“Find me a classic Rabin with a vodka-herring”, is exactly the kind of request we have heard more than once from collectors of the “Lianozovo school”. It would seem, what is so difficult? After all, this is the most famous system of images in the works of Rabin. A still life with vodka and herring is the first thing that comes to mind when the artist's name is mentioned. There should be as many of them as Nemukhin's cards. But just approach the question practically — and oops — no way.

A whole cycle of pictorial dedications to like-minded people, friends and associates in the art underground can be distinguished in the work of the sixties artist Eduard Steinberg. In particular, he has a dedication to Viktor Pivovarov, a dedication to Dmitry Krasnopevtsev and now a dedication to Ilya Kabakov.

1964 is the beginning of a particularly valuable “monochrome period”, when for the sake of silence and peace Krasnopevtsev muted the colors of the previously bright palette. This method had a striking effect. The rejection of shadows and garish colors, the utmost laconism and pictorial austerity allowed the artist to highlight the main thing in his still lifes — harmony, balance, the beauty of peace.

A large-scale two-meter canvas by Valery Koshlyakov is devoted this time not to distant ancient ruins, but to a part of Moscow's history and the “vanishing beauty” of an iconic place on the map of the capital. Which is a rarity in itself. The artist's favorite theme is a conversation about the loss of classical culture, the elusive beauty and the ruthlessness of time. Valery Koshlyakov is one of the top 20 most expensive living Russian artists and the top 5 artists of contemporary art.

“Here's to twenty years of no-exhibition work!” This was the toast to Evgeny Mikhnov-Voitenko in November 1976, after the exhibition of nonconformists at the Ordzhonikidze Culture Center. Colleagues understood that by objective, unbiased assessment they were drinking to the health of one of the main innovators of abstract art. But formally — yes, it was indeed the first exhibition of Mikhnov.

Rukhin's masterpiece, created at the peak of his creative form. By 1971 his special style had already formed and the right recipes had been found. Nemukhin taught him to include different resins and glues into the composition. Some technical tricks were suggested to Rukhin by his friend Rabin. And soon Russian and world art was enriched with a new genre of assemblage abstraction, gravitating towards pop-art.

This particular painting was among the first batch of specially selected works, which was taken out by the English art dealer Eric Estorick to arrange the first personal exhibition of Oscar Rabin in London at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1965. Andropov reported to the CPSU Central Committee about the sale of these paintings. And it was with these paintings that Rabin ran into serious trouble in the Soviet Union.

André Lanskoy is the “count of abstractionism”, the founder of the direction of lyrical abstraction, one of the innovators of European abstract expressionism. He is indeed an aristocrat, a count by birth. He was born in St. Petersburg. His first lessons in painting were given to him by Alexandra Exter, the “Amazon of the Russian avant-garde”. In 1920, Lanskoy, together with the remnants of the White Guard, sailed to Constantinople, and from there he moved to Paris.

Meter-sized, powerful, museum-level! Mammoth in the world of “Super Elephants”! A giant standing in the water, constructed of suprematic blocks, is one of the most recognizable subjects in Nemukhin's work.

Before us is one of the most significant works by Nemukhin ever sold at world auctions. And even more so in Russia. Undoubted masterpiece. Expert Valery Silaev considers it among the best of those that he had to attribute. By the way, long ago in 2006, a similar work of the same time, size and theme was sold at Sotheby's for $ 240,000 and set an auction record for the artist's work, which has not been beaten up to this day.