Pirosmani painting ‘Arsenal Hill at Night’ to be sold at Christie’s auction in London

A very rare and unique art piece of Georgian art by self-educated painter Niko Pirosmani will go to auction at one of the world’s most prestigious art and auction houses.

On June 1, 2015, Pirosmani’s Arsenal Hill at Night will be sold at Christie’s auction in London.

The painting is believed to be Pirosmani’s most expensive creation; Christie’s art experts estimated Arsenal Hill at Night was worth between $1,250,400 and $1,875,600 USD.

Arsenal Hill at Nightis the most important work by this artist ever to be offered at Christie’s and one of the most significant works by this artist known to exist outside of museum collections,” the website of the Christie’s auction noted.

The painting was first sold at auction in 2003. At the Sotheby's Auction, Arsenal Hill at Night sold for $1.8 million USD.

The painting was sold for a second time at the MacDougall’s Fine Art Auction in London. This time the painting was sold for £1,075,369 (1,672,542 USD).

Pirosmani is one of Georgia’s most recognised painters. Although he produced an astonishing number of works, only a few have survived, mainly due to the negligence of the owners or the closing of the spaces where the works were initially located, such as cellars, tea rooms, and pubs.

Pirosmani mostly painted his works for taverns and small shops often in exchange for just a cheap lunch or a shot of vodka, rather than money.

Georgian artist Ilia Zdanevich took several of Pirosmani's paintings to Moscow for the Target exhibition in 1913.

During the Soviet period, many Russian artists, writers and public figures purchased Pirosmani’s paintings in Georgia for their private collections. Because of this, for a long period of time, the Arsenal Hill at Night was believed to be missing.

But as it turned out, Lily Brik, the long term-muse of Russian writer Vladimir Mayakovsky, purchased several paintings including this one from Zdanevich. She gifted the painting to her sister and brother-in-law, French writer Louis Aragon. Through this way the Pirosmani painting appeared in France.

Prior to its ownership by Zdanevich, the painting belonged to someone named Bayadze, who operated a tavern in Tiblisi. In 1920, poet Kolau Cherniavsky found the painting in a local neighbourhood where Bayadze's bar was located.

Currently, the painting is owned by a private collector.