Recent overview of the Russian Art Week auction sales this November by James Butterwick is now published by Russian Art and Culture.

Firstly the star of lot of Russian Art Week, the Kliun fizzled and spluttered its way to £4.1 hammer price when I had predicted more. I was asked why it failed to hit the heights and chose to bite my tongue. It’s an infinitely more important painting than Kuzma Petrov Vodkin that soared at Christies in June, it’s braver too and Kliun is second only to Malevich. Why? The only reason is the one given by Russian colleagues who shared my surprise – it’s not a realist painting and Russians have yet to achieve the level of sophistication in their buying habits as have Westerners. A harsh comment.  But fair?

Follow the link for the full article – Russian Art Week Results and Reflections