Kokoschka's painting sold for 78.5 million CZK, it's a Czech record

Prague – A painting by Oskar Kokoschka from 1934 titled Prague – View from the Křižovnický Monastery sold at today's auction in Prague for 68.25 million crowns. Including a fifteen percent auction premium, the new owner will pay nearly 78.5 million CZK. This sets a new Czech auction record. Alena Havlíková from the auction house Adolf Loos Apartment and Gallery reported this to ČTK.

The previous record for Czech auctions was held by the painting of abstract painting pioneer František Kupka Transverse Areas II. In May, it sold in Prague for 65 million crowns, with a twenty percent premium, the buyer paid 78 million.

Kokoschka painted the artwork after arriving in Prague in late summer 1934, and it is part of his cycle of Prague views. In October 1934, the painting was exhibited in Mánes. Thus, after 85 years, the work returned to this famous exhibition hall, this time for its first auction sale. Its starting price today was 68 million crowns.

Kokoschka's paintings created from various locations in Prague, such as from Strahov Monastery, the gardens of Kramář Villa, from both banks of the Vltava River, and other locations, are part of significant collections in the Czech Republic and abroad. Kokoschka's oil Prague – View from the Křižovnický Monastery along with the paintings Prague – Charles Bridge, owned by the National Gallery in Prague, and Prague – Hradčany and Petřín ranks among his three most important Prague views, the auction house states. Kokoschka chose a small balcony in the Křižovnický convent in the Old Town to work on the painting and painted Prague from there for nearly three weeks.

Kokoschka was born in 1886 in Pöchlarn, Austria, in a family of a goldsmith of Czech descent. He became famous for his distinctive landscape painting and portraits that are psychological studies of the characters and emotions of the depicted figures. He was a leading representative of expressionism, and also wrote poetry and plays. In 1933, he exhibited in Prague, where he moved after his mother's death in 1934, and where he met Olda Palkovská, whom he later married. In Bohemia, he also portrayed President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.

In October 1938, the Nazis expelled Kokoschka from Prague, branding him as a "degenerate artist" along with other artists. Unlike his wife, the painter never returned to Prague. During his stay in Prague, Kokoschka painted 16 works.

Overview of the Most Expensive Sold Paintings at Auctions in the Czech Republic (prices are listed with auction premiums):

1. Oskar Kokoschka Prague - View from the Křižovnický Monastery - 78.5 mil.
2. František Kupka Transverse Areas II - 78 mil.
3. František Kupka Series C I. (Countervalues) - 62 mil.
4. František Kupka Shape of Blue - 57.4 mil.
5. Mikuláš Medek Action I (Egg) - 57 mil.
6. Oskar Kokoschka Prague - 52.08 mil.
7. Oskar Kokoschka Frogs - 37.7 mil.
8. Josef Šíma ML (Egg, Painting, Balance, MZ) - 36.18 mil.
9. Toyen Twilight in the Jungle - 36 mil.
10. Giorgio de Chirico Forgotten Toys - 31.44 mil.