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Between The Auction Seasons In Stockholm

The oldest Swedish auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk has broken the monopoly of English auction companies at the niche of specialized ⌠Russian sales■ quite long ago. Stockholms Auktionsverk has become an important player at the market of Russian art and antiques, and successfully competes with such titans as Christie▓s and Sotheby▓s.

On March 15th 2007, the oldest Swedish auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk will hold another Russian Sale. It was planned for December 2006, but the organizers moved the date to March in order to fit it into the tight schedule of London auctions. Also, Stockholms Auktionsverk took a decision to hold the Russian Sales two times a year: in March and at the end of September, before the traditional Russian Week. The specialists of the house expect it to make the sales more effective.

V. Maximov. The Morning of a Widower. 1883. Oil on canvas. 48.0 х 70.5 cm. Estimate SEK 500,000√600,000. Stockholms Auktionsverk. Stockholm, March 15 2007 [zoom (64k)]

We must admit that the Russian Sales of Stockholms Auktionsverk were always profitable. The first auction, held in 2004, produced SEK 30m which was a quite good result. There were works by Ivan Aivazovsky and Leonid Pasternak among the top-lots. The 5 works by Pasternak came from the collection of Charles Pasternak (London), grandson of the artist. The painting ⌠Impromptu (Boris Pasternak by the piano)■ signed and dated 1913, was sold for record SEK 520,000 (┬58,500).

The sale organized on December 9th, 2005 was very successful. Its turnover reached SEK 48,000,000 (┬5,000,000). ⌠The results exceeded our expectations, and prove that Stockholms Auktionsverk is now an important centre for the sale of the Russian Art■ said Ivan Samarine, director of the Sale. ⌠The Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II■ (1896) by E. Lipgart, which was sold for ┬449,000, was the top selling lot almost doubling its pre-sale estimate. ⌠Stockholm by Moonlight■ by I. Aivazovsky was considered to be the top-lot of the December Sale but it made only ┬295,000 and took only the fifth position in the list. Two works by Polenov and the one attributed to an Aivazovsky▓s scholar had more success and were sold for ┬330,000, ┬319,000 and ┬342,500 respectively.

Auctioneers have done a lot of work preparing for 2007 Russian sale, taking into account the experience of the last sales and development of the Russian antiques market.

First and foremost, the quantity of exhibited items has now been doub-led ≈ 400 objects will be sold at the auction in March. It is explained by two reasons: Stockholms Auktionsverk has not held the Russian sale since December 2005 and upcoming auction will fill in the ⌠semi-season■ break in the world▓s houses timetable.

Secondly, very diverse items will be put on sale. There will be quite a lot of porcelain (Imperial Porcelain Factory in Saint-Petersburg and private manufactories, as well as Soviet-era pieces) from the one collection of Paris. Also, bronze, silver, jewelry, Faberge works of art, furniture, textile and books will be presented at the auction.

Perfect provenance and definitive estimate are undisputed advantages of the Russian collection. There are a lot of interesting pieces in the icons section, particularly, a small collection from Stockholm that contains works by Mikhail Dikariov. There are paintings and graphics by Aivazovsky, Shishkin, Levitan and Polenov, and also a fantastic watercolour by Karl Piratsky, ⌠The Interior of the 1812 Gallery of the Winter Palace■, a technically brilliant watercolour. A view by Bogoliubov will also be presented. It used to belong to Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (later Alexander III) and used to hang in the Anichkov Palace.

One of the highlights is a work by Konstantin Somov, which was successfully presented at the Russian Week in London. Swedish ⌠Lovers■ (do not confuse with the same-name drawing sold at Christie▓s in November) is estimated at SEK 3,700,000√4,000,000. Another top lot is ⌠The Landscape with Rainbow■ by Leonid Pasternak estimated at SEK 850,000√1,000,000. The third top lot is a pathetic painting ⌠The Morning of a Widower■ by a member of ⌠The Intinerants■ artistic group, Vasiliy Maksimov. Its estimate is SEK 500,000√600,000. It was considered to be lost but was found in a private European collection. By the way, the sale mostly includes previously unknown paintings by various artists that have been found in private Swedish collections.

Certainly, the organisers expect a lot of Russian collectors to visit the sale. More than 90% of the last such event buyers were from Russia. So the organizers hope for a great success.
We think that there is no other way.