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Press Release - December 18, 2025
Imperial Russian Art Week at Heritage Auctions Realizes More Than $4 Million
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Two December Signature® auctions spotlight Imperial Fabergé, notable porcelain and rediscovered masterpieces by Boris Grigoriev and Konstantin Makovsky Across both auctions, Heritage presented a tightly curated selection of works distinguished by scholarship, provenance and rarity. The December 17 Imperial Fabergé & Russian Works of Art Signature® Auction realized $2.76 million across 190 lots, while the December 16 Imperial Porcelain & Russian Works of Art from the Collection of A La Vieille Russie Signature®Auction brought $1.29 million across 164 lots. “We are very pleased that our Russian sales this week realized more than $4 million for our consignors,” says Nick Nicholson, Director of Russian Works of Art at Heritage Auctions. “Together, these results reaffirm ever-expanding interest in the market for important Russian works of art across categories.” The December 17 auction was anchored by three historic paintings by Boris Grigoriev, each offered at auction for the first time and led by a cornerstone work from his celebrated Raseya series. Grigoriev’s Toilers of the Fields, created amid the upheavals of the Russian Revolution, achieved $550,000. Begun in 1917, the Raseya series brought Grigoriev international recognition while capturing the psychological and social tensions of a nation in transformation. Grigoriev’s international-period portraits also commanded strong results. Portrait of an Actress, depicting Lydia Koreneva, one of the most celebrated actresses of the Moscow Art Theatre, realized $450,000. Painted from life during her American tour, the work exemplifies Grigoriev’s psychological acuity and painterly confidence. Portrait of Gladys Roosevelt Dick, circa 1922, realized $187,500. The painting portrays the pioneering American gallerist and patron who played a key role in introducing Grigoriev’s work to the United States, and its result reflects sustained collector interest in works created during the artist’s years of exile. “The strong results for Grigoriev’s works demonstrated continued demand for his most ambitious and culturally resonant compositions,” Nicholson notes. “Beyond painting, the sale was anchored by exceptional works of Russian silver and enamel, reflecting sustained global interest in museum-quality objects with impeccable provenance.” The December 16 Imperial Porcelain & Russian Works of Art from the Collection of A La Vieille Russie Signature® Auction offered a complementary perspective, drawing on one of the most respected names in Russian art scholarship and connoisseurship. Heritage collaborated with A La Vieille Russie, the venerable New York firm that introduced Fabergé to the United States and helped shape many of the world’s most important collections. “We were honored to offer an exceptional selection from the collections of A La Vieille Russie, and we were very pleased to see strong prices realized throughout the sale,” says Nicholson. Imperial porcelain proved equally compelling. Twelve Russian Porcelain Dinner Plates from the Order of St. Vladimir Service, produced by the Gardner Porcelain Factory at Verbilki during the reign of Catherine II, circa 1785, realized $118,750. Two plates retain painted Gatchina Palace inventory numbers, underscoring their historical significance. Russian Imperial military plates also performed well, led by A Russian Porcelain Military Plate: A Mounted Cuirassier of the Life-Guards Podolsk Regiment, executed at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg in 1828 during the reign of Nicholas I, which achieved $47,500. A companion plate depicting a non-commissioned officer of the same regiment realized $42,500. Another highlight was the Russian Faience Platter: “Sadko” with Decoration After Mikhail Vrubel, produced at the Kuznetsov Factory in Moscow circa 1905 and marked with an Imperial Warrant. A triumph of Russian Art Nouveau, the monumental platter bridges myth and modernity and depicts the legendary musician Sadko in his encounter with the daughter of the Sea King. Its dazzling glazes embody the Symbolist vision of merging art, industry and folklore into a single transcendent aesthetic. It realized $37,500. “Together, the December 16 and 17 auctions formed a cohesive narrative of Russian artistic achievement,” says Nicholson. “The results further position Heritage Auctions as a central platform for Russian works of art, supported by rigorous research, rediscovered provenance and a global audience of collectors.” Complete results can be found here and here. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Christina Rees, Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1699 or CRees@HA.com |