Christie's “considering its options” after Russian painting
setback
Judge orders auction house to refund £1.7m to buyer of
Odalisque
By Riah Pryor. Web only
Published online: 01 August 2012
Christie's is standing by its attribution of a painting to
the Russian artist Boris Kustodiev, which is at the centre of a long-running
authenticity battle after a judge in London
Christie's was ordered to refund £1.7m to Aurora Fine Arts,
a company owned by the Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, which purchased
the work in 2005. The judge cleared the auction house of claims of negligence
and misrepresentation.
A spokesman for the auction house says: “We are surprised
and disappointed,” adding that it stands by its attribution to Kustodiev. When
asked whether the company would appeal he says it is “considering its options.”
The painting is dated 1919 and depicts a nude woman asleep.
It is known to have been exhibited in Riga , Latvia , in 1932 and first sold at Christie's London Aurora
During the 20-day hearing, Alisa Borisovna Lyubimova, a
research fellow at the State Russian Museum, St Petersburg, said she was
“almost 200% sure” that the work is not genuine. The judge also noted in his
summing up that she would not change her view even if shown contemporary
documents tending to suggest authenticity. Max Rutherston, who works as a
consultant for Bonhams, argued that the quality of work by artists is not
always consistently high and concluded that the painting was by Kustodiev's
hand.
Archive material was presented, including research by
Kustodiev's friend Vsevolod Voinov. His monograph of the artist's work notes a
painting called Sleeping, 1919, which Christie's believes is the same work as
Odalisque. Aurora
Debate during the hearing also focused on whether the
signature on the work was contemporaneous with the rest of the painting.
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