Forbidden Art: The Sotheby's Auction that Transformed Soviet Art

On July 7, 1988, an art auction took place in Moscow with all the spectacle of a London or New York sale. But this was no ordinary event—it was a revolution. Unofficial Soviet art, long hidden from public view, was suddenly thrust into the global marketplace.

The Sotheby’s auction, "Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Soviet Art," was more than just a sale;  it was a turning point. Artists once silenced and persecuted by the state emerged as symbols of both rebellion and commercial success.

For decades, the Soviet art world was dominated by Socialist Realism, the only officially sanctioned style, which glorified communist ideals and the worker's struggle. Artists who deviated from this strict doctrine were marginalized, banned from exhibiting, and denied professional opportunities.

Yet behind closed doors, an underground scene thrived. In tiny apartments and secret gatherings, dissident artists pushed the boundaries of creativity, sharing their work with only the most trusted circles.

By the late 1980s, the political landscape was shifting. Perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) were beginning to thaw the Soviet Union’s rigid control over artistic expression. Gorbachev’s reforms, aimed at revitalizing the stagnating Soviet system, inadvertently created an opening for previously banned ideas—including unofficial art—to step into the light.

Commercial Success in a Communist State

On a trip to Moscow in 1986, Simon de Pury, Sotheby's executive director for Europe, left his passport at his hotel. On the journey to retrieve it, he had an unexpected conversation with Sergey Popov, an official from the Ministry of Culture.

As they walked, de Pury asked if a Sotheby's auction could ever take place in the USSR. Surprisingly, Popov simply replied, "Yes, why not?" This brief exchange unexpectedly set the stage for a cultural shift that would transform the Soviet art scene.

Over 100 lots of avant-garde and "unofficial" works were offered to international collectors who had flown in especially for the event. Local artists and intelligentsia, incredulous and not permitted to bid, watched over the proceedings. The atmosphere was electric, filled with a mix of anticipation, disbelief, and excitement. 

Among the featured artists was Grisha Brushkin, whose work blended Soviet iconography with a satirical edge. Brushkin watched in astonishment as his painting, "Fundamental Lexicon," reached $416,000, against an estimated price of just $17,000, setting a record for contemporary Soviet art.

The painting, a grid of figures and symbols reminiscent of Soviet propaganda posters but imbued with irony and ambiguity, embodied the spirit of the unofficial art movement.

Another star of the auction was Aleksandr Rodchenko, a pioneer of constructivism and Russian avant-garde. His work "Line," a minimalist composition that challenged traditional notions of art, fetched the highest price of the evening at $567,600.

Rodchenko's inclusion in the auction bridged the gap between the early 20th-century avant-garde and the contemporary underground scene, highlighting the continuity of innovative art in Russia despite decades of oppression.

Sales totaled $3.4 million, more than triple Sotheby's pre-auction estimate. For the 29 contemporary artists of the new avant-garde (Nonconformism), the auction was not just a financial windfall but a validation and public recognition by the state. Once considered outcasts, they were now celebrated stars. 

The financial arrangements were unprecedented in the Soviet context: artists retained 60% of the purchase price, with 10% paid in coveted foreign currency and the remaining 50% in special gold rubles, valued at five times the standard ruble. Sotheby's took a 10% cut, while the remaining 30% of the evening's takings went to The Ministry of Culture—highlighting the complex interplay between Capitalism and Communism during the Glasnost period. 

Grisha Brushkin remarked, "I have no idea what I will do with it all," captured the dramatic change in these artists' fortunes, enabling them to purchase materials, travel, and even consider opportunities abroad—an unimaginable fortune in a country where, just a decade earlier, independent art exhibitions had been forbidden. Read more about the Bulldozer Exhibition

International Reaction: The West Discovers Soviet Underground Art 

The Western art world reacted with excitement to the Sotheby's auction, it was a rare chance to discover new talent and perspectives. Robert Hughes, the influential Time magazine art critic, later remarked, "What we witnessed in Moscow was not just an art sale, but the cracking open of a sealed cultural universe."

The auction was the last international cultural initiative during perestroika to require special Soviet government approval. It also became the most successful example of commercial exchange through culture in the Soviet Union. In the aftermath, many featured artists were courted by Western galleries and collectors. They held exhibitions internationally and collaborated with Western artists.

Some critics argued that the influx of Western money distorted the organic development of the Russian art scene, while others viewed it as cultural imperialism, with Western tastes shaping a movement born from uniquely Soviet experiences. 

As writer Andrew Solomon noted, "It was in fact so heralded an event that in the years that followed, critics, curators, collectors, and artists variously credited the auction house with discovering a movement, inventing a movement, and destroying a movement."