Chuck Close Auction Prices and Value Guide
Chuck Close auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,163 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Chuck Close auction prices: quick answer
Chuck Close auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Chuck Close
- Source records
- 1,163
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
Artist context
About Chuck Close
Chuck Close (1940–2021) was an American painter, photographer, and printmaker whose monumental portraits rank among the most recognizable images in post-war American art. Born Charles Thomas Close in Monroe, Washington, he studied at the University of Washington, earned his MFA from Yale University, and attended the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna before establishing his career in New York. Close emerged in the late 1960s as a leading figure in Photorealism, painting mural-scale heads sourced from passport-style photographs with painstaking, near-illusionistic detail. After a spinal artery occlusion in 1988 left him largely paralyzed, he reinvented his practice—developing a modular grid system in which each cell contains an abstract mark that resolves into a recognizable face at a distance. His work is held by major institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, and the National Gallery of Art. Collectors encounter Close's output across paintings, editioned prints, photographs, and works on paper.
Photorealismoil paintingacrylic paintingphotographyprintmaking (screenprint, etching, woodcut, linocut)portraits (self-portraits and portraits of others)
Common works and media
Close's auction and appraisal landscape includes large-format oil and acrylic paintings on canvas; screenprints, etchings, linocuts, and Japanese-style woodcuts in numbered editions; large-format Polaroid photographs and daguerreotype-style works; Jacquard-woven tapestries; and mixed-media works on paper and Mylar. His subjects are almost exclusively portrait heads, both self-portraits and depictions of fellow artists, composers, and cultural figures. Prints published by Pace Editions, Pace Prints, and other documented publishers are commonly encountered in the secondary market.
Market and appraisal context
Chuck Close's secondary-market footprint is exceptionally deep and liquid, with 691 documented auction lots spanning from December 2000 through April 2026 and 446 lots carrying realised prices. The price distribution is wide: prints and small-edition works cluster between roughly $1,500 and $12,000 (25th percentile $2,598; median $6,000; 75th percentile $12,000), while major paintings and unique works-on-paper have achieved prices into seven figures (maximum $2,807,500). Close's work appears regularly at the top-tier houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips—as well as at regional specialists including Rago Arts and Auction Center, Swann Auction Galleries, Hindman, and Freeman's. The 12-month lot count dipped from 56 to 39, which may reflect normal auction-cycle variation rather than softening demand. Prints and multiples (screenprints, woodcuts, linocuts, gravures, Jacquard tapestries, digital prints, offset lithographs) dominate volume; unique paintings and working drawings are rarer and command a significant premium, as seen in the $76,200 result for a working drawing for Phil at Christie's in February 2026.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- oil painting
- acrylic painting
- photography
- printmaking (screenprint, etching, woodcut, linocut)
- drawing
Value drivers
- [object Object]
Appraisal caveats
- Prints form a large portion of Close works appearing at auction; edition size, medium (screenprint, ukiyo-e style woodcut, daguerreotype, etc.), and publisher documentation materially affect value.
- Close's post-1988 works use a distinctive grid-cell system that can appear abstract up close; attribution should account for this intentional optical style rather than misread it as a condition issue.
- [object Object]
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Library of Congress library authority
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
- Tate museum or university
- Wikidata library authority
- VIAF / OCLC library authority
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.
Artist value FAQ
How much is Chuck Close 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 Chuck Close artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.