December 3rd 2009, source: Sotheby's
The top-selling lot of Sotheby’s Russian Art Sales Series was Venice by Alexandra Exter (illustrated left), which sold for £1,049,250 - within estimate - setting a new world auction record for the artist

Discussing the results of Sotheby’s Russian Art Sales, Jo Vickery, Senior Director and Head of the Russian Art department in London, said: “We are extremely pleased with the results of this Russian Art Sales Series which totalled £19,364,525/$31,903,859, within pre-sale expectations of £14,882,080-21,246,220, and achieved a combined, healthy sell-through-rate of 74%. The unique Romanov Heirlooms Sale offered clients the opportunity to acquire a piece of Russian Imperial history and bidders from across the globe responded accordingly. The unprecedented success of this auction achieved Sotheby’s Russian Art Department the accolade of its first-ever ‘White Glove Sale’.”

“It is evident that with each sales series we are still being presented with new information about this area of market in the current environment and while the series has been challenging in parts, overall we have witnessed a greater level of confidence in the market – seven new artist records were established and two new auction records for Fabergé objects. It is clear that collectors in this field are more selective than ever before and continue to look for extremely fresh pieces by blue-chip names from the best periods at conservative estimates.”

Commenting on the Day Sales of Paintings and Works of Art, Vickery continued: “The results achieved for the day sales of paintings, and particularly for the works of art sale which surpassed its high estimate, were extremely encouraging. We were also very heartened by the prices achieved for the 1879 icon of Saint Pelagia and Saint John Klimakos, attributed to Vasily Petrovich Vereschagin (1835-1909) - originally created for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow – which sold for £445,250, and for the silver-gilt and Niello Tray, which commanded £145,250 – over eight-times the pre-sale high estimate.”