Sotheby's auction house has held the first-ever sale devoted to modern and contemporary Russian art in London. The auction included more than 100 works from private American, European and Russian collections.

The sale that was estimated to fetch around 1,5 MLN pounds ended up making almost twice as much – over 2,5 MLN pounds.  

“I think this has partly to do that it is contemporary Russian sale and I think that the interest in contemporary art is a global one. And we did have quite a bit of activity from new clients buying Russian art for the first time who live in the West and it’s extremely encouraging for the market. I'm really happy with the sale – we’ve got a fantastic result. We sold 80 percent of the lots in the sale. And it’s just an incredible day for the Russian art,” said Joanna Vickery, Senior Director and Head of Sotheby’s Russian Department in London.

The sale comes almost 20 years after Sotheby’s first auction of Russian Modern and Contemporary Art in Moscow. Back in 1988 it was a resounding success – with the presale exhibition alone attracting over 11,000 visitors. And Sotheby’s wants to make it a regular feature on its auction calendar.

One of the most important works in the sale was Eric Bulatov’s ‘Revolution-Perestroika’ which is regarded as an exceptional example of “Sots art” – a movement that parodied the “Socialist Realism”.

It was heavily influenced by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and became very popular, dominating the underground art world. And it seems to be popular even now.

“The prices went well beyond the estimates, a few fell short but generally judging by the attendance and by the prices reached it’s a great vindication of contemporary modern Russian art,” said Michael Chambers, Owner of the Chambers Gallery.