The art market was record-breaking in the Czech Republic in 2012

František Kupka: Shape of Blue

Prague - The past year was record-breaking in terms of the art market in the country. "We are still processing the overall statistics, but it is clear that in 2012 collectors and investors spent more at auctions than in any individual year in the past," stated Marcela Chmelařová, editor-in-chief of the professional portal Artplus.cz, to ČTK. The portal publishes a detailed analysis of the art market every February.
     2012 was marked by the record set by František Kupka, the works of Emil Filla, and Chinese art at Czech auctions. To purchase the ten most expensive works of the year, a potential buyer would need over 200 million crowns; the year before, less than half that amount would have sufficed.
     The most expensive work of the year was Kupka's painting Shape of Blue, which was auctioned in the spring by Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery for a record 55.75 million crowns (including the auction premium, the purchaser paid 57.42 million). This is the highest price ever paid at auction for a work of Czech art not only in the Czech Republic but also on the world market.
     "The achieved price was a surprise; given the rarity of Kupka's abstract paintings and the excellent provenance of the work, it does have its logic," comments Jan Skřivánek, editor-in-chief of the magazine Art+Antiques. "The new owner acquired the painting for nearly 1.9 million pounds, which is 300,000 more than the previous year's record held by Kupka. Shape of Blue is a significantly more important work," Skřivánek adds.
     In the top ten most expensive works of the past year, there are two more paintings by Kupka: Apoteóza Heleny from 1906 and Úsměv O from 1933 to 1951. The painting Apoteóza Heleny can currently be seen at the exhibition František Kupka: The Path to Amorf, as it is one of the works with which the painter presented himself at Parisian salons.

Emil Filla: Head of a Man in a Top Hat

     Another constant in the top ten most expensive works of the year is Emil Filla, who held the highest spots in the past two years. According to Artplus.cz statistics, 14 of the painter's works sold for over a million crowns in the past year. "Several dozen of Filla's paintings and drawings go through auctions each year, enabling potential buyers to easily get an idea of prices. Filla is perceived as an investment certainty and is interesting not only for traditional collectors, but also for people who buy art simply as part of diversifying their investment portfolio," explains the editor-in-chief of Artplus.cz.
     Two positions in the top ten belong to works of Chinese art. Alongside the painting by master modern ink painter Qi Baishi, which appeared in the top ten already in 2011, there is a medieval bronze statue of the Buddhist saint Kuan-yin, which was auctioned at a November auction by the Brno-based company Zezula for 16.2 million crowns; including the auction premium, the buyer paid 19.11 million.
     The high prices for works of Chinese art are a phenomenon of the last three years. Due to intensive Czech-Chinese cultural relations in the 1950s, many quality works by leading painters from that time have been preserved in the country, which are now attracting significant interest from Chinese collectors. At the December auction of Galerie Arcimboldo, for example, 55 works of Chinese art were sold for a total of more than 65 million crowns.

Ranking of the ten most expensive works sold at auctions in the Czech Republic in 2012 (prices exclude auction premiums):

1. František Kupka: Shape of Blue (55.75 million CZK)
2. František Kupka: Úsměv O (20.25 million CZK)
3. Altar statue of the bodhisattva Kuan-yin (16.2 million CZK)
4. Emil Filla: Head of a Man in a Top Hat (16 million CZK)
5. Emil Filla: Reclining Woman (15.2 million CZK)
6. František Kupka: Apoteóza Heleny (15 million CZK)
7. Emil Filla: Three Graces (14.6 million CZK)
8. Toyen: Diver (13 million CZK)
9. Konstantin Korovin: Summer Day (Ochotino) (9.7 million CZK)
10. Qi Baishi: Wisteria and Bees (7.5 million CZK)