NEW YORK, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - Sales...

The auction"s top lot was Mother and Child by Russian modernist painter Boris Grigoryev (1886-1939), which went for about $1.37 million, more than twice its pre-sale estimate.

The artist painted the portrait of his wife and son in 1918, and it was part of a private collection in Germany.

Among the other Grigoryev paintings that doubled estimates, were Faces of Russia, sold for $986,500, and Pont-Aven, Evening, which fetched $890,500.

A painting by another famous Russian modernist, Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), was sold for a surprising $1.78 million with an estimate of only $600,000-800,000.

Both painters were born in Moscow and died in Paris.

Among the most sensational events at Sotheby"s on Monday was the sale of Peter the Great: a rare Russian Award Portrait Miniature with Diamonds, which fetched over $1.3 million with an estimate of only $80,000-120,000.

A total of 10 copies are known to have been awarded by the Russian tsar and only

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