Everyone was eager to get the positive estimations and forecasts following the XXXII Antique Art Gallery, but nobody wished to be responsible for. We hope following the 1st public auction the number of realists has been increased. On March, 13 SOVCOM conducted the Auction No. 128 “Russian and Western European Art of XVIII–XX Centuries”. Before talking about the auction let’s emphasize the situation developed in the art market as of the mid-month of March of this leap year. The XXXII Antique Art Gallery has just been closed and considered to be very successful according to AI, notwithstanding it was perhaps alone in this estimate and despite unfriendly whispers on colouring the truth behind the back. In general, the year 2012 exposes a good opening. Business revived in the twenties of January, did not slow down in February despite the political storm, and was strongly remarkable in the Art Gallery. The unexpected great number of visitors was present, and the sales and new contacts were initiated as a result. What else do the gallery staff tired of the crisis need to be happy? That’s right, “show must go on!” Here is a good reason for the practical estimation of the current situation in the art market in figures and in percentage terms, as there is no more demonstrative example than a public auction. Moreover, the auction is of consequence, but not workaday. It was being positioned by the organizers themselves as the great auction consisting of two hundred lots of solid and qualitative painting and graphic arts of XIX–XXI centuries (three centuries as it happens), at the prices from several thousand to several million Russian rubles (RUR). So, let’s begin. Many people have come to the Art Gallery; about 50-60 visitors by sight. It was the salt of the earth, serious men from 40 to 60 years old, but there were women as well, largely thirtyish. Every time I rest upon the portrait of auction participants in considerable detail, as first, any detail is interesting, and second, it is useful to know what is called for in the market, and by whom. As I heard, the antique painting was not for the young (the young is considered to be the public of 25-30 years old), the young preferred the modern art, and it was a question whether they would turn to the antique when matured. Sort of strange logic… It would look as those who prefer the antique nowadays either have never been young, or were young and got to like the present antique when it was the modern art, i.e. 50, 100, or 200 years ago, or even more… Well, time will show. Now let’s stop the lyric and get back to the hall. Before the auction I interviewed Yuri Tyuhtin, the Director of SOVCOM, about the lots he considered the most interesting, the lots to be sold in fighting, and his general forecasts for the auction. He refrained from the detailed answer not to put the evil eye on. It was the answer by itself, as the negative expectations are announced without any fears. He just said that there was a great interest in the auction – the exceptional number of 17 remote bids and about 20 participants wishing to trade on the phone. It is enough to start with. The hall was filling in slowly; potential participants were viewing the pictures not settling for the catalog. Experienced people know that the painting in the catalog may appear either better, or worse; the authentic reproduction can not exist for the natural reasons. I have been walking around the hall for several minutes. Many pictures proved to be incomparably better than the illustrations in the catalog. All visitors have taken their seats. The auction was held by Yuri Mikhaylovich Tyuhtin himself. He described each lot briefly, and sometimes added his own estimation, e.g. “don’t miss the chance – the price is reasonable”, or “it is of museum standard – even if you don’t purchase the lot, you can see it. In general, I don’t like the detailed description of a lot in the course of the auction (the catalog and your own eyes are quite enough); this time it was quite featly. His words didn’t slow down the auction movement and were appropriate; the participants have entered the bidding immediately after them more than once. Thus, the auction has been conducted for two hours at a good bat and showed the excellent result. 