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19.12.07
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Bringing High Culture Back Home
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By Paul Abelsky
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Moneyed Russians Repatriate Art after High-Roller Auctions
The eggs came first in the most recent chapter of the renewed commercial interest for Russian art. Three years ago, with a purchase of the Forbes’ Faberg? collection of imperial eggs, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg made repatriating art both fashionable and patriotic. Four years later, the market remains bullish. Major London auction houses conspired to hold consecutive sales of Russian art during the last week of November, posting impressive numbers, but showing that the surge of offerings has driven buyers to become ever more cautious and selective in their approach.
As bidding got underway at Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonham's and McDougall's, it was merely symbolic that the Millionaire Fair kicked off the same week in Moscow. The newly moneyed Russians may still be gorging on jewels, boats and helicopters, but the crowd flocking to London was set to indulge in some less conspicuous, but equally profligate consumption. Lot 55 at Christie’s, a 1902 diamond-encrusted Faberg? egg with a crowing cockerel lodged inside, fetched ?9 million (around $18.5 million) paid by a Russian collector, setting a record not just for the master jeweler but for any timepiece ever sold. Anthony Philips, the International Director of Silver and Russian Works of Art at Christie’s, said the sale was “one of the most exciting moments of my 40 years at Christie’s.”
After Sotheby’s raised $79.8 million during two days of auctions, Christie’s exceeded this total by around a million dollars the following day in what was the highest-grossing sale of Russian art ever. Christie’s presale estimate was $64 million, commission not included. The exorbitant price paid for Karl Faberg?’s egg, an engagement present for Baron Edouard de Rothschild never before displayed in public, may have made international headlines, but other costly lots also found their buyers. These included Boris Grigoriev’s “The Harlot of Marseille” (1923), which sold for $2.6 million or a million over the top estimate of $1.6 million, setting an auction record for the artist; Yury Annenkov’s “Portrait of Alexander Tikhonov” (1922) for $4.68 million, nearly twice its presale estimate; and Natalia Goncharova’s “Lilacs in a Vase” (1905) going for $3.29 million with a top estimate of $1.8 million. A set of 53 lots by Konstantin Somov (1869-1939) raised $13 million.
“I think the results confirm an appetite for the best works, so the market holds firm,” said Matthew Bown, owner of a London gallery specializing in Russian art and an experienced connoisseur of the market. “The challenge for the auction houses, as too for individual dealers, is to find items of quality to sell. So we see the movement even by Christie’s into non-conformists, and soon by Sotheby’s into contemporary.”
For now, however, judging by the recent auctions, more traditional tastes have prevailed. Bidders fiercely contested some of the most recognized Russian masters of the first part of the 20th century. But recent reports have indicated the arrival of Russian buyers has also boosted the market for Old Masters, impressionists and more contemporary Western artists. In September, Christie’s brought paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Amedeo Modigliani, Andy Warhol and others to Pashkov House in Moscow to promote its fall auctions. Sotheby’s and Christie’s Old Master sales in December are expected to draw substantial Russian interest.
Going where the money is
The major auction houses, however, are crafting a strategy to appeal to the emerging class of buyers in Russia. Aside from organizing Russian-themed auctions in London, they have started opening branches in Moscow and promoting planned sales with special exhibits in Russia. One such exhibit by Sotheby’s at the State Historical Museum on Red Square in November could pass for a dazzling show in its own right, featuring works by Ivan Aivazovsky, Natalia Goncharova, Wassily Kandinsky and others. In May, Sotheby’s opened a branch office in Moscow, looking to improve client relations and expand access for interested buyers. Mikhail Kamensky, director of the office, explained that Sotheby’s in Moscow will also offer a range of consulting services, legal advice and private sales.
The auction house positions itself as “market leader in sales of Russian art” according to its brochures, but the competition for the title is getting intense, as Christie’s plans to open its own branch in Moscow. Courting Russian customers extends to increased personal pitches and interaction. Simon de Pury, Phillips’s chairman, traveled to St. Petersburg this fall for a dinner with supporters of the State Hermitage Museum. MacDougall’s is a London auction house specializing in Russian art, and it raised $22.3 million on the final fifth day of sales in November, featuring 454 lots of 19th and 20th-century works.
Barring an economic collapse in Russia, few observers foresee problems on the demand side, with the country’s affluence rising amidst a commodities-fueled boom. What may present problems in the future is a market glut, as increasingly discerning buyers face a dizzying array of lots and auctions. Matthew Bown points out that 55 percent of Bonham’s offerings went unsold in November.
“Buyers have always been fairly selective, although that’s in the context of a great hunger for Russian art,” Bown said. “I think, however, that the number of lots offered in London in November has been overwhelming, to the point, in fact, of being, in a sense, an imposition on or disrespectful to the collectors who are being targeted. The overall quality of the offerings hasn’t improved, and so, inevitably, there were more unsold items. I’m thinking particularly of Bonham’s, although even they made a reasonable amount of money.”
The geography of the sales is only likely to spread out in the months ahead. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen holds a sale of Russian antiques in early December, trying to build on the success of their first such auction last year, offering a collection of paintings, porcelain, jewelry, photographs and personal belongings connected with Grand Duchess Olga, one of the younger daughters of Nicholas II, Russia’s last tsar. Earlier in November, Coutau-Begarie auction house held a sale in Hotel Drouot in Paris, featuring a range of Russian objects, from 19th-century drawings and decorative works to letters and timepieces. The following day, Lombrail-Teucquam organized another auction in the French capital and presented paintings, icons and military collectibles.
The bigger picture
What is less clear is the broader effect of the sales on the international status and recognition of Russian art. British auctioneers estimate that Russians make up to 90 percent of the bidders at Russian-themed sales. And repatriating the works after splashy purchases is still in vogue. Alexander Ivanov, director of the private Russian National Museum and the proud new owner of the Rothschilds’ gold-and-enameled Faberge egg, plans to follow the path blazed by Vekselberg and others by bringing the prized object to Moscow. Earlier this fall, Sotheby’s cancelled a planned two-day auction of the superb art collection of the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife after billionaire Alisher Usmanov purchased the whole lot in advance of the sale for $40 million. The collection will eventually be put on permanent display at the remodeled Konstantin Palace in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, where the ceremonial presidential residence is located.
Even as Russia emerges as one of the world’s fastest growing art markets, Russian buyers face little competition from foreign collectors. “Everyone talks about the prices, but prestige in art doesn’t really accrue from prices, except perhaps in the contemporary market,” Bown said. “I guess the rest of the world looks on at what seems like a localized and fairly exotic market. After all, few of the artists who fetch massive prices are familiar to Western gallery-goers. Is there an Aivazovsky in a British museum? Or a Roerich? Or a Makovsky? Or a Kustodiev? Or a Serebryakova? Possibly, but I’ve never come across one.”
High-profile exhibits of Russian art in Europe and the United States have garnered public attention in recent years. Marquee representatives of the Russian avant-garde and some of today’s standout provocateurs fetch substantial prices. Still, the interest outside Russia remains limited. “The non-Russian collector who will spend ‘even,’ say, half a million dollars on a Russian work is a very rare bird,” Bown added. “One or two contemporary artists, apart from the famous Ilya Kabakov, are showing signs of cracking the international market, but the market for Russian art as a whole will continue to be dominated by the Russian elites.” |
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