Today the gallery’s large portal windows lead onto a world of the past, replicated in the finest details. Focusing mainly on 19th and 20th century art and furniture, the gallery’s two floors contain fine, applied and decorative artworks. Unlike the current demands of the local market, however, which search for high-priced big names like Jozsef Rippl-Ronai (1861-1927) or Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (1853-1919), the Ernst Gallery’s collection of Hungarian and international artworks has developed less around signatures, and more around quality, craftsmanship and beauty. By diminishing focus on names, they hope to re-discover some lost gems in the local market.

Located next to the historic Central Kaveház, a trendy meeting point in Budapest’s fifth district, the Ernst Gallery has evolved into a lesson in culture. Along with the young couple’s exquisite taste and long-term business mentality, their success is best illustrated by their marriage of cultures. Wastl is a disciplined and passionate Austrian with experience in the local market; while Korani - a Greek native raised in Budapest - exhibits determination, direction and charm. They think globally, unafraid of challenges and have a desire to preserve the past while heading toward the future. This gives them a solid base in an unpredictable art market.

Re-discovering lost talent

“There are 10 or so very big Hungarian painters that everyone knows about,” explains Wastl, “yet there are also hundreds of other lesser-known ones that were just as talented, that we know nothing about. Their work is very rich, colorful and fresh – they could have been the best in the world at that time – and it’s important that they are represented as well.”

This challenge to reflect the whole of Hungary’s artistic product is reflected throughout the gallery’s content, in painting, ceramics, fine furniture and even rare books. One of the gallery’s specialities is in Hungarian 20th century studio ceramics, with the couple possessing the most important collections of renowned innovators in the field like Géza Gorka (1894-1971) and István Gádor (1891-1984).

On the other hand, hundreds of other quality works by unknown artists also line the shelves of the gallery’s inventory. The basement is filled with restored pre-1950s furniture, consoles, chests and chairs from Empire to art deco styles.

“A lot of beautiful furniture is in bad condition,” says Wastl, pointing to an old beat-up chair on the gallery’s workshop table. “The wars, the tumults of the Holocaust and communism provided very poor circumstances for art. Treasures were abandoned and pillaged, and I am the type of person who if I see something in bad shape, any sad situation, I want to fix it.”

Searching for the original essence

“I buy something because I like it,” Wastl continues, his green eyes gleaming excitedly. “And then I research it to find out everything about it. I restore it back to the way it was, using the same types of wood, screws, everything, to give it back its original essence. This is what makes me extremely happy.”

So while Korani greets customers, Wastl spends hours in the background painstakingly assisting the restoration process. On many occasions, he can spend much time simply looking for the right screw. His attitude being if you can’t find the original, at least find a period piece.

Rediscovering artists is another source of fulfillment for the couple. Since the opening of the gallery, Wastl and Korani have made efforts to reopen chapters of Hungarian art that were previously closed because of historical circumstances. Political conflict caused many artists of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s to flee the country, leaving very little trace, other than their work. The couple’s efforts have helped put the names of artists like Transylvanian painter Albert Paál and ceramist Lili Márkus back in the books.

“I can’t accept the fact that some Hungarian artists have simply disappeared!” exclaims Wastl, shaking his head in confused amazement. “There is no, or very little information in the books about some of last century’s best Hungarian ceramists, for example, leaving out an important part of the cultural past. We would like to make history complete.”

Priding itself on developing connoisseurship, the Ernst Gallery holds a rare position in the local market. In Hungary’s emerging marketplace over the last decade, the enterprise of buying and selling art has been considered potentially lucrative, and small fortunes were quickly made and lost. This short-term vision, typical of the Hungarian entrepreneurship that emerged within privatization 15 years ago, can still be seen today.

Carefully collected exhibitions

The Ernst Gallery does not stick to the predictable, nor are they devoted to any one medium. The gallery has put on numerous important exhibitions in recent years including one on early 20th century film posters, magical music boxes and the re-discovery of an early Margit Kovács tile mural.

Wastl and Korani, therefore, remain selfassured in the face of competitive uncertainty. Instead, they rely on their instincts. “We continuously learn from our mistakes, and knowing when to sell is crucial,” explains Korani. “If we buy something for HUF 500,000, which turns out to be too much, we have to know when to sell it for HUF 300,000. With this HUF 300,000,” she continues matter-of-factly, “we buy something else and sell it for HUF 600,000.”

Due in part to the European Union and the free movement of goods, foreigners make up a large part of art sales in Hungary. Expatriates also play an important role, investing in art for want of something beautiful and Hungarian in their homes. Approximately 90 percent of the Ernst Gallery’s clientele are foreigners. “We’ve built up many collections for people, so they keep coming back,” the couple explains. “Foreigners tend to shop more with their eyes wide open. Like us, they buy something for the beauty of it, rather than the name.”

More than money

The couple’s library is also a testament to their passion for their work. Containing innumerable rare books, lexicons and periodicals, from first editions to last, their library is a complete source of information. Books play a key role in their lives, and over the years, the couple has become an endless source of anecdotes. Wastl, especially, loves tracking down old photographic treasures, and piecing together their historical puzzles.

“Look,” he says, comparing the commode in a book to one in his showroom. “These are the same item.” He ambitiously points out the keys, custom-fit, and the hinges, especially-made for the piece. “And this statue,” he continues, running off for yet another book. “Just look at the shape. See? Here it is,” pointing out the exact statue of Mary, used in 1934 as a prop in a different book of furniture. For Wastl, this work is about challenge and a sense of accomplishment.

Accomplishment also comes when finding the right home for a piece. Although they sometimes search for a specific work of art, the individual contents of their gallery come from a number of sources. The pair recalled an event last October, when Wastl feverishly out-bid an English dealer at a local auctionhouse. Armand Schönberger’s “Cabaret”, starting at HUF 6.5 million, was bought by the pair for an astounding HUF 36 million. They sold the colorful painting for a small profit two months later. As they are not afraid of risk or investment, the gallery owners are also not afraid to get dirty. Wastl can sometimes be found hunting for rarities at 5 a.m..

“You search, then you bargain until you have a box full of problems,” he says excitedly, referring to something he recently purchased at a market. Looking at a photograph of a tomb in a local cemetery from 1908, one realizes the contents of Wastl’s box are the menorah, in pieces, that decorated the tomb. “Maybe years from now someone will thank me for uncovering this secret,” he says hopefully. “I am looking for the virgin case, you see, something that nobody has done before. In Hungary, a lot of issues are often left untouched. When something is done, however, and if it is done as it should be, then it is really something significant.”

“Budapest is dirty, yes,” he admits, “but that can still be changed. Here, it is still possible to create, or move things. The market is being run by young people, and there is life here. In Vienna, the market is older and everything has already been moved - to the right place. If I see a sad situation, I have a responsibility not just to complain about it, but to try to improve it.”