Emile Henri Bernard Auction Prices and Value Guide

Emile Henri Bernard auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 770 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Emile Henri Bernard auction prices: quick answer

Emile Henri Bernard auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Emile Henri Bernard
Source records
770
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Emile Henri Bernard

Émile Henri Bernard (1868–1941) was a French painter, printmaker, sculptor, and writer who played a formative role in late 19th-century modern art. Closely associated with Post-Impressionism, Bernard helped develop Cloisonnism—characterized by bold outlines and flat areas of color—and later contributed to Synthetism alongside Paul Gauguin during their time in Pont-Aven. He maintained influential artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Eugène Boch, and his correspondence and criticism provide important firsthand documentation of this pivotal era. Most of his most recognized work dates from 1886 through 1897, when he was still in his twenties. Later in life Bernard turned toward religious and classical subjects and also produced plays, poetry, and art-historical writings. He published under several pseudonyms, including Jean Dorsal and Ludovic Nemo.

Post-ImpressionismCloisonnismSynthetismoil paintingwatercolorprintmaking and engravingsculpturelandscapesfigures and portraitsreligious and biblical scenes

Common works and media

Bernard worked across a wide range of media. Oil paintings on canvas and panel include Breton landscapes, figure compositions, portraits, and religious scenes. Works on paper encompass watercolors, ink drawings, and pastels. His graphic output covers woodcuts, lithographs, and etchings, some issued in editions. Sculptural works are less common but documented. Collectors may also encounter illustrated books, literary manuscripts, and art-critical essays published under his various pseudonyms.

Market and appraisal context

Émile Henri Bernard's auction market shows steady liquidity with 61 recorded lots and 34 with realized prices spanning 2007–2026. The price distribution is wide: the median sits at approximately €1,400, the 75th percentile near €8,000, and the top recorded result is €126,000. This dispersion reflects the strong premium placed on early Pont-Aven–period oil paintings versus later works on paper, prints, and unsigned or attributed pieces. Major houses including Christie's, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Piguet Hôtel des Ventes (Genève), Geneve Encheres, and New Orleans Auction Galleries have offered Bernard lots, confirming broad international demand across European and North American salerooms. The trailing 12-month lot count (7) is slightly above the prior 12-month count (5), indicating stable-to-growing supply. Notable recent results include an oil on canvas "Les bords du Nil" achieving CHF 40,000 at Geneve Encheres (September 2023) and a signed, dated 1893 oil "Deux baigneuses" reaching CHF 10,939 at Piguet (May 2019), while smaller works and attributed pieces routinely trade below €1,000.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Impressionist and Modern Art
  • Works on Paper
  • Prints and Multiples
  • oil painting
  • watercolor

Value drivers

  1. Provenance linking to Van Gogh, Gauguin, or the Pont-Aven circle can increase collector interest
  2. Works from the 1886–1897 period are generally considered more significant than later output
  3. Medium, condition, dating, subject matter, and exhibition history all affect appraisal
  4. Oil paintings typically command higher values than prints or works on paper
  5. Period: works dated 1886–1897 (Pont-Aven years) carry a significant premium over later output
  6. Medium: oil paintings on canvas consistently achieve the highest prices; prints, drawings, and works on paper trade at substantially lower levels

Appraisal caveats

  • Bernard used multiple pseudonyms; attribution should be verified against catalogue raisonné or expert opinion
  • Later religious and classical works may not reflect the Post-Impressionist style collectors associate with his name
  • Many recent lots in this dataset lack a published price-realised figure (notably the Hampel Fine Art Auctions lots from September 2025 through March 2026), which limits the reliability of trailing-12-month average-price calculations.
  • Category data is sparse in the source pack—most lots carry no formal auction category—so the observed category list is supplemented from the existing artist profile's commonAuctionCategories and medium/subject fields.

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 Emile Henri Bernard

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Emile Henri Bernard 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 Emile Henri Bernard artwork?

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