Daniel Richter Auction Prices and Value Guide
Daniel Richter auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 432 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Daniel Richter auction prices: quick answer
Daniel Richter auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Daniel Richter
- Source records
- 432
- Market update
- 2026-02-16
Artist context
About Daniel Richter
Daniel Richter (born 1962, Lütjenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) is a German painter recognised for large-scale oil paintings that shift between abstraction and figuration. Based in Berlin, Richter came to prominence in the 1990s after an early career designing posters and record sleeves for musicians. His initial paintings were densely coloured abstractions that drew from graffiti and ornamental patterning. Around 2002, human figures began appearing in his compositions, often sourced from newspaper and history-book imagery and rendered in vivid, artificial colour. His more recent work continues to negotiate the boundary between recognisable subject matter and painterly invention. Richter taught painting at the Universität der Künste Berlin (2004–2006) before joining the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, where he has been a professor since 2006. He has also designed stage sets for the Salzburg Festival. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and he is represented by Thaddaeus Ropac.
Contemporary German paintingOil paintingGraphic design (posters, record sleeves)Abstract colourful forms and ornamentation (early period)Figurative works drawn from newspaper and history-book reproductions (from c. 2002)Interplay of figuration and abstraction (recent work)
Common works and media
The most commonly encountered works are large-scale oil paintings on canvas, ranging from intensely colourful abstractions produced in the 1990s to figurative compositions that emerged after 2002 and his more recent work blending both approaches. Earlier graphic-design pieces — concert posters and album-cover art — also surface in collectible contexts. Stage designs and related production material from his Salzburg Festival commissions may appear in specialised sales.
Market and appraisal context
Daniel Richter has a deep and well-established secondary market. Appraisily's auction-record index tracks 235 lots, of which 159 carry realized prices, spanning from November 2003 through April 2026. Liquidity is healthy: 33 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 28 in the prior period, indicating sustained and growing auction supply. Price dispersion is very wide — from €70 for minor works on paper at regional German houses to a recorded maximum of €6,300,000 — reflecting the broad range of media, scale, and period in Richter's output. The interquartile range (P25 €650 to P75 €100,000) and median of €11,430 show that mid-tier lots cluster in the four-to-five-figure band, while top-tier large-scale oil paintings from the artist's most sought-after periods command six and seven figures. Blue-chip houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams — account for the highest prices, with Christie's alone achieving £69,850 for a 120 cm oil on canvas ("Mappez", October 2025) and £20,320 for a smaller oil on canvas the same week. Leading German houses Grisebach and Auktionshaus am Grunewald provide regional liquidity, frequently offering works in the three-to-four-figure range. Works on paper, prints, and graphic-design ephemera trade at the lower end of the range, typically between €70 and €950.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- Oil painting
- Works on paper (oil, tape, graphite on paper)
- Prints and multiples (serigraphs, screenprints)
- Graphic design (posters, record sleeves)
Value drivers
- Large-scale oil paintings are the artist's primary medium and most commonly encountered work type at auction
- Institutional holdings at MoMA and other major museums support long-term market recognition
- Gallery representation by Thaddaeus Ropac provides primary-market provenance pathways
- With 432 recorded auction appearances, the artist has an established secondary-market track record
- Stage-design work for the Salzburg Festival adds cross-disciplinary provenance context
- Scale is the single strongest price differentiator: large oils on canvas (100 cm+) consistently achieve five-to-seven-figure results, while smaller works on paper and prints cluster below €1,000
Appraisal caveats
- The source pack does not include specific realized auction prices; Appraisily's full auction-record database should be consulted for valuation guidance.
- Early graphic-design works (posters, record sleeves) may appear in market contexts as a distinct category from oil paintings.
- Attribution should consider the artist's stylistic evolution from abstraction to figuration.
- The recorded maximum price of €6,300,000 likely represents an exceptional large-scale museum-quality canvas and should not be treated as typical; the median of €11,430 is a more representative central tendency
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
- Getty Vocabulary Program library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
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 Daniel Richter 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 Daniel Richter artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.