Forum Digest
Artes et musae
An Auction in Aid of a School for Sick Children!
For a full fortnight, pictures by the pupils of the hospital school in Motol were exhibited, together with the photographs of Ales Minar and the works of our leading artists, in the gallery of the Czech Savings Bank (Rytirska St. 19, Prague 1). And, just as had been planned by the organisers, all the works on show were auctioned off immediately after the exhibition in a huge auction. Thanks to the support of Pragokoncert, this took place in Nosticky Palace on Mala Strana on 17 May. The proceeds of the event, organised in collaboration with Prague graphics workshops, the Klara Trnkov Foundation, and the Czech Savings Bank, will go to the school of the Clinic of Paediatric Oncology at the Faculty Hospital in Motol. Also present at the auction were Prof. MUDr. Josef Koutecky, the principal of the clinic, and Mgr. Jiri Smid, the head of the school which is attached to the hospital.
Appearing at their third charity auction were a seasoned pair of performers - the urbane Jiri Vala as moderator, and the sharp, intelligent Marek Eben as commentator and auctioneer. On each occasion that they appear together, Jiri Vala brings with him a small hammer from home, which Marek Eben bangs with gusto, because, as he proclaims, it is "stimulating to be an auctioneer". At the start of the auction, the head of the school, Mgr. Jiri Smid, announced how the proceeds of the auction would be spent - they will be used to buy art supplies for the childrens' free time in the afternoon, as well as buying furniture for the infants' school and toys... The auction catalogue included seventy items by first-rate graphic artists with very advantageous (that is, unusually low) asking prices. The illustrious names Demel, Anderle, Born, Salamounova, Suchanek, and Sliva started to be auctioned for figures over which every gallery owner would yelp with glee, raising them by a number substantially higher than the original asking price... Those present - and it seemed to me that there could have more of them at such an attractive event - were able to take home with them some very nice pictures and, what's more, to contribute to a very good cause... In this way, one of the ladies in the hall - where the film director, Karel Smyczek, and Petr Mandel of Radio Vox, also took turns as guest auctioneers - managed to buy the majority of the items in the catalogue. She told us that she did it because she "knew about the shortage of money at the hospital..." Whether this should be regarded as a charitable act or a purely financial one, one thing is certain: the overall sum raised during the evening - thanks to the gently humorous, but always skilful, work of Marek Eben - topped 350,000 Czech crowns. And this is a sum with which it is truly possible to purchase a decent quantity of paints and brushes, toys and furniture!
Next time, why don't you come and buy a small gift for yourself and the children of Motol as well? The editors will let you know in good time of any similar events...
Text and photo: Michaela Zindelova
(vol. 1, no. 5, 1995)
"Any advance?" asks auctioneer Marek Eben, while Jiri Vala displays a delicate print by Vladimir Suchanek. Its price went rapidly upwards...
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