Ary Scheffer Auction Prices and Value Guide

Ary Scheffer auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 465 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Ary Scheffer auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Ary Scheffer
Source records
465
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Ary Scheffer

Ary Scheffer (1795–1858) was a Dutch-born painter and sculptor who became one of the leading artistic figures of the French Romantic movement. Active in Paris for most of his career, Scheffer built his reputation on paintings drawn from literature—especially the works of Dante, Goethe, Lord Byron, and Walter Scott—as well as moving religious compositions such as his widely reproduced Christ Consolator. He was equally in demand as a portraitist, capturing the likenesses of prominent cultural and political figures of his day. His appointment as drawing instructor to the children of King Louis Philippe I gave him entrée to the highest levels of French society and sustained his prominence until the Revolution of 1848 reshaped the political landscape. Scholars at the RKD have documented his role as an illustrator and his connections to Dordrecht, the city of his birth. Contemporaries called him "le peintre poète"—the poet painter—reflecting the literary sensibility at the heart of his practice.

Romanticismoil paintingsculptureillustrationliterary scenes (Dante, Goethe, Byron, Scott)religious subjectsportraits

Common works and media

Scheffer is most commonly encountered in appraisal contexts as an oil painter. His literary scenes—particularly episodes from Goethe's Faust and Dante's Divine Comedy—were widely exhibited and replicated. Religious paintings such as Christ Consolator and Christ Remunerator exist in multiple versions. Portraits of notable sitters form a substantial portion of his output. He also produced sculptures and illustration work, though these appear less frequently on the market. Drawings, studies, and prints after his compositions also circulate at auction.

Market and appraisal context

Ary Scheffer maintains a consistent secondary-market presence across European and North American auction houses, with 88 recorded lots and 45 priced results in the Appraisily dataset spanning from 1995 to April 2026. The price distribution is wide: the interquartile range runs from €600 to €10,000, with a median of €3,750, while the recorded maximum reaches €265,000. Five lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period (May 2025–April 2026), matching the same volume in the prior 12 months, indicating steady rather than surging liquidity. Major houses including Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, and Tajan have offered Scheffer works, lending institutional credibility to the market. Literary and religious subjects command the strongest prices: Sotheby's sold a Paolo and Francesca for $50,400 in February 2025, and Bonhams realized £15,000 each for two Faust-themed oils in December 2021. At the lower end, minor portraits, landscape sketches, and works attributed to Scheffer's circle or described as 'after' the artist trade in the low hundreds. This dispersion reflects the wide quality and attribution spectrum that characterizes the Scheffer market, where prime literary compositions are an order of magnitude more valuable than workshop pieces or lesser portraits.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Old Master & 19th Century Paintings
  • 19th Century European Sculpture
  • 19th Century Works on Paper
  • 19th Century European Paintings

Value drivers

  1. Subject matter: literary and religious subjects tend to be more sought after than lesser-known portraits
  2. Provenance to the artist's royal circle or Salon exhibition history can significantly affect value
  3. Attribution should be confirmed given the large volume of workshop and follower works in circulation
  4. Scheffer repeated popular compositions in multiple versions; distinguishing prime versions from replicas is a key appraisal consideration
  5. Subject matter: literary scenes (Faust, Dante, Byron) and religious compositions (Christ Consolator) command the highest prices; minor portraits and landscapes trade significantly lower
  6. Attribution quality: prime autograph works by Scheffer himself are far more valuable than studio replicas, follower copies, or works described as 'after' Scheffer—the title 'Marguerite Portrait Painting after Ary Scheffer' (Hill Auction, 2022, $200) illustrates the floor for circle works

Appraisal caveats

  • No major auction-house catalog entries were available in this source pack; realized-price comparisons should be drawn from dedicated auction databases.
  • The 465 recorded lots in the Appraisily/Invaluable dataset indicate moderate market presence, but price range and trend data require separate auction-record review.
  • Of 88 recorded lots, only 45 have published price-realised data; the full price distribution may differ once unsold and unpublished results are accounted for.
  • The maximum recorded price (€265,000) may represent a single exceptional lot and should not be treated as a typical ceiling without verifying the specific work's attributes.

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 Ary Scheffer

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Ary Scheffer 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 Ary Scheffer artwork?

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