At the spring 91st auction of the KODL Gallery, 27 copyright records were set. The continuing interest in Czech modernism, led by Fill's Dvojice, was thus confirmed

Published: 6/2/2024

As many as 27 author records were set at the spring 91st KODL Gallery auction. This confirmed continuing interest in Czech modernism, led by Fillas's Couple, which, with a price of CZK 25.2 million, became his most expensive interwar painting. However, the auction also reflected the rising demand for post-war art and the work of contemporary artists, and the 19th century collection certainly did not go unnoticed.

Czech Parisians at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries were represented by Tavík František Šimon. His early work Young Woman with a Harp, which most likely represents an allegory of music, achieved an author's record at auction and was sold for 2,040,000 CZK. In the same way, Antonie Brandeisová broke her previous Czech record with the exceptional Italian canvas The Courtyard of the Doge’s Palace, for which the new owner paid CZK 840,000. A painting by Mařák's student Josef Bašek entitled Ve skalách was sold well above the estimate range, namely for CZK 420,000, which doubled his record at the time.

Traditionally, Czech modernism also scored among collectors, especially František Muzika's extraordinary Pastorale from 1923, which, with a price of CZK 9,240,000, became the most expensive early work by this author. The oil Pilgrim in a mysterious landscape from František Kobliha's palette also received great attention, and with a final price of CZK 600,000, it climbed to the limit of the upper estimate. In the same way, the interest of the auctioneers was aroused by the Toilet by Jaroslav Herbst, sold for a record 312,000 CZK, i.e. more than ten times the starting price. Many visitors to the auction watched with great interest the number of bids for the neoclassical Leda with a swan by the sculptor Břetislav Benda, whose price settled at six times the starting price, i.e. CZK 1,440,000. Discerning collectors did not miss the auction of Kamil Lhoták's oil painting from his most valuable period, when he worked in Group 42. The Painter's Glider in the Suburbs from 1943 finally came to the forefront of the most expensive paintings from this important creative period of Lhoták's with a price of CZK 4,680,000.

The most expensive work of the auction, Emil Filla's figurative Couple from 1934, is also the author's most expensive interwar painting sold. This large-format surrealist oil from the famous collection of Dr. Jaroslav Borovička, where it was among his most popular works, was auctioned for CZK 25,200,000 (the starting price was CZK 13,000,000).

The contemporary trend of growing interest in post-war art was noted above all by Jan Kubíček's canvas Picture with Circles from 1965, which reached a new author's record with a price of CZK 1,560,000. In the same way, the painter Libor Wagner and his Port of Music impressed the auctioneer enough to pay a record sum of CZK 168,000 for it, which also applies to Adolf Hoffmeister and his work Franz Kafka – Letter to the Father, which became the most expensive collage of this author. The new owner finally auctioned it off for CZK 324,000.

An exceptional position in the auction was also held by the large-format canvas Variation No. 1 from 1995, which came directly from the studio of Theodor Pištěk, one of the most expensive and sought-after living authors. The painting, in which the painter first embarked on the path of geometric abstraction associated with space, is his most expensive abstract work with a price of 9,600,000. Among contemporary artists, Michal Cimala (achieved price CZK 192,000), Martin Janecký (achieved price CZK 780,000), Michal Mráz (achieved price CZK 312,000), Petr Nikl (achieved price CZK 384,000) and Monika Žáková (achieved price 156,000 CZK) also broke their previous records.