The Milkman (1928), a painting by Reuven Rubin (1893-1974), has sold for $389,000 at an auction of Israeli Art at Sotheby's New York.
The sale took place on December 17, with the work achieving a 10.5% increase on a $350,000 high estimate.
 Rubin painted The Milkman in 1928 |
An early emigre to Palestine, Rubin was among an early wave of Jewish artists who carved out a distinct style for themselves in the area during the 1920s - specifically a blend of modern European influences with those drawn from classic Jewish and Biblical art.
The milkman is presented as a symbolic link between the old country and the new due to its significance as a motif in eastern European Jewish culture. It appears as a theme in many of his paintings.
Untitled (1999) by Adi Nes was another lot that outperformed its estimate, achieving $377,000 against an $80,000-120,000 estimate - an increase of 214.6%.
 The image shows young soldiers in the Israeli army |
The photograph echoes Da Vinci's The Last Supper, although crucially the attention is cast away from the central figure who gazes out of the image with a dazed expression.
It has been interpreted as referencing the harrowing grind of life in a contested territory.
The print is numbered four of an edition of five, with two examples having sold recently, one in 2005 for $102,000 and another in 2007 for $264,000 - equating to an annual return of 17.7% pa in eight years.
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