Russian Bidders See Bargains as Volcano Damps Auction

Barely half a dozen Russian collectors made it past the Icelandic ash cloud to attend Sotheby’s Russian art auction in New York yesterday.

The two-day sale took in $13.6 million, comfortably within its presale estimate of $10.7 million to $15.1 million. Christie’s will present a smaller batch of Russian art on Friday, with the estimated range from $5.2 million to $7.4 million.