Picture by Čapek sold for over GBP 260,000

London/Prague, Feb 6 (CTK) - The picture by Czech painter Josef Capek that was auctioned for 265,250 pounds sterling, more than double the estimated price, at Sotheby's in London Wednesday is exceptional as such an early work by Capek had not appeared at auctions for long, Czech expert Jan Skrivanek told CTK.

Moreover, the work from 1915 is interesting in that both sides of the canvas are painted. One painting is called Cubistic Landscape, the other Contemplation, Skrivanek, expert in the auction market and editor-in-chief of the Art&Antiques magazine, said.

The picture was put up for sale by the offspring of Czech author Emil Synek who bought it in Prague in the early 1930s. Synek left Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s.

The estimated price of the picture was 80,000 to 120,000 pounds.

Josef Capek (1887-1945), a painter, illustrator and writer, was the older brother of renowned Czech writer and playwright Karel Capek. He died in a Nazi concentration camp at the close of World War Two.

Another work of art by Josef Capek, also an early one and painted on both sides, was auctioned in London Sotheby's two years ago within a big collection of Czech art that the Hascoe couple put up for auction. The canvas Sailor/Fantomas from 1917-1920 was sold for an equivalent of almost 13 million Czech crowns.

At Czech auctions, a record price for Capek's work is 12 million crowns paid for his Girl in the Pink Dress.

Skrivanek said a quality work like that auctioned in London Wednesday has not appeared on the Czech market for long. If it did it would probably be sold for a price higher than in London, he said.

The Sotheby's auction also involved a small gouache by Frantisek Kupka (1871-1957), Czech pioneer of abstract art, which was sold for 16,875 pounds, also beating the estimated price of up to 12,000.