The Artworks of Boris Grigoriev (1886–1939) at Sotheby’s and Christie’s Auctions in the 1980s–2010s

Abstract

This article discusses the introduction of artworks by a Russian émigré artist, Boris Grigoriev, to the Western art market during the 1980s–2010s, using the examples of Russian art sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses. The history of Grigoriev’s artwork sales at the major auctions, peaks and slumps of interest in them, together with the stylistic preferences of buyers and other factors, are addressed less as market phenomena and more as a result of art historical research, expert appraisal of the artist’s practice, and, at the same time, as a basis for further investigations contributing not only to economic value, but also to a symbolic component.
 Keywords: Boris Grigoriev, Russian art, art market, expert appraisal, auction sales, original painting, forged artworks