MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. The Moscow Auction House will hold a sale on July 26, featuring works by Ivan Aivazovsky, Mikhail Nesterov, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, and Nikolay Roerich - whose late-1900s painting "The Idol Place" is the most expensive lot with an 18-million-ruble ($209,000) starting price - with the collection’s total value standing at 1 billion rubles ($11.6 million), the press service said.

"The image of a pagan site appeared in Roerich’s paintings in the early 1900s, with the artist later replicating and varying the theme across different mediums. Experts note that "The Idol Place" pastel holds clear museum value, particularly due to the scarcity of surviving works from the master's Russian period," the press service told.

In addition, the sale also includes Ivan Aivazovsky’s "Off the Coast of Yalta." Such Yalta landscapes became an integral part of the artist's work, a theme he revisited throughout his life.

It carries an estimated value of $420,000. Mikhail Nesterov’s painting "Sisters (At the Skete)" is also among the top lots. "This work is a rare example of Nesterov’s lyrical painting from the 1920s, appealing to both private collectors and museum collections. Its estimate stands at $200,000," the auction house added. The auction also features "Pines in Autumn" by Pyotr Konchalovsky, one of the founders of the "Jack of Diamonds" art group, with an estimated value of 16 million rubles ($186,000).

Art lovers will also be presented with Karl Ferdinand von Kugelgen’s landscape painting "Crimea. View of Gurzuf," with an estimated value of 11 million rubles ($128,000). Emperor Alexander I purchased it for the Imperial Hermitage Museum in 1816 and placed it in the Kamennoostrovsky Palace. "A talented landscape painter of German descent, Karl von Kugelgen worked in Russia for a long time, fulfilling commissions for the imperial court. On the orders of Alexander I, he visited Crimea twice in 1804 and 1806, bringing back a series of 30 paintings. Among them was the landscape "View of Gurzuf," which was bought for the Imperial Hermitage in 1813," said Sergey Podstanitsky, founder of the Moscow Auction House, art historian, and collector.

Rarely auctioned works by portraitist Boris Grigoriev are also expected to draw expert attention, featuring three portraits valued at $500,000 each. Other top lots include Konstantin Makovsky’s "Portrait of Tzaigane Raisova," estimated at 7 million rubles ($81,000), Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin’s "Reclining Nude and Model" for 2.2 million rubles ($25,500), and a portrait of the artist's family dog for 2.5 million rubles ($29,000).

The auction will also showcase contemporary art, featuring "Matzo, Herring, Orthodox Vodka," a still life valued at 5.3 million rubles ($61,500) by Oscar Rabin, a prominent figure of Soviet Nonconformist Art and founder of the Lianozovo group.

"Novice collectors looking to start their collections with affordable, high-quality works that offer growth potential should also look closely at works by Tatyana Mavrina, Konstantin Khudyakov, Vyacheslav Mikhailov, Vadim Sidur, Rustam Khamdamov, and Anatoly Zverev," the press service concluded.