Inaugural Russian Sale at Sotheby's Totals $53.3 Million
November 27, 2007
Art Fortune | Art Discoveries
LONDON—Wealthy collectors fought over “works of their heritage” at Sotheby’s inaugural evening sale of Russian art in London yesterday, bringing in £25.7 million ($53.3 million) and beating presale estimates of £16 to £23.5 million, reports Bloomberg.
Nine of the top 10 lots were modern works, including examples from Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, and Nikolai Roerich, whose 1922 Himself Came sold for £1.76 million, 12 times its top estimate, a record for the artist at auction. Sotheby’s said 91 percent of buyers were Russian, 70 percent of the lots went for above estimate, and 12 of 55 went unsold.
"This sale was historic," said Jo Vickery, head of Sotheby's Russian art department in London. "It shows the Russian art market has come of age and has reached the level of other major art markets."
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