Russian art sets new auction records in London

British auction houses are gladly summing up the results as the annual Russian Art Week in London closed on Thursday.

First lots unveiled at Christie`s made a sensation: Ilya Repin`s “A Parisian Cafe" fetched 4.5 million pounds (almost $7.5 million) at the very start of the Russian art week. The success of this Repin piece was predictable, says Galina Churak, an art expert for the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery. “He made this picture in Paris in 1874-1875 while a scholarship holder at the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. Repin was inspired by this picture and kept it in his studio for quite a long time before selling it in 1916 to a Swiss collector Magnus Monson, whose family would keep it until now”. Galina Churak regrets that Russian museums lack enough money to buy this picture, though some unconfirmed reports say that a Russian collector, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was ready to buy Repin`s canvas.

Works by Vasily Vereschagin, one of the most popular military artists, were among the top lots at Sotheby`s 500-item auction. His painting The Tadj Mahal, Evening (1874-1876) was sold for $3,770,000.

Founded in 2004, McDougall's Auction cannot rival with the oldest auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Still, paintings it put for sale this time- and there were pieces by Shishkin, Kustodiev, Malyavin, and Korovin- their provenance and artistic value deserve equal attention. The head of the auction house Catherine McDougall said that the provenance of some pictures was so intriguing that it cost much effort to find them. She said that art pieces can be sometimes found in the most unexpected places. And this is what happened to a collection of drawings by Konstantin Somov: “His drawings were accidentally discovered in the US. After the death of a prominent collector, who focused mainly on old school masters and impressionists, his family found these drawings in his bedroom”, Catherine McDougall says.

Each year searching for rare art pieces is becoming a more difficult task. However, the game is worth the candle. Lots released this week by McDougall's fetched $15 million, while paintings auctioned by Christie`s and Sotheby`s earned them $18 million and $23 million respectively.