194 lots were put up for the auction with the total estimate of RUR 80.07 mln – RUR 119.42 mln. 100 lots (52 %) were sold to the amount of RUR 47.511 mln (47.6 %). Is the figure of 52 percent of lots high, or low? As compared to the previous year, the result is average for SOVCOM (it has been both better and worse before), but it is very good for the Russian domestic market as a whole. By the way, let’s specify that from now on the result is the position at the closing of the auction in the hall. 76 lots have been purchased in the hall, 10 lots through remote bids, and 14 lots on the phone (the latest almost always involved bargaining in several increments). The surprising thing was that despite the working day and traffic jams the visitors not only reached the auction, but also participated actively in it. It is often happens that there are many people in the hall, but only 5-6 participants bid. This time there were a lot of buyers, almost half the hall, or even more; again it was rather unusual for the recent time. Half of these buyers fell on those young women whom I paid your attention to in the beginning of the article. It goes without saying that they were unpredictable. Sometimes they raised the bid under the wire following the proper words of the auctioneer about a lot. Well, it is another compliment to the auctioneer who managed to estimate the audience correctly and say proper words in due time. Now let’s consider the buying process and the lots. The first three gravures haven’t generated any specific interest; one of them was purchased on the phone without bargaining. But there were some buyers for the graphic arts by A.N. Benua: five of eight lots were purchased, three of them by the same lady. The graphic arts were in demand this time: two of three lots by B.A. Almedingen (Lots No. 12-14) were purchased; three of four sketches by M.V. Dobuzhinsky (Lots No. 15-18) were purchased. Some of them generated slight bargaining in 2-3 increments, and women became preferred bidders for all the lots. The subsequent bidding was steady, without any struggle, the lots were purchased at the starting price. It was unexpected for the auctioneer that the picture titled “Amsterdam in a Moonlight Night” by A.P. Bogolyubov (Lot No. 26) stayed unsold. But two participants in the hall and a remote bid joined the struggle for the canvas titled “Winter. At the Village Fence” by R.A. Berggolts (Lot No. 29); the price has increased twice in seven increments from the starting price of RUR 600 ths up to RUR 1.2 mln; the hall won. The pictures of the European artists of XIX haven’t generated any interest in the special string of hunting works. Neither good dimensions, nor appropriate quality, nor reasonable price range (10-50 ths standard units) assisted them. But the participants on the phone, remote bids, and the hall joined the struggle for the tempera titled “Grouse on a Lek” by V.L. Muravyov (Lot No. 47); the price has reached RUR 450 ths in five increments from the starting price of RUR 250 ths; the hall won. The canvas titled “By Moose” by S.S. Voroshilov (RUR 850 ths, Lot No. 49), the cardboard titled “Cocks of the Wood” by K.S. Vysotskiy (RUR 500 ths, Lot No. 50), and the canvas titled “By Foxes” by A.S. Stepanov (RUR 1.2 mln, Lot No. 51) were sold upon the struggle in 6-7 increments. 3-4 participants in the hall joined the struggle for the canvas titled “Bison in a Winter Forest” by Y.I. Brovar (RUR 1 mln, Lot No. 55), the canvas titled “Wolf Hunting with Hounds” by E.A. Tikhmenev (RUR 1.4 mln, Lot No. 56), and the canvas titled “Fox Hunting” by S.S. Voroshilov (RUR 750 ths, Lot No. 58). It has been known that the hunting painting is always in demand, but only in the works of native artists as is seen. Three pictures were sold at the starting price in the small string of post-war painting on the oil theme (Lots No. 97-101). The auctioneer was surprised. Sort of something strange… Provided the current oil prices, the prices for the respective pictures are expected to rise. But they don’t. Neither participants in the hall, nor remote bidders wished to purchase the caricatures by V.N. Deni (Denisov) and the Kukryniksy (Lots No. 120-123). The painting titled “V.I. Lenin on a Walk” by N.N. Zhukov (Lot No. 124) caused a small storm in a teacup (i.e. some bargaining) solely because the auctioneer paid the hall’s attention to a girl on a bicycle which V.I. Lenin assisted to. The auctioneer said the girl was not a schoolgirl at all. The auctioneer designated the negative result for two-sided painting titled “Nude” by R.R. Falk (Lot No. 125) estimated at RUR 30-45 ths as the auction oddity. And it is true in my opinion. But the next lot by R.R. Falk, the pencil portrait of K.S. Yumasheva (Volodina), generated the serious struggle among three participants in the hall, and