LONDON.- This season MacDougall’s sale École de Paris and Other Masters is characterised by impressive selection of works of outstanding quality. The online auction is now open for bidding on Drouot.com until 5 December.

The major highlight of the sale is A Brig on the Open Sea by Ivan Aivazovsky (Lot 9, est. £250,000-350,000). Painted by the distinguished seascape artist, this animated composition masterfully displays Aivazovsky’s unrivalled talent for capturing detail and atmosphere of the sea. Fyodor Dostoevsky remarked: “[…] here he is a master without rival, here he is a true artist.” Appearance of this splendid seascape for sale presents an exceptional opportunity for collectors.

Vasily Polenov’s The Herzegovian on Lookout (Lot 11, est. £150,000-200,000) is a highly important work by the artist. This powerful depiction of a female warrior was painted in Paris in 1876. The artist’s contemporaries deemed it to be a highlight at the Imperial Academy of Arts Exhibition in St Petersburg where it was showcased later on in the year. Shortly afterwards Polenov joined the volunteers accompanying the Russian Army during the campaign in support of the Balkans against the Ottoman oppression. Upon his return the artist was awarded the Order of the Takovo cross for his bravery. In 1877 the painting was published in Pchela, together with his journal From Kiev to Deligrad describing his experiences at the front. Paintings from this period of Polenov’s oeuvre are very rarely offered at auction and the appearance of this masterpiece provides collectors with unique opportunity to acquire a museum-quality work.

Afanasievsky Mast-Tree Grove Near Yelabuga (Lot 6, est. £150,000-200,000) by the celebrated landscapist Ivan Shishkin is an excellent example of the artist’s profound knowledge of nature and resonates with his final monumental masterpiece Mast-Tree Grove from 1898. Since Shishkin had grown up in Yelabuga, among the pinewood expanses of the famous mast-tree grove, he knew and loved coniferous forests like no other artist. While preserving the totally natural character of a motif that he found in real life, here the artist manages to achieve a harmonious completeness of the composition.

The autumn sale offers a notable selection of 19th century works, including exquisite Landscape by Isaak Levitan (Lot 12, £150,000-200,000) and a rare Moonlit Night by Alexei Bogoliubov (Lot 15, est. £150,000-200,000). Amongst other period jewels are works by Ivan Khrutsky (Lot 5, est. £40,000-60,000), Vasily Polenov (Lot 10, est. £25,000–40,000) and Andrei Shilder (Lot 20, est. £25,000-35,000).

The 20th century art section is defined by Aristarkh Lentulov’s Woman on
the Beach, executed 1926 (Lot 33, est. £120,000-250,000). A particular warmth and refinement distinguish the artist’s work of his mature period. Lentulov achieves this by applying a certain restraint to his painting, and replacing a palette of contrasting colours with one based on toned down, muted hues. Nevertheless, his sweeping and spontaneous artistic manner remains intact.

Other highlights of the sale include works Konstantin Korovin, Boris Grigoriev, Konstantin Gorbatov, and Natalia Goncharova. The Nonconformists section is led by Leonid Purygin, Boris Sveshnikov, Francisco Infante, Evegny Rukhin, and Natalia Nesterova.