Auguste Herbin Auction Prices and Value Guide

Auguste Herbin auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,016 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Auguste Herbin auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Auguste Herbin
Source records
1,016
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Auguste Herbin

Auguste Herbin (1882–1960) was a French painter and a pivotal figure in the development of geometric abstraction in twentieth-century European art. Born in Quiévy in northern France, he trained as a painter and draftsman before moving to Paris, where he absorbed the innovations of Cubism in the years before World War I. Herbin is best known for his vibrant, rigorously constructed compositions of interlocking geometric forms, which he pursued with increasing commitment from the late 1920s onward. He co-founded the influential group Abstraction-Création in 1931 and later helped establish the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, both dedicated to promoting non-figurative art. His work is held in major museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London. Collectors and scholars encounter Herbin's paintings, gouaches, and drawings at international auctions with regular frequency.

CubismAbstract artGeometric abstractionOil paintingGouacheDrawingSculptureGeometric compositionsColor theory

Common works and media

Herbin's most commonly encountered works at auction include oil on canvas paintings featuring bold, colorful geometric compositions, as well as gouaches and watercolors on paper. Drawings in pencil, ink, or charcoal — often studies for larger compositions — also appear regularly. Editioned prints and lithographs from the mid-twentieth century circulate in the print market. Subjects are predominantly non-representational, with interlocking triangles, circles, and rectangles in saturated color. Sculptural works and fresco designs are less common but documented in RKD records.

Market and appraisal context

Auguste Herbin has a well-established and active secondary market, with 683 recorded lots and 463 priced results spanning nearly three decades of auction activity (1997–2026). The price distribution is wide: the interquartile range runs from roughly €3,500 to €65,000, with a median near €20,000, while the top end reaches €725,000. This dispersion reflects the strong premium placed on large oil paintings from Herbin's mature geometric-abstraction phase (1930s–1960) and on early pre-Cubist and Cubist-period landscapes, which have recently commanded €50,000–€130,000 at houses like Christie's and Lempertz. Works on paper, gouaches, and editioned screen prints trade at more accessible levels, typically in the hundreds to low thousands of euros. The top-tier houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Artcurial, Tajan, Lempertz, Hampel, and Dorotheum — all handle Herbin regularly, confirming sustained institutional demand. Liquidity is solid but has moderated: the trailing twelve months saw 28 lots versus 55 in the prior twelve months, which may reflect ordinary cyclical variation rather than structural softening.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Oil painting
  • Gouache
  • Drawing
  • Print
  • Screen print

Value drivers

  1. Medium: oil paintings generally command stronger results than works on paper or prints
  2. Period: mature geometric-abstraction works from the 1930s onward are the most recognized phase
  3. Provenance: museum exhibition history and inclusion in major collections can increase value
  4. Condition and authenticity: as with all modern works, condition reports and catalogue raisonné references are important
  5. Medium: oil paintings command the strongest results; gouaches and watercolors are mid-tier; prints and screen prints are entry-level
  6. Period and style: mature geometric-abstraction works (1930s–1960) and early Cubist/pre-Cubist landscapes (c. 1906–1915) both carry premiums; transitional works from the 1920s vary

Appraisal caveats

  • No single public catalogue raisonné was identified in the source pack; attribution should be verified through RKD records or expert opinion.
  • Over 1,000 auction records are referenced in Appraisily data, indicating an active secondary market, but individual results vary widely by medium, size, period, and condition.
  • No single public catalogue raisonné was identified in the source pack; attribution for unsigned or atypical works should be verified through RKD records or expert opinion.
  • Price distribution is wide (€80 to €725,000); median and quartile figures should not be applied to individual works without accounting for medium, period, size, and condition.

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 Auguste Herbin

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Auguste Herbin 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 Auguste Herbin artwork?

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