A painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin, Parisian Cafe, was sold for 4.5 million pounds (around $7.3 million) at the Christie's Russian Art sale in London, breaking the previous record of Svyatoslav Roerich's canvas sold at the auction house for $3 million, Christie's press service said.
Painted in Paris in 1875, Parisian Cafe was inspired by French impressionism and the Parisian atmosphere while Repin was studying Fine Arts in France and Italy. The canvas has remained in a distinguished private collection since 1916 and was displayed in Russia only once, at Christie's pre-auction exhibition in April 2011.
This summer's Russian Art sale at Christie's includes masterpieces by Russian artists Ilya Repin, Boris Grigoriev and Ivan Shishkin. The sale also features rare works by Faberge and two monumental vases by the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
The previous record was set by the Portrait of Nicholas Roerich in Tibetan attire, painted by his son Svyatoslav in 1933, which was sold for $3 million at Christie's on April 24, 2009.
LONDON, June 6 (RIA Novosti)
