Josef Capek Signed Czech Cubist Oil on Canvas for Auction at 888 Auctions on Dec 20, 2018

Josef Capek Signed Czech Cubist Oil on Canvas – December 20, 2018

Oil on canvas, framed. Featuring a Cubist style still life scene. Signed Josef Capek on the lower left corner. 61 x 45.5 cm (24 x 17.9 inches). PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate.

Josef Capek Signed Czech Cubist Oil on Canvas – Lot #140 – December 20, 2018

Click Here to view Lot #140 – Josef Capek Signed Czech Cubist Oil on Canvas

Josef Capek Life and Impact

Josef Capek (1887-1945) was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word robot, which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Capek. Capek was born in Hronov, Bohemia (Austria-Hungary, later Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) in 1887.

First a painter of the Cubist school, he later developed his own playful, minimalist style. He collaborated with his brother Karel on a number of plays and short stories; on his own, he wrote the utopian play Land of Many Names and several novels, as well as critical essays in which he argued for the art of the unconscious, of children, and of ‘savages’. Interestingly, on a side note, his brother considered Josef as the true inventor of the term ‘robot.  The word robot derived from the Czech word for “forced labor.”  Also as a cartoonist, he worked for Lidové Noviny, a newspaper based in Prague.

Due to his critical attitude towards national socialism and Adolf Hitler, he was arrested after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. He wrote Poems from a Concentration Camp in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he died in 1945. In June 1945 Rudolf Margolius, accompanied by Capek’s wife Jarmila Capková, went to Bergen-Belsen to search for him. His remains were never found. In 1948 the court officially set the date of his death, the day which he did not survive being 30 April 1947. His illustrated stories Povídání o Pejskovi a Kocicce (All About Doggie and Pussycat) are considered classics of Czech children’s literature.

Richmond Hill, ON – 381 fresh to market items will be available to the discerning buyers and collectors in 888 Auctions’ December 20 auction featuring the finest in MODERN PAINTINGS, JEWELRY & ASIAN ANTIQUES 2019-12-20. Taking place in the afternoon at 2 PM (EST), bidders will be competing against one another over a variety of items on display.

Visit the auction at 888 Auctions during the public viewing period: Monday, December 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, December 18, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday, December 19, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and just before the auction on Thursday, December 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

888 Auctions continues to accept consignments on a rolling basis. Auctions take place regularly every other Thursday at the auction house.  Therefore, there are plenty of opportunities to sell rare and fresh-to-market items at 888 Auctions.

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You can find values of any art or antique by using the Auction Valuator tool.  The tool will enable the user to find comparably similar items and help to find, if any are coming up for auction. You can also obtain valuations by contacting the auctioneers at 905-763-7201 or at [email protected].