A Strong Finish For Important Russian Paintings At Michaan’s June Fine Sale

Michaan's June 9 auction of Fine Art, Furniture and Decorative Arts was led by important Russian paintings from a private collection in Carmel, CA. Highlights included "Wooded Clearing" (Lot 3143, $72,000 realized) and "Na Beregu Ruchya" (Lot 3142, $22,800), both by Ivan Ivanovitch Shishkin (1832-1898). Like other artists featured in this auction, Shishkin broke from the Academic painting tradition that had dominated Russian painting for centuries, rejecting classical and religious themes and turning instead to natural landscapes and portraits. Also sold in the June sale was "High Water of River Pisava" by Petr Petrovich Vereshchagin (Lot 3146, $42,000). Vereshchagin is known for plein air painting in the countryside, and for cityscapes from across the Russian empire that document its historical splendor and first steps toward industrialization. An impressionistic view of a St. Petersburg landmark, "The Anichkov Bridge" (Lot 3157) by Nicolai Semenovich Samokich (1860-1944) brought $7,200. "Market Boat on the Volga" (Lot 3160) by Aleksei Stepanovich Stepanov was estimated at $6,000-9,000 and sold for $14,400.