Rallis painting fetches pretty penny at Bonhams
A painting by Theodoros Rallis, «Praying before Communion at Megara,» fetched the highest price, 692,000 pounds (868,857 euros), at an auction of Greek works at Bonhams in London last week. This price tag makes the work the fourth most valuable painting by a Greek artist and the second most lucrative by the artist. A Bonhams spokesperson described the interest of collectors and buyers as »great» throughout the session for both classic and contemporary works, while also noting the arrival of «first-time buyers, which holds out hope for further growth of the Greek market.» Total revenue at Bonhams’s Greek auction reached 6 million euro, or 2.6 million euros above the lowest price estimates of the session’s 205 items. Other noteworthy news from the auction included the repatriation of Theofilos Hadjimichalis’s «Karai-skakis’s Camp in Piraeus,» a work of national and historic significance that previously belonged to a French collection. «Girl Reading,» an obscure painting by Georgios Iakovidis that was only recently discovered, fetched 180,000 pounds. «Athena» by Panayiotis Tetsis eventually sold for 132,000 pounds, well over the auction house’s starting estimate of between 40,000 and 60,000 pounds. The works of 12 Greek artists fetched prices that were personal records.
