Ernest Lawson Auction Prices and Value Guide

Ernest Lawson auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 492 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Ernest Lawson auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Ernest Lawson
Source records
492
Market update
2026-02-06

Ernest Lawson market snapshot

Ernest Lawson shows deep auction liquidity with 308 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $12,500. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 13 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2026-01-27.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (3.1% · 6 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (41.0% · 80 sales)
  • $10,000+ (55.9% · 109 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$3,000
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
13
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2026-01-27

Artist context

About Ernest Lawson

Ernest Lawson portrait
All images from the M.O. Hammond fonds were uploaded as part of the Archives of Ontario’s GLAM Wiki project. · Public domain · Source

Born

1873

Died

1939

Nationality

American, Canadian

Ernest Lawson (1873–1939) was a Canadian-born American painter best known for landscapes. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he became associated with The Eight, the loosely organized group of American artists whose 1908 exhibition challenged restrictive academic exhibition practices. Lawson is frequently discussed within American Impressionism and the broader Ashcan School context, although his landscape-centered practice differs from the urban social observation most closely associated with that school. His work combines atmospheric color and broken brushwork with firmly observed terrain, buildings, waterways, and bridges. Snow-covered scenery and views around the Harlem River are especially relevant to his documented museum work, while a smaller part of his output treats realistic urban subjects. Collectors encounter Lawson primarily through oil paintings of landscapes and city-edge environments. National Gallery of Art records provide institutional examples of his river, winter, and bridge imagery, helping distinguish his established subject matter from broader or uncertain auction attributions.

American ImpressionismThe EightAshcan School contextOil on canvasPaintingLandscapesSnow, rivers, boats, and waterfront structuresUrban scenes and bridgesHarlem River scenery

Common works and media

Lawson is most strongly documented as a landscape painter working in oil on canvas. Museum examples include winter river scenery, boats, waterfront buildings, trees, roads, bridges, and figures within city-edge landscapes. Realistic urban views form a smaller documented part of his practice. Auction data also groups some records under works on paper and prints, but those broad labels should be checked against the individual object's medium, authorship, and edition information before comparison.

Market and appraisal context

Appraising an Ernest Lawson work requires comparison with closely related examples rather than reliance on an artist-wide average. Medium, dimensions, date, subject, condition, restoration, surface quality, signature, inscriptions, and attribution confidence can all affect how a work compares with public sales. Provenance, exhibition history, and references in scholarly or museum records may provide additional support. Landscape paintings should be compared with works sharing similar setting, season, scale, and execution; urban or bridge subjects may require a different comparable group. Appraisily's records identify paintings as the principal auction category and also include broad works-on-paper and print classifications. Public results remain only a starting point because private transactions, incomplete feeds, buyer-premium reporting, and later attribution changes may limit direct comparisons.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Fine art and paintings
  • Works on paper and prints

Value drivers

  1. Medium, dimensions, date, and position within Lawson's career
  2. Condition, restoration history, and surface quality
  3. Signature, inscriptions, edition information, and confidence in attribution
  4. Provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue references
  5. Recent public auction results for works comparable in medium, size, date, condition, and subject
  6. Subject matter, rarity, and current market demand

Appraisal caveats

  • Public auction results are appraisal inputs rather than definitive valuations; the supporting source is https://appraisily.com/artist/ernest-lawson/.
  • Private transactions and incomplete auction feeds may not appear in the available records; the supporting source is https://appraisily.com/artist/ernest-lawson/.
  • Condition findings, authentication, and changes in attribution can materially alter conclusions drawn from comparable sales; the supporting source is https://appraisily.com/artist/ernest-lawson/.

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 Ernest Lawson

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Ernest Lawson 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 Ernest Lawson artwork?

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