This is a purely commercial project which has nothing to do with ideology and history.
This was proved by the auction organized by Leonid Shishkin's gallery and the Expo-park company. Buyers bargained for everything but they could not realize that Soviet art was so expensive. Therefore, the largest thematic paintings were not sold, for instance The Fishermen of Mariupol by Ivan Chashnikov (1939; estimated at $50,000-60,000), Irina Shtange's Haymaking (1939; estimated at $50,000-60,000).
Reading Pravda, a remarkable painting by Ivan Vladimirov (1920s; estimated at $8,000-12,000) was not sold for the obvious lack of targeted PR.
Other works of art were sold out: sketches by Serafima Ryangina, the author of the famous painting Higher! featuring builders; paintings by academician Boris Yakovlev of the Stalin epoch; A Battle with Basmachi, a water-color by Pavel Sokolov-Skal known for his landscapes, etc. Foreign collectors interested in socialist realism with its red flags and communal facilities prevailed at the auction.
On the whole, the project "Fifty Years of Soviet Art" was a success. The fair will become regular. The Central House of Artists plans to hold it next year.
