# Vaclav Vytlacil artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/vaclav-vytlacil/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T02:30:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1892-11-01
- Death date: 1984-01-05
- Nationality: American
- Movements: American Abstract Artists, Abstract art, Hans Hofmann school
- Common media: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking

## About Vaclav Vytlacil

Vaclav Vytlacil (1892–1984) was an American painter, sculptor, and influential art instructor born in New York City to Czech parents. He played a significant role in introducing modernist ideas to American art education, becoming one of the earliest and most vocal advocates of Hans Hofmann's progressive teaching methods in the United States. Vytlacil was a contributor to the American Abstract Artists group, participating in its landmark 1937 portfolio alongside figures such as Ilya Bolotowsky, Byron Browne, and George L. K. Morris. His work from the late 1920s and 1930s—including paintings and prints exploring still life and abstract composition—is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. As a teacher, he is notable for having instructed Helen Frankenthaler, who would become one of the defining painters of postwar American abstraction.

## Common works and media

Vytlacil's documented output includes oil paintings, works on paper, prints, and sculpture. Still-life compositions and abstract paintings from the late 1920s and 1930s form the core of his museum-held work. He also produced prints as part of collaborative portfolios, including the 1937 American Abstract Artists publication. Collectors may encounter individual paintings, drawings, and graphic works at auction, as well as occasional sculptural pieces.

## Market and appraisal context

Collectors encountering Vaclav Vytlacil's work at auction are most likely to see paintings and works on paper from his abstract and still-life periods of the 1920s through the 1940s. His connection to the American Abstract Artists movement and his role transmitting Hans Hofmann's ideas give his work scholarly importance beyond its visual appeal. Provenance linking a work to known exhibitions or collections can materially affect value. As with many American modernists of his generation, appraisal should account for medium, condition, date, dimensions, signature, and comparable public auction results for similar works from the same period.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research grounded in museum records, library authority files, and scholarly databases with available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are present. Museum holdings are confirmed through the Museum of Modern Art's public collection records.

## Sources

- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/98298
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/6198
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19742245
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/32852760/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500021966
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Vytlacil
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr94013620