NEW YORK, N.Y.- A collection of costume designs by Alexandre Benois is another highlight of the auction. The nine-lot Benois group hails from A Distinguished Private Collection, including costume designs from the productive middle period of Benois’ career. After the great success of the Ballets Russes production of Petrushka in 1911, Benois’ reputation was assured. Benois had plans to collaborate with Nijinsky on basing a ballet on the music of J.S. Bach as early as 1913, but the plan ultimately came to pass in 1928, when he conceived and designed Les Noces de Psyché for the dancer Ida Rubenstein. The ballet, choreographed by Nijinsky’s sister Bronislava, allowed Benois to indulge his love of 18th Century French art. The costume designs for Psyché and Neptune are pictured above.

Additional highlights from Christie’s Russian Art sale include:

Aleksei Korzukhin
Peasant girls in the forest, 1877
Estimate: $80,000 – 100,000

Mark Antokolskii
Peter I
Estimate: $100,000 – 150,000

A Silver-Gilt and En Plein Enamel Kovsh
Marked O. Kurliukov, Moscow, 1908-1917
Estimate: $40,000 – 60,000

A Silver Presentation Kovsh
Marked K. Fabergé with the Imperial warrant, Moscow, 1908-1917
Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000

Vladimir Nemukhin
Composition with the ten of clubs, 1964
Estimate: $6,000- 8,000

Lidia Masterkova
Abstract composition, 1964
Estimate: $40,000 – 60,000

Oscar Rabin
Church through the windows, 1965
Estimate: $30,000-50,000

Lidia Masterkova
Abstract composition, 1964
Estimate: $40,000 – 60,000

Vladimir Nemukhin
Composition with the ten of clubs, 1964
Estimate: $6,000- 8,000

Oleg Tselkov
Five masks, 1979
Estimate: $100,000 – 150,000

Aleksei Bogoliubov
Sailboats on a Stormy Sea
Estimate: $20,000 – 30,000

Nikolai Sverchkov
Troika in a Winter Landscape, 1849
Estimate: $40,000 - 60,000

Leon Shulman Gaspard
Tientsin, 1921
Estimate: $150,000 - 200,000

A Silver-Gilt and Cloisonné Enamel Three-Handled Cup
Mark of Feodor Rückert, Moscow, 1899-1908, scratched inventory number 1125
Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000

A Jewelled Silver-Gilt and Guilloché Enamel Cigarette Case
Marked Fabergé, with the workmaster's mark of August Hollming, St. Petersburg, 1908-1911, scratched inventory number 22565
Estimate: $35,000 - 45,000

Yusupov Porcelain Manufactory
Porcelain Plates
Estimate: $15,000 – 25,000

A Gold and Enamel Order of the White Eagle
Maker's mark 'WK', St. Petersburg, date mark indistinct, before 1899
Estimate: 15,000 - 25,000

Auction: Russian Art Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Christie’s 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York

Viewings: Christie’s Rockefeller Center Galleries
Saturday April 9 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday April 10 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Monday April 11 10:00am – 5:00pm
Tuesday April 12 10:00am – 5:00pm