Private Collections Soar at Sotheby’s Russian Art Sale
NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s Spring 2010 Russian Art sale concluded today in New York achieving a total of $13,572,252, well within the $10.7/15 million estimate and 81% sold by value. The highlights of the sale were a series of private collections that all achieved strong prices. A record for a work at auction by Pavel Tchelitchew was set when Portrait of Ruth Ford sold for $986,500 – over $400,000 more than the previous record price. A new auction record was also set for Yuri Pimenov when his Morning Windows sold for $314,500, as well as for a Evgeny Lanceray bronze when a Monumental Russian Bronze Group: Arabic Horse Games sold for $482,500 – four times the high estimate.
Boris Grigoriev’s charming "Still Life with Cat and Onions"
Sonya Bekkerman, Head of Russian Paintings at Sotheby’s New York said: “The success of both the Collection of Ruth Ford and Charles Henri Ford and the Yakov Pereman collection demonstrate an enthusiasm for paintings from distinguished private collections. The Ford Collection is fresh to the market, with many works coming directly from the artist. Ruth and her brother were great champions of Pavel Tchelitchew and so it is fitting that the new artist record should be for the Portrait of Ruth Ford from her collection. The companion Portrait of Charles Henri Ford with Pitcher will be offered in New York in November. Meanwhile, the Pereman collection is the most comprehensive group of paintings by the ‘Society of Independent Artists’ in existence, and it had not been seen in Ukraine for over 80 years before Sotheby’s highlights exhibition in Kiev a few weeks ago, which was greeted with tremendous excitement. The collection is an important part of Ukrainian artistic heritage from the 1910s and I am delighted it will be returning to its homeland.”
One of the founding members of The Foundation for Ukrainian Avant-garde Art, the new owners of the distinguished Pereman Collection, said, “We are grateful to Sotheby’s for bringing this wonderful group of paintings to the market. We are planning to keep the integrity of the collection and exhibit it in Ukraine, Israel, Europe and beyond. The Pereman Collection is a Ukrainian national treasure and we want the whole world to see these extraordinary paintings. It is our hope that the art world will now recognize the ‘Odessan Parisians’ as the giants they really were.”
Gerard Hill and Karen Kettering, Sotheby’s Russian Works of Art and Fabergé specialists said: “We are delighted with the success of the Frances H. Jones collection, which included many highly sought-after pieces that had not been seen on the open market for over 40 years. Achieving a staggering total of $1.8 million, the collection soared above its high estimate. In addition to the strong prices for Fabergé, a record was also set for a Lanceray bronze when a Monumental Russian Bronze Group: Arabic Horse Games sold for $482,500 – four times the high estimate.”
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- Important Russian Enamels and Fabergé from a Private New York Collection at Sotheby’s
