The top lot of the Kyiv auction was the still life "Apples on the Window"

antiques auction

The Kiev auction house "Antique Center" held an auction of paintings by Ukrainian and Russian artists of the 19th-20th centuries (see Kommersant of April 8). The auction turned out to be extremely successful: 80% of the collection was sold, despite the fact that, compared to last year, many artists' prices on average doubled. The most expensive canvas was the still life “Apples on the Window” by Pyotr Konchalovsky, for which they paid $260 thousand.

Just a couple of years ago, Antique Center, the largest auction house in Ukraine with a twelve-year history, held auctions twice a year. Now such luxury is not available even to him. The owner and chief expert of the Antique Center, Alexander Brey, complains that every year it is becoming more and more difficult to form a decent auction collection. At the same time, the number of buyers at auctions increases every year, which cannot but affect the cost of auction items. This time, many Moscow dealers also came to Kyiv, which added even more excitement to the trading.

The motley landscape “Autumn in the Carpathians” by the founder of the Transcarpathian school of painting, Josip Bokshay, was offered last year for $6-9 thousand, this year the equivalent work “Stream” from the same cycle was already for $18-26 thousand, and was sold for $31 thousand The works of another “Transcarpathian” Adalbert Erdeli have become noticeably more expensive. The starting price of his works doubled compared to last year and amounted to $30-40 thousand for the sunny landscape “Lake in the Carpathians” and $16-24 thousand for the gloomy panorama of Old Prague (the paintings went for $49 thousand and $26 thousand respectively). The impressionist Alexei Shovkunenko (his “House near the Port” was sold for $45 thousand at a starting price of $16 thousand) and the master of city landscapes Nikolai Glushchenko (“Evening Venice” from a starting price of $9 thousand reached $25 thousand) increased in price. Fierce bidding went on for the landscape “Dnieper near Kanev” by Nikolai Burachek (sold for $52 thousand) and the magnificent painting “Street Vendors” by Erb, which went for $10.5 thousand. At the same time, the paintings that were expected to be included in the top lots of the auction There was no particular excitement at the auction. Thus, “The Canvas Saleswoman” by Nikolai Pymonenko was sold for $160 thousand, not reaching the upper limit of the estimate. “Oxen with Driver” by Nikolai Samokish, which promised to become the most expensive lot, was sold at a starting price of $150 thousand.

The most expensive lot of the last auction was the still life “Apples on the Window” by Pyotr Konchalovsky, a favorite of regulars at Russian auctions Sotbey`s and Christie`s. The initial price of the painting, $80 thousand, more than tripled during the auction and amounted to $260 thousand. For Konchalovsky of the Soviet era (the still life was painted in 1932), this is not bad at all. Konchalovsky from the “Jack of Diamonds” era is valued much higher - at last year’s Sotbey’s May auction, his “Portrait of Denike” was sold for $1.5 million.

A sketch of the scenery for Alexander Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" by Konstantin Korovin went for $120 thousand (with a starting price of $70 thousand). The work “Behind the Plow” by Philip Malyavin also sold well ($60 thousand). As expected, academic landscapes by Sergei Vasilkovsky, Josip Krachkovsky and Vladimir Orlovsky sold without problems. At the same time, Ukrainian buyers remained indifferent to graphics, portraits and the avant-garde. Of the drawings put up for auction, only “Abramtsevo. Tree” by Pyotr Konchalovsky was sold, which went at the starting price of $7 thousand. The only portrait sold was a self-portrait of the artist Ivan Izhakevich ($13.5 thousand), and of the entire avant-garde part of the collection, only a sketch was sold scenery for the play "Othello" by the famous Alexandra Exter ($7.2 thousand).

MARIA Kommersant-Khalizeva

Ukrainians have tasted Konchalovsky