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Russian art set to make £30m
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent6 Jun 2008
More than £30 million worth of Russian art will be sold by Sotheby's next week.
It should prove to be the most valuable sale involving the booming Russian market that the auction house has held.
The most important work in the auction is a previously unknown still life by Natalia Goncharova, one of the leading members of the pre-revolution avantgarde.
Nature Morte Aux Fruits was given by the artist to French poet Guillaume Apollinaire and is being sold from a private French collection. It has an estimate of up to £3 million.
With a strong influence from France, the work is similar to those displayed at the recent Royal Academy exhibition, From Russia, which explored the influence of French art on Russian painters at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th.
Another significant work is The Kremlin On The Eve Of The Coronation Of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich by Konstantin Yuon, which records a decisive moment in Russian history in 1613 and the beginning of the Romanov dynasty that ended bloodily in 1917.
The strength of the Russian market has persuaded one owner to sell a Marc Chagall in a Russian context.
Although born in Belarus, Chagall spent most of his working life in France. Sotheby's is selling an early work, Alla, painted when he was still a student in St Petersburg. It is one of only a few compositions from this period to have survived and has an estimate of up to £1.8 million.
Jo Vickery, head of Sotheby's Russian department, said it would most likely be bought by a Russian: "It's a very rare painting of his early period. It's not an iconic Chagall but it is of historical art importance." Other pieces were as likely to appeal to Western collectors, she said.
Many of the works in the sale come from the early 20th century, one of the strongest periods for Russian art.
Many were emerging on the market because prices had risen to the point where long-term owners could no longer afford the insurance premiums. Works that might have made £20,000 a few years ago could make £200,000 or even £500,000 now. "It's one of the hottest of hot markets," said Ms Vickery.
The sales take place on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
