A two-day auction of Russian art at Sotheby's in New York brought in $13,573,000, meeting the expected $10-15 million despite poor attendance due to the ongoing volcano-related flight disruptions.
Among the auction main features was a group of some 100 paintings by Pavel Tchelitchew from the collection of the late American actress Ruth Ford (1911-2009), who was both his muse and patron.
Tchelitchew's portrait of Ford was sold for $986,500, well above the expected $150,000-$200,000.
Another highlight was an incredibly rare collection of 86 works by the Ukrainian Society of Independent Artists from the collection of Yakov Pereman, which went for $1,986,000.
Other significant lots featured at the auction included works by Boris Grigoriev, Natalia Goncharova and Yuri Pimenov.
From contemporary Russian artists, Sotheby's auctioned Zurab Tsereteli's painting Gabrielle, which sold for $86,500, just making the $80,000-120,000 range.
The auction's section of decorative art, sold on Wednesday, featured an incredible collection of 40 works by Faberge unseen on the market for several decades.
NEW YORK, April 22 (RIA Novosti)
