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Sotheby’s to hold two online Russian art sales

The first sale dubbed Russian Pictures will take place between May 26 and June 2

LONDON, May 18. /TASS/. Sotheby’s auction house is set to organize two sales of Russian art which will be held online for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic that continues to affect businesses and industries around the world, the auction company told TASS on Monday.

The first sale dubbed Russian Pictures will take place between May 26 and June 2. Collectors will vie for such masterpieces as The Bay of Naples by Ivan Aivazovsky (estimated between 800,000 and 1.2 million pounds), a view of Moscow by Alexei Savrasov (350,000-550,000 pounds), and a portrait by Konstantin Makovsky’s of his third wife, Maria Alexeevna Makovsky (180,000-250,000 pounds), as well as works on paper and Soviet non-conformist works.

The next Russian art sale is entitled Works of Art, Faberge and Icons will feature more than 200 artworks, including "important private European and American collections of Faberge, silver and a strong selection of porcelain from the Imperial Porcelain Factory," Sotheby’s noted.

The auction house underlined that the two sales are just a few in the array of auctions that had to be organized online due to the coronavirus developments in the world. "The start of 2020 has marked an unprecedented year for online sales at Sotheby’s, with over 50 dedicated online auctions being held to date, totaling over $100 million," Sotheby’s added.

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 in it. It is currently unclear whether other houses will switch to online sales. 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. The last Russian Art Week sale in summer 2019 brought in even more funds, surpassing the $48 million mark.

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