the painting was sold at RUR 70 ths with bargaining in ten increments from the starting price of RUR 30 ths. This struggle provided us with another key to characterize the level of the audience in the hall. The art historian Kira Semenovna Volodina (1918-2009) was the apprentice of M.V. Alpatov and the expert in the art of A.A. Ivanov. Her husband A.B. Yumashev was the participant of the flight from Moscow to the North Pole and to the USA in 1937, the Hero of Soviet Union, the major general in the aircraft, an artist, the owner of the splendid collection of pictures, and communicated with M.A. Voloshin, R.R. Falk, I.I. Mashkov, P.D. Korin, N.M. Romadin, and P.P. Konchalovsky. For many years they both have been friends with V.V. Sterligov and T.N. Glebova, and held the active correspondence with them; V.V. Sterligov worked hard and fruitful in the summer residence of the Yumashevs in Alupka. The organizers were surprised to know that the string of posters and drawings to them (Lots No. 128-134) stayed uncalled. Only one of them, funny drawing by L.V. Soifertis titled “In the Butcher shop” (Lot No. 132), was sold at the starting price of RUR 50 ths to the buyer on the phone. The posters are usually in demand during everyday operations of the gallery. Perhaps, the estimates turned out to be too high. The auction for four pompous Soviet pictures (Lots No. 151-154) was held without any excitement and half as successful. The picture titled “Friendship” by I.V. Radoman who embedded the image of “dear comrade Leonid Ilich” (Lot No. 151) and the picture titled “V.I. Lenin on the Red Square Parade on the 1st of May” by B.P. Nikolaev (Lot No. 154) stayed unsold. The canvas titled “Portrait of G.K. Zhukov, the Marshal” by V.N. Yakovlev (Lot No. 152) was sold at the starting price of RUR 1.1 mln to the buyer on the phone. The canvas titled “World. Work. May” by A.N. Sadchikov (Lot No. 153) was sold at the starting price of RUR 300 ths to the participant in the hall. The paintings by the artists of the sixties were in great demand. And I was glad to hear that. The recurrent interest in this style makes possible to make good buys as the prices are still crisis. In the course of the struggle among three participants in the hall and participants on the phone the excellent picture titled “The Cat” by Vladimir I. Yakovlev (Lot No. 163) has reached RUR 180 ths in nine increments from the clearly low starting price of RUR 100 ths. And in my opinion the price for such painting was reasonable. The refined and lyric picture titled “Portrait of O.M. Aseeva” by Anatoly T. Zverev (Lot No. 165) was sold at the starting price of RUR 30 ths. The hall decided to struggle slightly for the pastel titled “Nymphs” by Vyacheslav V. Kalinin (Lot No. 169); the participants managed to increase the starting price twice in nine increments up to RUS 65 ths. Unfortunately, the good big canvas titled “City with Figures” by Oscar Y. Rabin (Lot No. 171) hasn’t generated any struggle; it was sold at the starting price of RUR 1.5 mln in the hall. The magnificent canvas (as judged by the illustration in the catalog as the picture was in London) titled “Colour and Musical Oval” by Dmitry P. Plavinsky (Lot No. 172) was sold through the remote bid at the starting price of RUR 1.5 mln. The canvas of one meter long titled “Winter Flowers” by Lucy (Ludmila V.) Voronova (Lot No. 175) generated the serious struggle; several participants in the hall and on the phone increased the price up to the RUR 950 ths from the starting price of RUR 500 ths; the participant in the hall became the preferred bidder. This struggle was unexpected for many people, but not for AI. It watches out for the artist’s creative work and is gratified by the good result of her pictures in the auctions with great pleasure. Before the auction in the hall and during the auction exhibition the organizers paid attention to the issue of an excellent album by Lucy and her successful bidding in the international auctions. And here is the result. What are the overall results of the closed auction? It showed our optimistic forecast following the XXXII Antique Art Gallery held true. We can observe the activity of buyers, and it is wonderful. We can observe good buys at reasonable prices, and it is much more wonderful. The time is right to give advice. We are in the beginning of recovery. We wish investors to manage catching reasonable prices. We wish collectors to catch good pictures at reasonable prices for the time being.
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