Russian masterpiece sold for $7 mn at Christie’s

London, June 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A painting by a Russian artist Ilya Mashkov was sold for 4.7 million pounds ($7.3 million) at Christie’s auction house Monday, a record for the artist’s work

“Still Life with Fruit” by Mashkov (1881-1944) was initially valued at 1-1.5 million pounds ($1.53-$2.30 million).

Painted in 1910, “Still Life with Fruit” was shown at the inaugural Jack of Diamonds exhibition in Moscow in 1911, one of the most significant exhibitions of the Russian avant-garde era.

It was last exhibited in 1913 at an exhibition organised by the Contemporary Art Society at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

The painting was purchased by an anonymous buyer who participated in the auction over the phone. When the auctioneer announced the sum of 4.7 million British pounds, the audience burst into applause.

The price included a premium the buyer paid to the auction house.

–IANS/RIA Novosti

sd/vm

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.