NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby’s annual autumn auction of Important Russian Art in New York will be held on 1 November 2011. In response to persistent demand for rare and historic works with exceptional provenance, the sale will offer 26 museum-quality masterpieces spanning important genres in Russian art, from 19th century paintings to the early avant-garde and Soviet eras of the 20th century. The auction is estimated at $19.4/28.2 million in total, with a strong average lot value of nearly $1 million, and will be highlighted by pictures from two American institutions: Vasili Vasilievich Vereshchagin’s Pearl Mosque at Delhi, on offer from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and a group three works by Nicolai Fechin that includes Bearing Away the Bride, on offer from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma