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April 16, 2008

Sotheby's sells Attleboro museum painting for $713,000

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- A painting by Russian artist Alexandre Iacovleff donated to the Attleboro Art Museum a half century ago has been sold at auction for $713,000.

The 4-foot by 7-foot painting entitled “Under a Kirghiz Tent” was sold Tuesday by auctioneer Sotheby’s. Sotheby’s did not disclose the name of the buyer.

The painting was donated to the city in 1957 by W. Charles Thompson, who worked at a Boston art gallery and knew the artist personally.

The Attleboro Art Museum decided to sell the painting after examining the cost of insurance and security.

The 1932 painting shows a family gathering inside a tent. It was inspired by Iacovleff’s trip to Central Asia.

The museum had originally put the painting up for auction in London last June, where it failed to sell. It had been expected to bring from $800,000 to $1 million.

Attleboro Arts Museum, a small city-owned museum, was seeking to use the money from the sale to beef up its endowment and expand its community outreach programs.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 2:58 PM | Permalink

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