On a night when the art market appeared to stumble, Berkshire Museum soared, with a record-setting sale that will add $7 million to its coffers. ‘It means that we will be able to be the shining light in the center of the county,’ Chase said. ‘ We can bring in more art and natural science to the Berkshires.’ - excerpt from Jack Dew Berkshire Eagle Article
As the Grigoriev paintings took their turn, Berkshire Museum Executive Director Stuart A. Chase said he “just had such tremendous anxiety. We were really at the center of the whole
international art market scene. This is one of the biggest sales of the year, and the reviews (today) will say that the art market is having a very difficult time right now.When Grigoriev’s “Shepherd of the Hills” appeared on the auction block, something changed. Where bidding had been slow and deliberate for other pieces, it started briskly, rising to $1.8 million. Then it stalled.
A portrait of Russian peasant poet Nikolai Klyuev, Sotheby’s had estimated its price at $2.5 million to $3.5 million. When a phone bidder kicked the price to $1.9 million, a bidding war broke out, climbing to the winning price of $3.25 million. With commission and other fees added, the final sale was $3.7 million, smashing the previous record of $2.7 million for a Grigoriev.
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