Alfred Hrdlicka Auction Prices and Value Guide

Alfred Hrdlicka auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,211 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Alfred Hrdlicka auction prices: quick answer

Alfred Hrdlicka auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Alfred Hrdlicka
Source records
1,211
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Alfred Hrdlicka

Alfred Hrdlicka (1928–2009) was an Austrian sculptor, painter, printmaker, and professor whose figurative work confronted themes of political violence, human suffering, and historical memory. Born in Vienna, he studied painting under Josef Dobrowsky and Albert Paris Gütersloh at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1946 to 1952, then turned to sculpture under Fritz Wotruba from 1953 to 1957. Hrdlicka became one of Austria's most recognized postwar artists, producing raw, expressive figuration that engaged directly with the traumas of twentieth-century European history. He held teaching positions at academies in Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Vienna between 1971 and 1989. His work is held by major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his official estate maintains a dedicated website. Collectors encounter Hrdlicka's work primarily through sculptures, prints, drawings, and paintings at auction houses across Europe and internationally.

Figurative Expressionismsculpture (bronze, stone, plaster)painting (oil)printmaking (etching, lithograph, woodcut)frescopolitical violence and warhuman figure under duresshistorical memory and oppression

Common works and media

Hrdlicka produced sculptures in bronze, stone, and plaster; oil paintings; large-scale frescoes; and extensive bodies of prints including etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts. His graphic work frequently addresses political and historical subjects, often in series format. Drawings and pastels also appear regularly at auction. Editioned prints are among the most commonly encountered works for collectors entering the Hrdlicka market.

Market and appraisal context

Alfred Hrdlicka's secondary market is well established and broadly distributed across Central European auction houses. Appraisily auction records index 430 lots, of which 220 carry realized prices spanning from €10 to €65,000. The interquartile range (P25 €125, median €450, P75 €1,600) shows that the majority of transactions fall in the three-to-mid-four-figure EUR band, dominated by editioned prints and works on paper. Bronze sculptures and signed multiples (e.g., a "Sappho" bronze at €650, untitled drawings at €1,600, and a single lot reaching €2,800 at Auktionshaus am Grunewald) sit at the upper end of routine results. The top hammer of €65,000 likely reflects a large-scale bronze or unique sculpture. Liquidity is healthy: 27 lots appeared in the most recent 12 months (down from 47 in the prior 12), with material offered at Dorotheum, Im Kinsky, Henry's Auktionshaus, Quittenbaum, Schuler Auktionen, and numerous regional German and Austrian houses. The decline in volume year-over-year may reflect normal market cyclicality rather than a structural contraction.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • printmaking (etching, lithograph, woodcut)
  • sculpture (bronze, stone, plaster)
  • drawing and pastel
  • painting (oil)

Value drivers

  1. Medium and scale: bronze sculptures and large-format prints tend to command stronger results than works on paper
  2. Editioned prints and etchings represent a significant portion of auction appearances
  3. Condition, provenance, and dating are key factors
  4. Connection to a recognized series or public commission may affect value
  5. Medium and scale: bronze sculptures command significantly more than editioned prints or works on paper; the observed price ceiling (€65,000) likely represents a major bronze or unique sculpture
  6. Edition status: numbered prints and bronze multiples are common and sit in the €60–€800 range; lower edition numbers and signed impressions carry premium

Appraisal caveats

  • Over 1,200 lots recorded in auction databases, indicating an active and liquid secondary market, but no specific realized prices are cited in the available source pack.
  • Hrdlicka's stylistic range across sculpture, painting, fresco, and graphic work means appraisal requires careful medium identification.
  • Approximately 49% of indexed lots (210 of 430) lack realized prices, which may indicate unsold lots, buy-ins, or as-yet-unrecorded results; this skews the observed price distribution toward successfully sold material.
  • The recent 12-month lot count (27) is noticeably lower than the prior 12 months (47); a single year does not establish a trend, but sustained volume decline would warrant reassessment of market liquidity.

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 Alfred Hrdlicka

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Alfred Hrdlicka 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 Alfred Hrdlicka artwork?

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