Nikolai Fechin, “Portrait of Nadezhda Sapozhnikova,” 1908, oil on canvas, 56 x 36 1/2 inches (estimate $1,591,080-$2,386,620)

In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week we highlight a spectacular selection of Russian masterpieces available soon in London.

On November 28, Sotheby’s in London will auction an incredible selection of Russian masterpieces by many of that nation’s most celebrated painters, including Nikolai Fechin. The sale will also see the first appearance on the market of a private European collection of works by Alexandra Exter, a central figure of the Russian avant-garde. Inherited by the present owners from Ihno Ezratty, a friend of the artist from her years in Paris and executor of her will, the collection of 14 works includes examples across a variety of media.

Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov, “Sunlit Landscape in Winter, Zhabovshchizna,” circa 1902-1906, oil on panel, 6 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches (estimate $132,590-$198,885)

Without a doubt, the star of the sale will be Nikolai Fechin’s “Portrait of Nadezhda Sapozhnikova” which depicts the artist’s friend and patron and was painted before the artist emigrated to America, where the painting has remained ever since. According to Sotheby’s, the painting is being auctioned to benefit the acquisition fund of the San Diego Museum of Art and is being offered for the first time.

To view the sale, visit Sotheby’s.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.


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Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster is the former Editor of Fine Art Today and worked as an editorial and creative marketing assistant for Streamline Publishing. Andrew graduated from The University of North Carolina at Asheville with a B.A. in Art History and Ceramics. He then moved on to the University of Oregon, where he completed an M.A. in Art History. Studying under scholar Kathleen Nicholson, he completed a thesis project that investigated the peculiar practice of embedded self-portraiture within Christian imagery during the 15th and early 16th centuries in Italy.

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