Russian Art Week auction results

Detail Portrait of Maria Zetlin (1882-1976) Valentin Serov (1865-1911). Image source Christie's

Results have been announced for the week of Russian auctions in London which took place from 24 until 26 November 2014.

It seems the economic sanctions on the country and the fall of the ruble have had a negative effect on sales: total sales were down 37% on last summer’s Auction Week, with 1,300 lots offered and £40.5 million total sales. Only around half (47%) of the lots were sold, marking the lowest rate since Winter 2008.

Despite this, there was some cause for optimism, with five works selling for over £1 million and a new record set for the most expensive painting ever sold in a Russian art sale, set by Valentin Serov’s 1910 Portrait of Maria Zetlin which sold for £9.2 million at Christie’s. It was also Christie’s who came out with the largest market share of 49.7%, compared to Sotheby’s 26.7%, which both dwarfed Bonhams’ 4.3%. The second most-expensive work sold was Annenkov’s Aleksandr Tikhonov which sold for £4 million, also at Christie’s.