Results of the 93rd KODL Gallery auction - we thank all auctioneers and art admirers for the beautiful auction results!
At its 93rd auction, the KODL Gallery offered 217 extraordinary works of art. The starting price of 124,335,000 crowns was increased to more than 222 million. 95 percent of the lots were sold. The most expensive painting auctioned was Josef Čapek's Flowering Meadow.
More than 500 visitors in the hall, dozens of bidders on the telephone lines and on the Artslimit portal once again created an extraordinary, thoroughly art-loving atmosphere in Prague's Žofín. The auction managed to set a number of author records, not only for the popular interwar modernism but also for contemporary artists.
"We once again experienced a great auction, at which I was particularly thrilled by the enthusiasm of the collectors. The battle that lasted for long minutes, for example over a beautiful blue painting by Václav Špála, confirms the unabated interest in Czech fine art," said Martin Kodl after the auction.
The most expensive work was Josef Čapek's painting Flowering Meadow from 1937, which was auctioned for 16,320,000 CZK. It is a rare example of a rediscovered artifact that was traded after many decades. Flowering Meadow was first exhibited in Prague in 1938, but then disappeared. The owner, who acquired the painting directly from Josef Čapek, took it to emigrate to the USA in 1968 and only then did his heirs offer Čapek's canvas to the KODL Gallery. "Now the painting has returned to the Czech Republic. I am pleased that it was acquired by an enlightened collector, whom I greatly respect," says Martin Kodl.
However, the biggest, almost fierce battle in the hall was waged by collectors over the painting The Otava River by Václav Špála, which ultimately became the second most expensive with a price of 16,080,000 CZK. The oil on canvas from 1929 is a top example of Špála's so-called blue period, and the auction also broke the artist's record.
Several exceptional convolutes, i.e. sets of works by important artists, were also prepared for the Sunday auction. The convolute of four works by Josef Čapek was particularly "closely watched". In addition to the oil painting Flowering Meadow, which achieved the highest price ever, the auction also included Zatiší s peaches (1922), which reached 8,280,000 CZK, while the charming Roses from the same period reached 4,320,000 CZK. The surprise was undoubtedly Little Girl with Ball. Few of Čapek's drawings currently surpass the million mark, but in this case it did - 1,140,000 CZK. The exceptional items also included paintings by František Muzika, which he created as part of his famous cycle of islands. Island III., which is set in an imaginative landscape resembling a theater stage, was auctioned for CZK 13,920,000, while the chamber canvas Island I. was auctioned for CZK 3,840,000. Kamil Lhoták has of course also been in the spotlight of collectors for a long time. Of his five works that were included in the auction, the painting entitled In the Mining Landscape achieved CZK 1,200,000 and Still Life on a Table achieved CZK 960,000.
The most expensive items include Antaeus, a work that occupies an extraordinary place in Josef Šíma's work. He created it in 1958, after a long creative pause – as part of the famous “Orpheus” cycle. The canvas was auctioned for CZK 11,040,000, making it on the verge of the top ten most expensive paintings by this artist.
As usual, works by Josef Lada also scored points at Žofín. His Water Goblin from the year reached 2,400,000 CZK, while Winter Village Square reached 2,760,000 CZK. Works by another “classic” – Jan Zrzavý – were no less successful. His House in Locronan, a tempera on a wooden panel, created in 1936 in Brittany, reached 3,600,000 CZK. And the oil on canvas Dious I, in which the author captured his native region, was auctioned for 1,320,000 CZK.
Collectors also showed great interest in the work of Zdeněk Burian right at the beginning of the auction. The oil entitled The Treasure in Silver-Lake from 1931-1932 was primarily intended as the original cover of the cover of the famous book by Karel May. The evocative work of the famous Czech illustrator of adventure literature and books about prehistory eventually rose from its starting price of CZK 250,000 to almost six times that, or CZK 1,440,000.
The acrylic on canvas Petřín Magnolias by Jan Mikulka also saw a significant price increase, rising from its starting price of CZK 300,000 to CZK 1,140,000. This is an author's record, as is the case with the oil painting Black Cat by Jiří Kovařík, which rose from its starting price of CZK 300,000 to CZK 1,200,000.
The author's records also include works by other contemporary artists - for example, Vladimír Houdek, Emma Srncová and Pavel Reisenauer. The last two were auctioned as part of the benefit part of the auction, which was initially dedicated to the benefit of the Paraple Center, and which also included works by Karel Balcar, Jiří Šťourač, Ellen Jilemnická, Josef Liesler, Štefan Tóth and Zdenka Reinerová. A portion of the proceeds, totaling CZK 513,500, will go to the Paraple Center.
In support of the Prague Spring festival, items created specifically for the occasion by six renowned contemporary Czech artists on the theme of “time” were auctioned. Works by Josef Bolf, Martin Krajc, Anna Neborová, Rony Plesl, Michael Rittstein and Jakub Tomáš were auctioned for a total price of CZK 1,180,000, with the entire sum being earmarked for the development of the festival’s projects.
