The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Art & Antiques Prague Art Prague Antiques

Home » Archives » Business

Kupka painting nets record price

Bid of 13.4 million Kč sign of growing investment in artwork

By Riva Froymovich
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 23rd, 2007 issue

Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
Jiří Rybář stands in front of Kupka's Abstract Composition, which sold for a record 13.4 million Kč.
Czech Art market

Top five sales as of this month:
➊ František Kupka, Abstract Composition, 13.4 million Kč
➋ Josef Čapek, Foot Bath 9.3 million Kč
➌ Jindřich Štýrský, Circus Simonette, 8.6 million Kč
➍ Ivan Šiškin, In front of the Mirror, 7.5 million Kč
➎ Emil Filla, Goldfish at the Window, 7.3 million Kč

Thrusting his index finger onto the page of a thick art-history textbook, excavated from the back office of his gallery in Prague, Jiří Rybář, head of 1. Art Consulting Brno-Praha, asked: “Is there something valuable about this Picasso painting?”
“It is special … [because] it’s Picasso!”
Such is popularity. The value of a single work of art often balances on the name and reputation of the artist, rather than the work itself.
And so it was that a pair of bidders — a young, ostentatiously dressed couple without an art adviser in sight — made history May 20 at an art auction organized by Rybář in the lavish Palace Žofín. The man paid a record-breaking 13.4 million Kč ($645,000) for a painting by the artist František Kupka.
Kupka, who died in 1957, painted abstract and Cubist art in the early part of the 20th century. “He is the most famous Czech modern artist, and this position of his costs a lot,” Rybář said.
Among almost 600 guests, the holders of paddle No. 31 vied for a piece of that celebrity — Abstract Composition (1925–1930), rescued from the hands of both Nazis and Soviets. The winners, challenged until the end by an anonymous telephone bidder, were guided by the value of Kupka’s reputation more than the painting itself, Rybář had suggested.
The anonymous couple (who declined answering questions) arrived at the auction early — she in a body-hugging red dress and what appeared to be costume jewelry, he in a dark suit and tie. Both had cherubic faces. The pair was in stark contrast to the majority of casually dressed collectors in attendance. When lot 114 was called, the man lifted his paddle along with at least five other hopefuls. She giggled into his ear and squirmed in her seat. He kept his arm raised until the Kupka was his.
In the end, Rybář took to the stage and poured four glasses of champagne.
“To Kupka,” he said.
The entire auction earned his firm 41 million Kč.
Prices ‘blowing up’
Today, modern art is at the height of popularity, judging by cost.
An art auction in New York City broke world records May 16, bringing in $384.7 million in just two and a half hours. A day earlier, another auction in New York set the apex for a single work of art sold, raking in a total of $72.8 million for Mark Rothko’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose).
Although Czech art does not attract such hefty bids yet, the market is rising steadily, following the pace set by auctions in New York and London, according to Rybář.
This most recent event was the 32nd auction hosted by his firm in a decade.
In 1997, Rybář, a self-identified former drummer-cum-rock-star, began gathering with others on the art scene at Červený kostel in Brno and at Prague’s Karolinum to conceptualize the structure of the national art market.
“We placed ads in the papers publicizing these ‘collectors’ meetings,’ asking everybody who wanted to check out what we had to offer to join us,” he said. “We usually had like 50 paintings [at auctions] and the highest price we achieved was 700,000 Kč.”
Since then, the market has seen continued growth, he said.
Rybář’s previous record-breaking moment was in 2004 for a piece by Josef Šíma that sold for 7.1 million Kč. The country’s previous record was set in 2006, for a painting by cubist Josef Čapek that sold for 9.3 million Kč at a Galerie Art Praha auction.
The highest bidder last Sunday came as no surprise to Rybář. “The winner had visited the gallery before the auction to view the piece and showed particular interest in the Kupka,” he said.
One impediment to higher sales is that domestic painters are not well-known abroad, Rybář said.
Kupka was more talented than some of his French contemporaries, but their paintings sell for far higher prices because French art is more famous, he said.
Another force keeping prices low are laws governing the export of art, Rybář said. Wealthy foreigners must secure a raft of legal permissions to take artwork across the border, especially if the work has some cultural prestige or was bought for more than 50,000 Kč.
Still, the art market here is attracting plenty of interest, according to Magdalena Juříková, art curator for Vladimír Železný, founder of TV Nova and a member of the European Parliament.
“[Prices have] radically blown up in the past year and a half,” she said. “The run for pieces of art is higher than supply, and people will buy almost anything just to satiate their hunger for famous names.”
Foreign collectors are attracted to Czech auctions because the prices are still relatively low for interesting glass, handicrafts and furniture, Juříková said. And influential local businessmen are discovering that art, even Czech art, is a commodity worth investing in.
— Hela Balínová contributed to this report.

Riva Froymovich can be reached at rfroymovich@praguepost.com


Other articles in Business (23/05/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.