Rise in the prices of artists' works in the art market - Tadeusz Kantor

In our series of articles on the rising prices of artists' works in the art market, we have already discussed examples from segments such as sculpture, textiles, and urban art. It is also worth addressing categories with an established position in the market, such as contemporary art. One of the artists whose work we would like to highlight in this context is Tadeusz Kantor.

"Tadeusz Kantor's artistic activity can undoubtedly be considered one of the most outstanding in Polish art of the 20th century. The artist's works, which rarely appear at auctions, attract a large number of collectors and art enthusiasts. As a result, the prices of his works have consistently increased in value over the years. This was confirmed, for example, by the monographic auction of Tadeusz Kantor from Grażyna Kulczyk's Collection organized in 2022, where record prices for the artist's paintings were set."

- Michał Bolka.

The "Grażyna Kulczyk Collection. Klasyka. Tadeusz Kantor" auction was the first comprehensive monographic auction of Tadeusz Kantor's works on the Polish market. This auction can boast the highest average price per work in the history of the Polish market-1 million PLN, as well as the highest online bid-4 million PLN. During this event, a new record was also set for the artist's work "One Night Velázquez's Infanta Came Into My Room" from 1988, which sold for 5,040,000 PLN including the auction fee. This surpassed the previous record for Kantor's work set in 2017, when "Execution According to Goya" from 1970 was auctioned for 802,000 PLN including the auction fee. Interestingly, we can observe an increase in value for this work, which was sold again in 2023 for 1,080,000 PLN including the auction fee.

Over the years, we also see increases in the value of other works by the artist. "Painting" from 1963, part of the informel series, reached 130,000 PLN in 2014, and after seven years, in 2021, it was auctioned for nearly twice as much-250,000 PLN. Another example is the auction of the painting "Man Dummy" from 1984, which in 2015 reached 739,000 PLN including the auction fee, and when it returned to the market in 2022, it was sold for 1,140,000 PLN including the auction fee, representing over a 40% increase.

Tadeusz Kantor's works generate significant interest at auctions. During last year's October event, the price of the work "Umbrella and Characters" exceeded the upper estimate and reached 1,080,000 PLN including the auction fee. The painting "Some Figure Has Fallen Out of the Picture and Turned Out to be Only a Fiction," which is featured in the upcoming auction, is the last painted self-portrait with a double representation of the artist. It is certainly a painting worthy of attention.

 

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The information presented is based on the authors' current knowledge at the time of publication and may become outdated. It also does not constitute a guarantee that the art market will maintain its previous trends in the future. Trading in works of art is always associated with a series of risks that should be individually considered before making a transaction. No information contained in the publication constitutes investment advice or any opinion regarding the suitability of any securities, and the opinions expressed on this page should not be treated as advice regarding the purchase, sale, or possession of any securities. DESA Unicum and the author of the publication are not responsible for the decisions made by recipients of the published content, which always remain the individual choice of the parties involved in potential transactions. 
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