Russian painting sets Sotheby’s record

Indian scenes, a group of paintings by the Russian artist Vasily Vereschagin

This summer Sotheby's Evening sale of Important Russian Art featured over 50 paintings from the 1850s to Perestroika.

The star lots were a group of paintings by Vasily Vasilievich Vereschagin, Indian and Balkan scenes, estimated at $1.9-3.1 million, which sold for $5.7 million, a new record for the artist.

Headlining the evening auction and this component of the sale was Vasily Vasilievich Vereschagin’s oil on canvas The Taj Mahal, Evening, which is one of the most important works to have resulted from Vereschagin’s trip to India from 1874 to 1876. The work finally sold to a round of applause for $3,75 million to an anonymous buyer on the telephone.

“It has been a huge privilege to bring to the market such a number of highly desirable and quality works by this renowned Russian Master, Vereschagin." Jo Vickery, Senior Director and Head of the Russian Art Department, commented on the sale of this remarkable offering, according to Artdaily.Com. "The international competition for these works in this evening’s sale is enduring testament to this artist’s output and the quality of the works on offer, which saw huge interest pre-sale.”

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