LONDON, November 26 (RIA Novosti) - An iconic painting by Boris Kustodiev went under the hammer on Monday, selling for 4.4 million pounds (over $7 million) and setting a new auction record for the celebrated Russian artist, Christie’s said.
The painting was bought by an anonymous phone bidder from Europe.
The auction price for The Coachman, offered from the collection of Russian Nobel Prize-winning scientist Peter Kapitza, was almost three times above the lowest estimate of 1.5 million pounds ($2.4 million). The 98.3 x 81.5 cm oil on canvas never appeared on the market before.
Kapitza (1894-1984), a renowned Russian scientist and the 1978 Nobel Prize for Physics laureate, was both a friend and patron to Kustodiev. He bought the picture directly from the artist’s wife in 1936.
The Coachman was a key painting in the seminal Russian Art Exhibition in New York in 1924 and was chosen from over 900 works as the poster image for the event.
At its 40th anniversary of Russian Art Sales on Monday Christie’s offered 415 works of art, including over 60 works by Faberge. The sales brought almost 11 million pounds ($17.6 million)
