Josef Sudek | The 'Poet of Prague' at Auction This July

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A remarkable group of works by the celebrated Czech photographer Josef Sudek (1896–1976) will be offered for sale at Sworders this July as part of our upcoming auction, Dreams – A Unique Private Collection. This outstanding selection of dozens of original photographic prints forms part of a private archive assembled over more than 40 years.

Known as the Poet of Prague, Sudek’s story is as poignant as the photographs he created. After being seriously wounded during World War I, Sudek’s right arm was amputated in 1915 while serving in the Austro-Hungarian army. Rather than retreat from life, he embraced photography, later becoming a defining figure in 20th-century Czech visual culture.

^{▲ Josef Sudek (Czech, 1896-1976), a collection of seven gelatin silver print photographs on card, c.1920s (£3,000-5,000)}

Carrying a large-format view camera across his shoulder, Sudek became a fixture on the streets of Prague. In 1924, he founded the Czech Photographic Society, bringing together artists and photographers for evenings of photography, music, and philosophical discussion.

Throughout his career, Sudek ceaselessly documented the changing face of Prague and the Bohemian landscape, his lens capturing a world that transformed from the optimism of the First Czechoslovak Republic to the oppression of Fascism and Communism.

^{▲ Josef Sudek (Czech, 1896-1976), Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic (£2,000-3,000)}

Among the many evocative works offered in the sale are a fine view of Wenceslas Square, c.1929, offered with an estimate of £2,000–3,000, a group of seven gelatin silver prints on card from the 1920s, depicting carved stone details from St Vitus Cathedral – a personal gift from Sudek to Czech arts patron Josef Pecka (Estimate: £3,000–5,000), and several iconic works from Sudek’s celebrated series From the Window of My Atelier, 1940–54.

Though Sudek held his first solo exhibition in Prague in 1933, international recognition came later. His first major U.S. exhibition took place in 1974 at the George Eastman House, and today his works are housed in many of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

^{▲ Josef Sudek (Czech, 1896-1976), three gelatin silver print photographs, mid-20th century, from the series 'Through the Window of My Atelier, 1940-1954' (£2,000-3,000)}

His former home near Hradčany, beneath Prague Castle, is now the Ateliér Josefa Sudka, preserving thousands of his negatives, prints, and papers.

Explore the full catalogue online and discover the enduring vision of Josef Sudek - a man who, through immense personal challenge, gifted the world with images of poetic stillness and timeless beauty.

Wednesday 9 July | 10am

privatecollections@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

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