AUSTIN (REUTERS).- Today,
Sotheby’s Sale of The Hascoe Family Collection of Important Czech Art brought 11,103,903 / $18,032,738 / 303,326,131 CZK, far exceeding the pre‐sale estimate (4.17‐6.25 million / $6.7‐10 million / 114‐170.8 CZK million). The auction achieved sell through rates of 92% by lot and 99.4% by value and set 13 new artist records. 74.9% of works sold achieved prices above the high estimate.
Commenting on the results of today’s sale, Tessa Kostrzewa, Deputy Director of European Paintings at Sotheby’s London, and Filip Marco, Head of Sotheby’s Prague Office, said: “Today’s sale brought a landmark auction of Czech art to an international audience and succeeded brilliantly. Norman and Suzanne Hascoe assembled one of the most important private collections of Czech modernist art in existence and the market has responded with extraordinary enthusiasm. Today’s sale will be remembered for many years to come, with records set for many of the most important Czech artists of the 20th century.”
Headlining the auction was František Kupkaʹs oil on canvas Movement. This museum quality painting witnessed intense competition from a number of buyers in the saleroom and on the telephone banks. Setting a new record for the artist at auction, the work finally sold to a round of applause to an anonymous buyer on the telephone for 1,497,250 ($2,431,534 / 40,900,488 CZK), doubling its pre‐sale high estimate (est. 500,000‐700,000). Painted between 1913 and 1919, the work is one of the finest examples of Kupka’s paintings from this key period in his artistic career, when his interest in cosmology and the interplay between the pictorial arts and music was at its strongest. The price more than doubled the previous record for the artist at auction. Today’s sale offered 20 works by Kupka, and five of these featured in the top 10 prices in the auction. The sale brought five of the six highest prices for Kupka at auction, including the top two.
Emil Filla’s Sculptress in the Studio soared above its pre‐sale estimate of 100,000 150,000, to sell for 623,650 / $1,012,808 / 17,036,293 CZK. Another top‐selling lot of today’s sale was Josef Čapek’s double‐sided work Sailor and Phantomas, painted between 1917 and 1920, which sold for 565,250 / $917,966 / 15,440,976 CZK (estimate: 150,000‐200,000). The price achieved established a record for the artist at auction.
Other notable prices today:
• František Foltn’s powerful Imperialism, which sold for 433,250 ($703,598 / 11,835,122 CZK), a record for the artist at auction
• Still Life with Fruit by Bohumil Kubista made 397,250 ($645,134 / 10,851,707 CZK) against an estimate of 300,000‐500,000, a record for the artist at auction
New Artist Records:
• Lot 11
Otto Gutfreund
Cubist Head
bronze
Estimate: 8,000‐12,000
Sold for 34,850 ($56,596) (952,000 CZK)
• Lot 16
Bohumil Kubišta
Still Life with Fruit
oil on canvas
Estimate: 300,000‐500,000
Sold for 397,250 ($645,134) (10,851,707 CZK)
• Lot 18
Jan Bauch
The Garden
oil on canvas
Estimate: 20,000‐30,000
Sold for 75,650 ($122,856) (2,066,537 CZK)
• Lot 20
František Foltn
Imperialism (Imperialismus)
oil on canvas
Estimate: 120,000‐180,000
Sold for 433,250 ($703,598) (11,835,122 CZK)
• Lot 22
Karel Čern
In the Bar
oil on canvas
Estimate: 40,000‐60,000
Sold for 163,250 ($265,118) (4,459,512 CZK)
• Lot 23
Josef Čapek
Sailor and Phantomas: A Double‐Sided Work
oil on canvas
Estimate: 500,000‐700,000
Sold for 565,250 ($917,966) (15,440,976 CZK)
• Lot 39
František Kupka
Movement
oil on canvas
Estimate: 500,000‐700,000
Sold for 1,497,250 ($2,431,534) (40,900,488 CZK)
• Lot 45
Otakar Švec
Sunbeam – Motorcyclist
bronze
Estimate: 15,000‐20,000
Sold for 139,250 ($226,142) (3,803,902 CSZ)
• Lot 50
František Hudeček
Park at Night
oil on canvas
Estimate: 12,000‐18,000
Sold for 63,650 ($103,368) (1,738,732 CZK)
• Lot 56
Jan Štursa
Messalina
bronze
Estimate: 12,000‐18,000
Sold for 27,500 ($44,660) (751,220 CSZ)
•Lot 65
Bohumr Matal
The Lovers
oil on canvas
Estimate: 12,000‐18,000
Sold for 103,250 ($167,678) (2,820,488 CZK)
• Lot 69
Vincenc Makovsk
Dream of a Girl
bronze
Estimate: 15,000‐20,000
Sold for 46,850 ($76,084) (1,279,805 CZK)
• Lot 149
Alois Kalvoda
Lovers in the Grass
oil on canvas
Estimate: 3,000‐4,000
Sold for 37,350 ($60,494) (1,017,561 CZK)
Benchmarks set for artists new to auction:
• Lot 118
Hana Wichterlov
Composition
bronze
Estimate: 3,000‐5,000
Sold for 18,750 ($30,450) (512,195 CZK)
