Bohumil Kubišta – ‘Old Prague Motif’, Photo: Galerie Kodl
Czechia’s art market is growing fast. According to art website Art+ the average cost of a painting sold at auction rose over the past 10 years by 10 percent. Last year also saw several records being broken, whether it be the sale of the most expensive painting ever in Czech history, or the largest ever revenues registered at the country’s auction houses.
The Czech art market reached a turnover of CZK 1.65 billion last year, a 10 percent rise when compared with 2021. This in contrast to the country’s struggling post-Covid economy, which has been hit by the energy crisis and wider consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine. According to Art+, this is also down to investors seeking to protect themselves from rampant inflation.
The greatest auction event to take place last year was the sale of expressionist and cubist painter Bohumil Kubišta’s painting Staropražský motiv (Old Prague motif) for a record CZK 123.6 million. It became the first painting to breach the CZK 100 million mark in the country’s history, the art website writes.
Author: Thomas McEnchroe
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