Vasily Kandinsky has topped a ranking of Russian artists by the total value of works sold at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, with roughly 40 paintings fetching a combined $591 million, according to a list compiled by RIA Novosti. The ranking counted only individual lots priced above $5 million each.
Kandinsky, described as one of the founders of abstract art, leads the list by a wide margin. Kazimir Malevich, founder of suprematism, ranked second with sales totaling approximately $252 million.
Marc Chagall placed third. Eighteen of his works sold at the two auction houses for at least $5 million each, reaching a combined total of about $162.5 million.
The compilers treated repeat appearances of the same painting at auction as separate transactions. Sotheby’s and Christie’s are described as the two largest auction houses in the world.
