spherical Suprematism Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

Ivan Kliun’s Spherical Suprematism

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

LONDON, November 28. /TASS/. The traditional Russian Week brought 37.5 million pounds ($48.5 million) in total to the four UK auction houses - Sotheby's, Christie's, MacDougall's and Bonhams.

The Russian Art Week is a major international art fair traditionally held in London two times a year - in May-June and November-December. Apart from Christie’s, other auction houses like Sotheby's, MacDougall's and Bonhams take part. The Russian Art Week held in June 2019 raised more than $45 million, while the sale itself was one of the most successful in many past years.

Sotheby's top lot

Sotheby's Russian Week auctions brought 18.1 million pounds ($23.4 million) in total.

The most expensive lot of the sale was Ivan Kliun’s Spherical Suprematism, dated 1920s. The work of the Russian avant-garde artist, close friend of Kazimir Malevich and pioneer of non-objective art went under hammer for 4.9 million pounds ($6.3 million). Much of Kliun’s work was lost during the Second World War when he was evacuated from Moscow and forced to leave the contents of his studio in the custodianship of a lodger who used his paintings as firewood.

The artwork was bought by renowned Russian avant-garde collector George Costakis, who was born in the Soviet Union and lived there for several decades. In 1960s, he bought a number of paintings from the artist’s daughter Serafima.

Spherical Suprematism was among the few pictures that Costakis managed to take out of the Soviet Union, and it still bears a Soviet export permit stamp.

Christie's results

Read also

Nicolai Fechin’s masterpiece auctioned in London for $3 million

Christie’s overall sales during the event amounted to about 12 million pounds ($15.5 million).

The Manicure Lady (Portrait of Mademoiselle Girmond) painting by Russian artist Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) was sold at a Christie’s auction in London for 2.3 million pounds ($3 million), the Christie’s auction house said.

The Christie’s auction also saw renowned Russian landscape painter Ivan Shishkin’s (1832-1898) Sukhostoi (snag) painting (1897) selling for more than 1 million pounds ($1.33 million) with estimates placing it between 700,000 and 900,000 pounds ($900,000-1.2 million).

Sunset over Ischia (1873) by Russian marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900) was purchased for 491,000 pounds ($635,000). Another masterpiece by Aivazovsky - Pushkin looking out to Ayu-Dag, Crimea - was sold for 162,500 pounds ($210,000) with estimates of 80,000-120,000 pounds ($105,000-155,000).

The auction house also held an auction of important Russian books and manuscripts, which brought 2.13 million pounds ($2.75 million).

MacDougall's and Bonhams

MacDougall's held two auctions as part of the Russian Week - Contemporary Russian Art and Important Russian Art. Together, they fetched 4.1 billion pounds ($5.3 million). The top lot was Natalia Goncharova’s L’Espagnole, sold for 948,000 pounds ($1.22 million).

Another Natalia Goncharova’s painting, Birch Trees, was the top lot of Bonhams’ Russian Sale as well, fetching 250,000 pounds ($320,000). The sale yielded 1.21 million pounds ($1.55 million) overall.

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