BUDAPEST: MNB has closed a deal to buy 115 paintings from the Kövesi collection, online daily vg.hu reported on Monday. Kövesi István, a butcher from the Újlipótváros district of Budapest, also known as “Kosher Pisti” or “Pistike”, amassed his collection mostly in the ’60s according to personal preferences, usually from auctions.
Although the collection include artworks by well known artists such as Vilmos Aba-Novák, Imre Ámos, Róbert Berény, Sándor Bortnyik, Gyula Derkovits, József Koszta, László Mednyánszky, Izsák Perlmutter, József Rippl-Rónai, István Szőnyi and János Vaszary, it remained mostly unknown up until a recent exposition at the Kieselbach Gallery.
MNB also purchased Artpool Művészetkutató Központ’s 1965-1991 collection for HUF 90 mln. The National Bank has spent a total HUF 8.7 bln on artworks since the launch of its “Értéktár Program” (value custody program), including a Titian painting which was announced last week.
