The Billionaire Roman Abramovich and his common-law wife Daria Zhukova acquired a collection of works by Ilya Kabakov, one of the most expensive Russian artists. Although the sum of the deal is not disclosed, the experts estimate it at about $ 60 million.
As it is specified, the collection of works bought by the billionaire includes approximately 40 paintings, as well as the early albums. The majority of the works had been painted by Kabakov before he left Moscow in 1987.
The artist who now lives in New York was one of the founders of Moscow Conceptualism. The collection was sold by the American collector John L. Stewart who had been collecting these paintings for two decades.
Abramovich and Zhukova have been the patrons of the Kabakov family for many years. In 2008 the Centre for Contemporary Culture "Garage" that belongs to Zhukova organized the first exhibition of Ilya Kabakov and Emilia Kabakova in Moscow.
Author: Anna Dorozhkina