Inkombank put an end to the "Black Square"
The long-suffering “Black Square” by Kazimir Malevich from the collection of Inkombank will be sold at an open auction in Russia. This is what the bankruptcy manager of Inkombank, Alexander Yesin, told reporters. But the Ministry of Culture still hopes that the fate of this masterpiece, as well as other works from the collection of the bankrupt bank, can be resolved in another way.

Kommersant has been following this story for a long time. On October 31, 1998, Kommersant published information “from unofficial sources” that “Inkombank tried to offer the British auction house Sotheby’s four works by Malevich: one of the four “Black Squares” known in the world, two late portraits and a drawing. hands, without putting them up for auction. This is quite understandable: it is impossible to legally put them up at auction without the permission of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.”
The deal fell through. But since then, rumors surrounding the whereabouts and fate of the Suprematist masterpiece have not stopped. The last reliable information was that Malevich’s painting is in the storage of the Ministry of Culture, which valued it and 100 other best works from the bank’s collection at $10 million.
Yesterday, AFI reported, according to the words of the bankruptcy manager of Inkombank, Alexander Yesin, that the collection will be put up for public auction in Russia, which will be organized by the Gelos auction house. Bidders can be both Russian and foreign citizens. The only condition: purchases cannot be taken outside of Russia. However, the Ministry of Culture hopes for another solution to the issue, namely: the transfer of “Black Square” to the State Museum Fund, bypassing the auction. The cost of the collection will be written off from the bank's debts to the state, which must be assessed by experts appointed by the Ministry of Culture.
But it is obvious that the auction is more profitable for the bank. Although Mr. Esin carefully noted that, in his opinion, the proceeds from the auction “will exceed the $1.5 million that Inkombank once spent on acquiring the collection,” one can assume that the bank hopes to receive much more. Suffice it to say that the only work by Malevich of this level that has recently appeared at auctions ("Suprematist Composition" of 1919, measuring 80x80 cm) was sold for $17 million. This, however, is a world record price ever paid for a work by a Russian artist .
There is also a completely implausible rumor. Allegedly, the Gelos auction house already has a buyer, a citizen of Russia, of course, but permanently living outside its borders. This unknown citizen allegedly provided some confidential services to the ministry at one time: he helped remove the Goncharova and Larionov archive from France. In gratitude, the Ministry of Culture is ready to help him unofficially smuggle Malevich out of Russia. Isn't it an incredible story? But no less fantastic than the one that Kommersant learned about two years ago.
OKSANA KHMARA

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 15 dated January 30, 2001, p. 13