The
international auction house Sotheby's said today it would proceed with the
auction in London
next week of a painting by a famous Russian artist that the Russian authorities
have said was stolen.
Russia's
Interior Ministry said yesterday that "Evening in Cairo"
by Ivan Aivazovsky had been stolen in 1997 from a private collection in Moscow, and that the
Russian branch of Interpol had asked British police to block the auction.
But
Sotheby's said it had found no record of the painting in databases of stolen
art, including one distributed by Russia's Culture Ministry.
Ivan Aivazovsky, who lived
between 1817 and 1900, was a prominent Russian-Armenian artist of the Romantic
school noted for his landscapes and seascapes.
The
1870 painting is listed as a lot on the website of Sotheby's, with an estimated
value of £1.5-£2 million (RM8.41 million -RM11.2 million), as part of a
collection of Russian pictures due to be sold in London on June 2.
Russian
media reported that the painting was purchased in the 1940s by the Nosenko
family, who were part of the Soviet ruling elite. The Sotheby's website lists
the work's provenance as being in the collection of N.I. Dedov.
Sotheby's said today that the Nosenkos were the family who
claimed the painting was stolen.
"Sotheby's
offering of Aivazovsky's 'Evening in Cairo'
on the 2 June 2015 will proceed with the agreement of both the Nosenko family
and the consignor," the company said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
"The
family is happy to sell the painting via Sotheby's offering on June 2 and our
consignor agrees this as well. The identity of the consignor remains
confidential. They acquired the painting which is in our sale in good faith in
2000."
Reuters
was unable to contact the Nosenko family. No one at the Russian Interior
Ministry was available for comment on Sunday.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/sothebys-to-proceed-with-sale-of-stolen-russian-painting
