“The expectations had been high and Slovenians responded to this,” explained Stadion’s chief coordination for auctions Nedir Princival, pointing out that the auction was a great success.

Interest in Slovenian art exists
According to reports by Mirjam Muženič for TV Slovenija, the auction also attracted the Slovenian community from the region of Trieste, who were very satisfied that there existed such interest in Slovenian painters. According to Igor Gabrovec, Vice-President of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional council, this signifies that there is still a lot of interest in Slovenian art, in Trieste and beyond.

Approximately 130 works had been put on auction, with 100 having Slovenian authors. According to Princival, not all works have been sold, yet this is normal for any auction, while around 100 works reached roughly expected prices. Some have become part of private collections while others will be put on display in public institutions.

Poor attendance from Slovenian museums
About 150 people attended the auction, which meant that there weren’t enough chairs for everyone. The auction’s coordinator also explained that the majority of works had been sold to bidders from Slovenia, with only five or six works going elsewhere. He added that few Slovenian museums took part in the auction (but had no information if any purchases had been made by a museum). The buyers were mostly individuals but also a few galleries.

N. Ar., MMC; translated by K. Z.