Sotheby's CEO Bill Ruprecht is "long" on Soviet realism (FT).
Sotheby's CEO Bill Ruprecht is "long" on Soviet realism (FT).
The star Russian turns at Phillips de Pury's sales on Sunday and Monday - Semyon Faibisovich (top price £109,250), Erik Bulatov (top price £115,750), Natalia Nesterova (top price £61,250) Ivan Chuikov (£73,250) and Oleg Vasilev (top price £87,650) - held up well. The most striking result to my mind was £117,650 paid for a painting by Lev Tabenkin. A painting by Chichkan made £37,250: a sign of the expanding Ukrainian collectors' market. This said, many Russian works failed to sell, including two works each by Vulokh, Dyshlenko and AES+F, one each by Nesterova, Nazarenko, Pepperstein and Timur Novikov. (All quoted prices inc. buyer's premium).
The first Leica M8 digital camera has been sold at auction to a Russian Leica collector for €24,000 (photography blog).
The few Russian works at Christies last night seem to have held up well; Goncharova set new records (Scott Reyburn/Bloomberg).
The head of Christies contemporary art, Amy Cappellazzo, visits Moscow: we must have a little more "patience" before Christies begin to sell Russian contemporary work (video; Open Space/Art Times).
Three paintings by Boris Grigorev which came to light recently at the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Mass., will be sold at Sotheby's NY in November (John Varoli/Bloomberg). More detail in the local press (Berkshire Eagle).
Semyon Faibisovich and Oleg Vasilev at Phillips de Pury's upcoming evening sale, and plenty more Russians in the day sale.
My review of the recent contemporary Russian art sales in London is up (Open Space/Art Times, in Russian). Also worth a look, perhaps: the erudite Ieremiya Khertsog's regular column. I note that, in the opening para, Ieremiya says that his favourite London restaurant is Manzi's. I can't quarrel with that, if only because I've never eaten there. But I'd add that it's been closed for a while and was recently acquired by Fergus Henderson, founder of the famous St John restaurant, who plans to preserve its unique atmosphere (actually, this news is exclusive to IZO). Mr Henderson's wife, Margot, it so happens, prepared the Melnikov Garage Amy Winehouse Gig meal.
A review of Russian sale week in London (Colin Gleadell/Daily Telegraph).
With £12.4 million sales last week, Macdougall claims second place in the Russian market: a brilliant achievement by a start-up (Macdougall)
