The proceeds from Saturday's auction should help Mánes

Prague - The Saturday auction of Galerie Art Praha will offer collectors 260 paintings and sculptures. Among the artists are names like Josef Čapek, Václav Špála, Antonín Slavíček, Otto Guttfreund, Jiří Načeradský, Karel Nepraš, František Tichý, and Josef Váchal. In the second part, a collection of works from the collection of the Foundation of Czech Visual Art will be auctioned off, with the proceeds designated for the reconstruction of the Mánes building. Selected works will have starting prices ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 crowns.
    The pre-auction exhibition takes place at the Galerie Art Praha daily from 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM, with the auction on Saturday at the Hilton Hotel starting from 1:30 PM.
    The catalog includes works from the collection of factory owner Jan Wiedemann, among which are two oils by Josef Čapek from the 1930s - Man Lying in the Grass and Gypsies, both starting at 1.2 million crowns. Václav Špála is represented by two paintings with starting prices of 650,000 and 350,000 crowns.
    Sixty works from the foundation's collections mainly represent pieces by members of the former Fund of Czech Visual Art, the current foundation to which the Mánes building belongs. A similar spring auction raised over three million crowns.
    The reconstruction of this significant monument of Czech modern architecture began in April this year and is expected to last until June next year. The gallery is set to open to the first visitors at the turn of September and October. The main architect of the reconstruction is the HMA studio, with architect Daniela Polubědovová designing the interiors. The functionalist building should return to its original form from the 1930s after the repairs.