April Auction in Mánes

New world auction records were achieved at Sunday's art auction at the Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery. The auction house confirmed that it is the leader of the Czech art market and at its auction in Prague's Manes it auctioned a painting by Toyen called Cirkus from 1925 for a fantastic CZK 80,000,000 (3 076 950 EUR). It is a new world auction record for Toyen. Jan Preisler's beautiful oil Three Women in the Forest was auctioned for a record price CZK 29,000,000 (1 115 400 EUR). 

Toyen Cirkus first exhibited in 1925 at the world-famous L´art d´aujourd´hui (Art of Today) in Paris, along with the painting The Harbor (now in the collection of the French National Museum of Modern Art Center Georges Pompidou in Paris). Toyen's work from this creative period is very popular among collectors and investors. The painting was auctioned on the phone by five people. A great success of the auction was the auction of another Toyen chamber work with the title Sans Titre / Untitled (Feline Head) from the period around 1955, the price climbed from CZK 680,000 to CZK 3,000,000 (115 400 EUR). The painting came from the collection of the world-famous founder of the world surrealist movement, André Breton, which Toyen personally dedicated to him in the 1950s.

The world auction record gained the masterpiece of the painter Jan Preisler named Three Girls in the Forest from 1906. The iconic painting of symbolism is enriched by its excellent provenance, it comes from the collection of collector, art patron and friend Jan Preisler Mr. Bohuslav Dusek. Preisler's pastel entitled Three Women (In the Forest) from 1908, which sold for an excellent CZK 1,052,700, (40 490 EUR) also attracted the attention of auctioneers.

Another very valuable item of the auction was an attractive oil painting by Alfons Mucha entitled A Look into the Future from 1938 from the collection of personal physician Alfons Mucha MUDr. Bobka. The charming work was auctioned for a fantastic CZK 13,500,000 (519,230 EUR), which is also the painter's new record set in the Czech Republic.

Bernard Buffet, a prominent representative of French post-war figurative painting, who was once considered an international star comparable to Picasso, was represented at the auction. His excellent still life was named Nature morte au pot de jacinthe (P.B. Amour) Paris from 1956 was auctioned for CZK 5,500,000 (211 540 EUR). Buffet dedicated this excellent canvas to his lover Pierre Bergé, co-founder of the iconic fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent.

A significant item in the auction was a painting by Max Svabinsky Nude with a Parasol (Walking). The painting was created in the open air during the hot summer days of 1908 in the Paradise Garden on the border of Vinohrady and Zizkov, while the author captured his fiancée Ela Vejrychova. The price of the painting was CZK 1,500,000 (57 700 EUR). 

Several excellent works by Frantisek Kupka also achieved huge success at the auction. One of them was Kupka's rare Abstract Composition from 1930 to 1935, which was auctioned for CZK 2,500,000 (96 150 EUR). His magical work La Voie du Silence II. got an extraordinary result. The final price of the painting was CZK 762,500 (29 300 EUR). 

The sensations of the auction was a collection of fourteen small drawings by Frantisek Kupka from the important collection of the patron of the arts and the factory owner Jindrich Waldes.The first of these drawings was bought by Waldes directly from Frantisek Kupka in March 1919, immediately after their acquaintance. Waldes' Kupka collection was the most important in the world, and Waldes has been Kupka's greatest generous supporter and promoter from the beginning. All drawings were sold at excellent prices, which ranged from CZK 60,000 (2 300 EUR) to CZK 655,000 (25 200 EUR). 

During the auction, the first honored painting by the painter Theodor Pistek called Jam Session from 1958, which was auctioned for CZK 1,876,000 (72 150 EUR) also attracted attention.In the category of post-war art, the artist Bela Kolarova stood out at the auction. Her assemblage, called the 1966 Money Swallowing Machine, was auctioned for a record CZK 970,000 (37 300 EUR). 

Contemporary artists were represented at the auction by the popular author of the so-called soap bubbles Jiri Georg Dokoupil. His painting full of bubbles from 2015 was sold for CZK 835,000 (32 120 EUR). Chamber work MOTHERHOOD II. From 2019, one of the most prominent contemporary painters, Hynek Martinec, auctioned for CZK 230,000 (8 850 EUR). 

Art collectors were offered 140 excellent works of art in the spring auction and the total price for the auctioned items exceeded CZK 161,000,000 (6 153 846 EUR). Over 90% of the offered items were sold during the auction.

Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery is also organizing another annual charity auction. The full proceeds of the auction were donated to support the AUTTALK Endowment Fund of Katerina Sokolova, the Filip Venclik Endowment Fundand the Hagibor Social Care Home.

Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery is the only auction house in the Czech Republic to provide a lifetime guarantee of the authenticity of the works of art it offers.

Thank you for your support and we are looking forward to the next auction!