Arie Smit Auction Prices and Value Guide

Arie Smit auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 788 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Arie Smit auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Arie Smit
Source records
788
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Arie Smit

Arie Smit (1916–2016), born Adrianus Wilhelmus Smit in Zaandam, the Netherlands, was a painter, graphic artist, and educator who became one of the most recognizable European-born artists working in Indonesia. He studied graphic design at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Rotterdam before moving to the Dutch East Indies. After Indonesian independence, he took Indonesian citizenship in 1950 and taught graphic arts and lithography at the Institut Teknologi Bandung. Smit later settled on Bali, where he lived and worked for most of his life. His vibrant, color-rich depictions of Balinese landscapes and village life — often associated with a style critics have called poetic realism — made his work popular with collectors of Southeast Asian modern art worldwide. He died in Denpasar, Bali, in 2016 at the age of 99.

Poetic RealismBalinese modern artoil paintinggraphic designlithographyBalinese landscapesBalinese daily life and culture

Common works and media

Arie Smit is best known for oil paintings of Balinese landscapes and village life, characterized by bold color and stylized forms. He also produced works on paper, lithographs, and other graphic prints. Subject matter frequently includes tropical scenery, rice terraces, temple compounds, market scenes, and figures in traditional Balinese dress. His graphic design background informed a strong compositional sense visible across media.

Market and appraisal context

Arie Smit has a deep and well-documented secondary market. Appraisily's auction-record index traces 400 lots offered between September 2001 and May 2026, with 265 carrying a realized price. The artist is traded predominantly through Southeast Asian and European salerooms. Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams anchor the blue-chip tier, while regional specialists — 33 Auction (Singapore), Larasati Auctioneers (Singapore/Bali), Sidharta Auctioneer (Jakarta), Global Auction (Singapore), and Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers (Malaysia) — handle the bulk of volume. Dutch houses (Zeeuws Veilinghuis, Venduehuis der Notarissen), German houses (Koller Auctions, Lempertz, Nagel Auction, Setdart), and Australian houses (Deutscher and Hackett, Leonard Joel) reflect the artist's Dutch heritage and Bali-based career. Realized prices span a wide band: the interquartile range runs from approximately 5,000 (p25) to 212,500 (p75) in mixed currencies, with a median near 22,000. Recent comparable lots reinforce this dispersion — a large oil on canvas ('Tangkolak') sold at Christie's Hong Kong for 825,500 HKD (March 2026), while a mixed-media work on paper ('Coastal View,' 1990) realized just 375 EUR at Setdart (April 2026). Mid-range Balinese landscape and village-scene oils typically trade between 5,000 and 75,000 SGD/HKD at regional salerooms. Liquidity remains healthy: 16 lots appeared in the trailing 12 months (down from 22 the year prior), suggesting a modest contraction but continued collector demand.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil painting
  • works on paper
  • mixed media
  • lithography
  • graphic prints

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • No specific auction price records were available in the collected source pack; appraisal should reference live auction databases for realized prices.
  • The artist's long career (spanning over six decades) means date and period of execution can materially affect value.
  • The recorded maximum price (280,000,000 in an unspecified currency) is an extreme outlier relative to the p75 of 212,500 and likely reflects a data-entry currency mismatch (possibly Indonesian Rupiah). It should not be used as a benchmark without verification against the original lot record.
  • Approximately 34% of lots (135 of 400) lack a realized price, which may indicate unsold lots, buy-ins, or post-sale private negotiations. Appraisal comparables should weight priced lots more heavily.

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 Arie Smit

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Arie Smit 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 Arie Smit artwork?

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