The auction’s oldest work was Veniamin Babadzhan’s self-portrait dated 1913. This is the only known portrait of the talented artist, poet, and cultural expert, who was executed at the age of 26 on account of being a White [monarchist] officer. Rare works by Vasyl Yermilov, an avant-garde artist of the 1920s, were also sold at the auction. Collectors could also find interesting works by emigre artists of the Prague school: Vasyl Khmeliuk, Borys Pastukhov, Oleksandr Orlov, Mykola Vaker, Mykola Isaiev, Arthur Kolnyk etc.
The auction covered the underground of the 1960s and 1970s from various corners of the country. Many artists who were scarcely known in their lifetime, worked underground, did not earn money for their works and died prematurely — and whose works were estimated at several thousand dollars at the auction. True, compared with Russian nonconformism, which has become known owing to participation in such auctions as Sotheby’s, MacDougall’s etc. where their works command prices that are ten times higher, our artists look quite modest. But reputed experts consider that their artistic and historical value is very high, which promises growing international recognition in the future.
The generation of those who were born in the 1960s suffered from the period of stagnation that occurred when they began to showcase their works in the 1980s. A bright representative of those was Oleh Holosii, who in his short life left us some original oeuvres. Serhii Zhyvotkov also left a valuable contribution, and his Crucifixion, which was on display at the auction was like a requiem. Other works by interesting artists of this generation included those by Oleksandr Zhyvotkov, Borys Firtsak, Andrii Bludov, Yurii Solomko, Olena Pryduvalova, Mykola Zhuravel, Leonid Bernat, Vladyslav Mamsikov etc. The works of these Kyivan artists were the most popular items at the auction, whereas the works by artists from Odesa and Lviv are still waiting for buyers.
The auction presented a total of 102 works by 86 artists, 33 of which were sold, which can be regarded as good result. Alfred Aberdan’s pictures turned out to be the most expensive, going for 10,000 dollars. The collectors bought all the works of the Paris school artists.
