André Kertész Auction Prices and Value Guide

André Kertész auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 2,383 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

André Kertész auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
André Kertész
Source records
2,383
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About André Kertész

André Kertész (1894–1985), born Andor Kertész in Budapest, was a Hungarian-American photographer whose innovative compositional approach helped define modern photography. He began photographing in 1912 with a box camera and soon developed a distinctive style built on unusual angles, candid observation, and a natural gift for form. After serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War, he moved to Paris in 1925 and worked as a freelance photographer, contributing to the rise of the photo essay and mingling with the interwar avant-garde. In 1936 he emigrated to the United States and continued working for nearly five decades from his New York base. Although his unconventional vision was slow to gain wide recognition, Kertész is now considered one of the seminal figures of twentieth-century photography. Major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, hold extensive collections of his work.

Modern PhotographyPhoto EssayGelatin silver printsPolaroid SX-70Street photographyDistorted nudesStill lifeUrban scenes

Common works and media

Kertész worked almost exclusively in black-and-white photography for most of his career, primarily producing gelatin silver prints. Common subjects include Paris street scenes and café life, Hungarian village and rural scenes from his early years, experimental distorted nudes from the Distortions series, Washington Square and Greenwich Village scenes from his decades in New York, still-life compositions, and Polaroid SX-70 color photographs from his final years. Print formats range from small contact prints to enlarged exhibition prints, and his output spans more than seven decades.

Market and appraisal context

André Kertész maintains a deep and liquid secondary market for fine-art photography. Appraisily auction records index 883 total lots, of which 591 carry realized prices, spanning from January 2001 through January 2026. Sale activity is steady, with 24 lots offered in the most recent 12-month window and 23 in the prior year. The work trades predominantly in the Photographs category at a concentrated group of major houses: Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Swann Auction Galleries, Bonhams, Heritage Auctions, and several European specialists including Artcurial, OstLicht Auctions, Kunsthaus Lempertz KG, Ader, and Finarte. Price dispersion is wide. At the low end, later-printed or small-format lots realise a few hundred euros or dollars (e.g. €200 for a later print of Corsica, 1932 at Adams Amsterdam; €400 for Gypsy girl, Arles, 1979). The interquartile range runs from roughly $2,500 to $8,125, with a median near $4,500. Iconic vintage prints from the Paris period command five-figure prices: a signed Satiric Dancer, Paris, 1926 achieved $11,430 at Christie's in October 2025, and a stamped Chairs, the Tuileries, 1925 brought $10,160 the same day. The ceiling is substantially higher: the recorded maximum is $464,000, reflecting top-tier vintage prints at major houses. The Distortions series (1933) trades actively across multiple houses, and notable Paris-period images such as Chez Mondrian (1926) and Mondrian's Studio (1926) appear repeatedly with strong results. Overall, the market shows consistent demand, reliable liquidity through top-tier venues, and a clear price hierarchy driven by vintage status, period, and image significance.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Photographs
  • Gelatin silver prints
  • Polaroid SX-70

Value drivers

  1. Vintage prints (made near the negative date) command significant premiums over later prints
  2. Print size, condition, and presence of artist signature or studio stamps affect value
  3. Paris-period and early Hungarian work tends to attract the strongest collector interest
  4. Provenance tracing to the artist or his estate strengthens attribution confidence
  5. Vintage status: prints made near the negative date (especially Paris and Hungarian periods) command substantial premiums over lifetime later prints or posthumous estate editions
  6. Iconographic significance: well-known images such as Chez Mondrian, Satiric Dancer, Mondrian's Studio, and key Distortions prints achieve consistently higher prices than lesser-known titles

Appraisal caveats

  • Distinguish between vintage prints, lifetime later prints, and posthumous estate-authorized editions; each carries a different value tier.
  • Kertész's output was prolific over more than seven decades; attribution and dating should reference catalogue raisonné or estate records when available.
  • Price records span multiple currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD) and have not been normalised; direct comparison requires currency conversion to a common unit.
  • The $464,000 maximum reflects a small number of exceptional vintage prints and is not representative of the typical trading range; the median of $4,500 and interquartile range of $2,500–$8,125 are more useful benchmarks for most appraisals.

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 André Kertész

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is André Kertész 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 André Kertész artwork?

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