Sochu from the Tugendhat villa was bought by an unknown collector for one million pounds

London - The statue called Torso of a Walking Woman, which was originally in the Tugendhat villa in Brno, was purchased today at auction at Sotheby's in London by an unknown collector for one million pounds, approximately 42 million crowns. The Moravian Gallery in Brno and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris also wanted to buy the statue, but the final sale price was beyond their current financial capabilities, the Czech Ministry of Culture stated today.
    The achieved price was one of the first major surprises of today's grand auction of Impressionist, Surrealist, and German works, which was attended by around 650 people. The auctioneer started at 180,000 pounds, but the packed hall watched in amazement as the price smoothly surpassed the estimated maximum of 350,000 pounds. When it reached double the estimate, the excitement in the hall became more noticeable, then the price briefly stalled at 900,000 pounds, but ultimately it smoothly surpassed that and reached nearly three times the estimate. It was sold in less than five minutes.
    The Czech Ministry of Culture wanted to acquire the statue at today’s auction. It informed the Czech News Agency that the Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička instructed the director of the Moravian Gallery Marek Pokorný to pursue this after consulting with Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek. However, it would have been tactless to publicly inform about the financial limit or about the gallery's representative participating in the auction with such significant interest before the auction ended.
    The auctioned statue was in the possession of the Moravian Gallery in Brno until 2006, but was then returned to the Tugendhat family under the law on rectifying certain injustices caused by the Holocaust. The statue was created by Wilhelm Lehmbruck.
    Based on the same law, the Tugendhats requested the return of the entire villa. However, according to the legal opinion of the city, the return in this manner is not possible, as the regulation does not speak about real estate, only about works of art. At their last meeting, the representatives agreed that a different way must be found to transfer the villa to the heirs. The planned transfer to the state and subsequent restitution fell through, so now a transfer through the Moravian Gallery is being considered.
    Deputy Mayor Barbora Javorová (KDU-ČSL) told the Czech News Agency today that a tripartite agreement should be established between Brno, the Moravian Gallery representing the state, and the descendants of the Tugendhat family. This agreement should stipulate, for example, that the future owners of the monument will not remove it from the UNESCO list and that the villa will serve the public. Further agreements will need to be made by the parties concerning the transfer of land associated with the villa.
    Critical views towards the Tugendhats are beginning to emerge in Brno. According to councilor Daniel Rychnovský (KDU-ČSL), they have, for example, no idea how to finance the restoration of the villa and its operation. Supposedly, the income from ticket sales will not be enough to cover the costs. Former mayor and MEP Petr Duchoň (ODS) stated that the city should not give up the villa at all. According to him, the leadership of the South Moravian metropolis should initiate new negotiations and offer the Tugendhats a "special position" in the planned reconstruction. They should have the right not only to oversee the course of the repairs but also to influence the choice of materials used.