Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe Auction Prices and Value Guide

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 763 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe auction prices: quick answer

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe
Source records
763
Market update
2026-02-16

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe market snapshot

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe shows deep auction liquidity with 190 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $500. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 7 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-11.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (70.2% · 99 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (29.1% · 41 sales)
  • $10,000+ (0.7% · 1 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$960
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
7
Median shift vs prior year
+100.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-12-11

Artist context

About Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (1901–1979) was an English painter, wood engraver, and illustrator celebrated as one of the foremost naturalistic wildlife artists of the twentieth century. Appointed OBE and elected a Royal Academician, Tunnicliffe devoted his career to depicting British birds and rural wildlife with meticulous observational accuracy. He spent most of his working life on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, where the surrounding landscape and coastal habitats directly informed his art. He is widely recognised for his illustrations for Henry Williamson's novel Tarka the Otter, alongside extensive work for Ladybird Books, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and numerous private press editions. His oeuvre spans oil paintings, watercolours, wood engravings, and etchings, held in public collections including the Tate and the Royal Academy. Tunnicliffe's work bridges fine art and natural history illustration, making him a significant figure in both fields.

Naturalistic wildlife artOil paintingWood engravingWatercolourIllustration (book and print)British birdsWildlifeRural and countryside scenes

Common works and media

Common works encountered at auction and in appraisal contexts include wood engravings and etchings of British birds, watercolour and gouache wildlife studies, oil paintings of game birds and rural scenes, book illustrations (notably Tarka the Otter and Ladybird nature titles), and commercial prints and greeting-card art. Wood engravings are the most frequently traded medium, often issued as signed limited editions. Watercolour studies of shorebirds and farmland wildlife are also widely collected.

Market and appraisal context

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe's work trades actively at auction, with 215 lots catalogued and 160 carrying realised prices. The market is anchored by UK regional houses—Adam Partridge, John Nicholson's, Gorringes, Rogers Jones—alongside major London salerooms including Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. Dreweatts 1759 and Wilson55 also appear regularly. The price distribution is wide: the 25th percentile sits at approximately £210, the median at £550, and the 75th percentile at £1,450. The ceiling is £13,800, typically reached by larger original watercolours or oils of signature bird-of-prey and wildlife subjects. Wood engravings, etchings, and photolithographic reproductions cluster at the lower end (£35–£500). Mid-range results (£500–£2,400) are dominated by signed watercolours and gouaches of birds, mammals, and shore scenes. The strongest recent result is £2,400 for a watercolour of four Chinese geese at Roseberys (Nov 2025), while a watercolour of two otters made £2,200 at Sloane Street Auctions (Dec 2025). Activity has accelerated: 10 lots appeared in the trailing 12 months versus just 1 in the prior 12 months, suggesting renewed collector interest. Works also surface in North America (Swann Auction Galleries, The Sporting Art Auction, Waddington's) and Australia (GFL Fine Art, Theodore Bruce), indicating an international if modest secondary market beyond the UK.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Watercolour
  • Wood engraving
  • Etching
  • Oil painting
  • Gouache

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Tunnicliffe produced a large volume of published illustration work and editioned prints; not all works bearing his name are rare or high-value originals.
  • Attribution should account for the range of media he used; book reproductions, commercial greeting-card art, and posthumous restrikes exist alongside original paintings and plates.
  • The source pack did not include specific auction-realised-price records; appraisal should reference current comparable lots for up-to-date market positioning.
  • Tunnicliffe produced a large volume of published illustration work and editioned prints; not all works bearing his name are rare or high-value originals. Collectors should distinguish between original graphic works, signed limited-edition prints, and commercial photolithographic reproductions.

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 Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe 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 Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe artwork?

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