| Russian art fetches surprising $13.8 mln at Sotheby's |
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03/11/2009 10:39 (17 Day 19:32 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Sales of Russian artworks netted about $13.8 million at an auction at Sotheby's in New York, well above the estimate of $6-9 mln and despite the global economic crisis, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
The auction's top lot was Mother and Child by Russian modernist painter Boris Grigoryev (1886-1939), which went for about $1.37 million, more than twice its pre-sale estimate.
The artist painted the portrait of his wife and son in 1918, and it was part of a private collection in Germany.
Among the other Grigoryev paintings that doubled estimates, were Faces of Russia, sold for $986,500, and Pont-Aven, Evening, which fetched $890,500.
A painting by another famous Russian modernist, Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), was sold for a surprising $1.78 million with an estimate of only $600,000-800,000.
Both painters were born in MOSCOW and died in Paris.
Among the most sensational events at Sotheby's on November 1 was the sale of Peter the Great: a rare Russian Award Portrait Miniature with Diamonds, which fetched over $1.3 million with an estimate of only $80,000-120,000.
A total of 10 copies are known to have been awarded by the Russian tsar and only six remain today.
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