“Woman in Yellow”, a portrait by famous Soviet Armenian painter Sargis Muradyan has been sold at Bonhams auction in London, his daughter Zaruhi Muradyan confirmed to Panorama.am.

She received the good news on Wednesday evening, but wasn’t told how much the painting was sold for or the identity of the buyer.

“The price isn’t important. I strongly believe it is lower than the real price, but the important thing is the fact that Sargis Muradyan’s art makes its way into the international market and is sold at the very first attempt,” she said.

According to Muradyan, her father, a People’s Artist of Armenia, was very famous in the Soviet period, particularly in 1970-80s, when he took part in numerous international exhibitions. She says the Cologne Contemporary Art Museum purchased two paintings by Sargis Muradyan at that time.

But the painter’s works were on the verge of being forgotten amid a decline in international contacts over the past 30 years and after the artist’s death in 2007.

“Thanks to our great efforts, we opened an exhibition hall, organized big exhibitions and managed to have one of the most prestigious auctions select Sargis Muradyan’s work,” the daughter said, adding Bonhams has unveiled plans to continue cooperation with them.

Muradyan only expressed regret that the portrait of his father was presented in the Russian arts sales section of the auction.

She says the Armenian art has generally been presented through the works of Minas Avetisyan or Martiros Saryan, but she is confident that apart from them or Sargis Muradyan Armenia has many other good painters.