Adolphe Mouron Cassandre Auction Prices and Value Guide

Adolphe Mouron Cassandre auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,966 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Adolphe Mouron Cassandre auction prices: quick answer

Adolphe Mouron Cassandre auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Adolphe Mouron Cassandre
Source records
1,966
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Adolphe Mouron Cassandre

Adolphe Mouron Cassandre (1901–1968) was a French graphic designer, poster artist, and typeface designer whose work defined the visual language of twentieth-century advertising. Born in Kharkov to French parents and active in Paris from the early 1920s, he adopted the pseudonym A. M. Cassandre in 1922 and quickly became the foremost poster artist of the interwar era. His boldly simplified compositions for clients such as the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, and Dubonnet drew on Cubist spatial logic, Purist reduction, and cinematic perspective to transform commercial messaging into iconic imagery. He won the Grand Prix at the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris and later designed the enduring Yves Saint Laurent monogram. Cassandre's typefaces — including Peignot and Bifur — further extended his influence into typography. His estate is maintained by his descendants at cassandre.fr.

Art DecoPurismCubismSurrealismFuturismcommercial posters (lithograph)typeface designpaintingillustrationtravel and transportation (ocean liners, railways, aviation)

Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Cassandre in the form of large-format colour lithographic posters for ocean liners (Normandie, Atlantique), railways (Nord Express, Étoile du Nord), and consumer brands (Dubonnet, Cinzano). Smaller-format prints, exhibition posters, and advertising proofs also appear at auction. In addition to posters, Cassandre produced original paintings, stage designs, typeface specimens, and logo commissions. The Yves Saint Laurent monogram, Bifur and Peignot typefaces, and Harper's Bazaar covers represent his broader design output that may surface in graphic-design and works-on-paper sales.

Market and appraisal context

Cassandre's auction market is deep and well established, with 663 recorded lots and 360 priced results spanning from July 1998 to April 2026. The price distribution is wide but instructive: the median sits at $3,800, the 25th percentile at $1,187, and the 75th percentile at $10,000, with a recorded maximum of $162,500. This dispersion reflects the broad range of material that appears — from later-edition or reproduction posters in the low hundreds to iconic original interwar lithographs achieving five and six figures. Liquidity is healthy, with 32 lots offered in the trailing 12 months (down from 50 in the prior period), consistent with a mature but still active market. The specialist houses Swann Auction Galleries and Poster Auctions International dominate offerings, with supporting appearances at Christie's, Bonhams, Artcurial, and Dreweatts 1759 for premium lots. Bruce Teleky and RoGallery account for repeat mid-tier offerings. The strongest results cluster around original 1920s–1930s travel and beverage posters (Normandie, Étoile du Nord, Dubonnet, Café Chat Noir), while posthumous or "d'après" editions and smaller-format works trade at substantially lower levels.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Vintage Posters
  • Works on Paper
  • Graphic Design
  • Prints & Multiples

Value drivers

  1. Original lithographic posters from the 1920s–1930s (e.g., Normandie, Étoile du Nord) command the strongest results at auction
  2. Condition is critical: fold lines, toning, tears, and restorations materially affect value for posters
  3. Later re-strikes and reproduction prints exist; authentication by the Cassandre estate or a specialist is advisable
  4. Designs produced for major brands (Dubonnet, CIWL, Air France) and transportation companies are among the most frequently offered lots
  5. Original period lithograph vs. later edition or d'après reproduction — the single largest value determinant
  6. Iconography: travel and transportation posters (ocean liners, railways) and the Dubonnet campaigns command the highest prices

Appraisal caveats

  • The market for Cassandre posters is well established but prices vary widely by rarity, condition, and whether the work is an original period lithograph or a later edition.
  • Auction results should be confirmed against a current specialist database for up-to-date comparables.
  • Unsigned or unattributed posters in the Cassandre style require careful authentication, as his visual language was widely imitated by contemporaries.
  • The price distribution spans $10 to $162,500; broad ranges like this reflect fundamentally different tiers of material (reproductions through to museum-quality originals) and should not be averaged.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Adolphe Mouron Cassandre

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Adolphe Mouron Cassandre worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Adolphe Mouron Cassandre artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.