Edward Penfield Auction Prices and Value Guide

Edward Penfield auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,113 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Edward Penfield auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Edward Penfield
Source records
1,113
Market update
2026-02-16

Edward Penfield market snapshot

Edward Penfield shows very deep auction liquidity with 643 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $750. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 23 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-11-19.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (62.5% · 215 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (37.2% · 128 sales)
  • $10,000+ (0.3% · 1 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$600
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
23
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-11-19

Artist context

About Edward Penfield

Edward Penfield portrait
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer · Public domain · Source

Born

1866

Died

1925

Nationality

American

Also known as

Penfield, Edward

Edward Penfield (1866–1925) was an American illustrator and painter whose career is associated with the Golden Age of American Illustration. Public reference accounts especially connect his reputation with the development of American poster and graphic design, while authority records also identify painting among his activities. His work therefore sits at the intersection of illustration, fine art, and early modern commercial graphics. Collectors may encounter his name on posters, illustrated compositions, other graphic works, and paintings rather than in a single uniform category. Penfield is represented by stable public identity records maintained by Wikidata, Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of Modern Art. Those records provide a useful foundation for distinguishing him from similarly named creators, although the collected authorities contain a conflict over his death year. Appraisily follows the better-supported 1925 date while preserving that uncertainty in its research notes.

IllustrationPaintingPoster and graphic design

Common works and media

Auction and appraisal records may classify works attributed to Edward Penfield as posters, illustrations, other graphic works, or paintings. His strongest documented public association is with illustration and poster design, while VIAF-linked authority data also identifies him as a painter. Because the collected source pack does not describe specific editions, printing processes, recurring subjects, or named series, those details should be established from the individual object and its cataloguing rather than assumed.

Market and appraisal context

Edward Penfield's market should be examined by separating posters and graphic works from illustrations and paintings, because those categories do not provide interchangeable comparisons. The object's stated medium, work type, date, and relationship to Penfield's documented illustration period help determine which public auction records are relevant. Comparable lots are most useful when their cataloguing, sale dates, realized prices, and work types closely match the object under review. The available identity sources establish Penfield's artistic roles but do not provide detailed, artist-specific rules for editions, printing, condition, or provenance. Appraisal conclusions should therefore rely on the evidence attached to the individual object and on suitably matched auction records, not on the artist name or an isolated result alone.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Posters and graphic works
  • Illustrations
  • Paintings

Value drivers

  1. Work type and medium, including whether an object is catalogued as a poster, illustration, graphic work, or painting
  2. The work's date and its relationship to Penfield's documented Golden Age illustration context
  3. Comparable public auction records, including sale date, realized price, and lot context, when matching records are available

Appraisal caveats

  • The collected source pack does not include lot-level descriptions or realized-price details, so no price trend or value prediction is asserted.
  • Authority records disagree about whether Penfield died in 1922 or 1925; the stronger collected identity records support 1925, but object cataloguing should account for the conflict.
  • The source pack does not establish detailed edition, printing, condition, or provenance guidance specific to Penfield.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context is based on collected public records: medium confidence, adequate source quality.

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 Edward Penfield

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Edward Penfield 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 Edward Penfield artwork?

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