Erté Auction Prices and Value Guide

Erté auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 14,589 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Erté auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Erté
Source records
14,589
Market update
2026-02-06

Erté market snapshot

Erté shows very deep auction liquidity with 753 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $600. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 86 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-12.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (64.0% · 395 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (34.7% · 214 sales)
  • $10,000+ (1.3% · 8 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$450
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
86
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-12-12

Artist context

About Erté

Erté, born Romain de Tirtoff in St. Petersburg in 1892, was a Russian-French artist and designer who became one of the defining visual voices of the Art Deco era. He adopted the pseudonym Erté from the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. After studying in St. Petersburg and at the Académie Julian in Paris, he entered the world of haute couture and magazine illustration, producing celebrated cover designs and fashion illustrations for Harper's Bazaar over more than two decades. His work extended across costume and set design for film, theatre, and opera, as well as jewelry, graphic arts, and interior decoration. Erté's distinctive stylized figures, with their elongated forms and lavish ornamentation, came to epitomize the glamour of Art Deco design. He continued working into his nineties, creating bronze sculptures and limited-edition prints that brought his vision to new audiences. He died in Paris in 1990.

Art DecoFashion illustration and graphic designCostume and set designSculpture (bronze)Printmaking (serigraphs, lithographs)Elegant female figures and fashionTheatre and performance designArt Deco decorative motifs

Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most often encounter Erté's work in the form of limited-edition serigraphs and lithographs featuring his signature Art Deco female figures, as well as patinated bronze sculptures produced from the 1960s onward. Original fashion illustrations in gouache or ink on paper—particularly those related to his Harper's Bazaar commissions or theatrical costume designs—are less common but highly desirable. Decorative posters, costume design studies, and jewelry designs also circulate in the secondary market. Works are typically signed Erté and, for editioned prints, numbered with edition size.

Market and appraisal context

Erté's secondary market is broad and deeply liquid, with 750 recorded auction lots in the Appraisily index and 608 priced results spanning from December 2003 through April 2026. The market is anchored by major houses including Heritage Auctions, Bonhams, Finarte, Weschler's, and Fontaine's Auction Gallery, alongside specialist dealers like RoGallery and Akiba Galleries. Price dispersion is wide: the median realized price is $550 USD, with the 25th percentile at $325 and the 75th at $1,400, while the top recorded price reaches $30,480. Bronze sculptures from his late-career series—titles like "Kiss of Fire" ($3,250), "Amazon" ($1,400), "Starstruck" ($2,400), and "Radiance" ($1,700)—typically realize $850–$3,250. Serigraphs such as "Symphony in Black" and "Debutante" trade between $90 and $1,500 depending on edition, size, and condition. Decorative objects including candelabra, vases, and silk scarves occupy the lower-to-mid range at $175–$2,125. The trailing twelve months saw 61 priced lots, a decline from 111 in the prior period, suggesting modest cooling but continued steady turnover. This breadth across media and price points makes Erté one of the most accessible Art Deco names for collectors at nearly every budget level.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Bronze sculpture (cold-painted and patinated)
  • Serigraphs and lithographs
  • Original fashion illustration and graphic design
  • Costume and set design works
  • Decorative objects (vases, candelabra, scarves)

Value drivers

  1. Medium: original gouache or ink illustrations command substantially higher prices than editioned prints and bronzes
  2. Edition details: edition number, total edition size, and publisher records (e.g., Circle Fine Art, Seven Arts) directly affect value
  3. Condition: cold-painted bronze surfaces are vulnerable to paint loss; prints should be checked for fading, foxing, and paper acidity
  4. Period: Harper's Bazaar-era originals (1910s–1930s) are scarcer and more valuable than late-career editioned works
  5. Signature and authentication: works signed Erté with publisher documentation carry stronger provenance
  6. Provenance: documented exhibition history or ownership chain strengthens value, especially for higher-end lots

Appraisal caveats

  • Erté produced a large volume of editioned prints and bronze sculptures in his later career, making attribution of common reproductions straightforward but original works more valuable
  • Posthumous editions and reproductions exist in the market; edition numbers and publisher documentation should be verified
  • The high total lot count (over 14,500 recorded) reflects a broad and active secondary market with wide price ranges
  • Erté produced a very large volume of editioned works in his later career, and posthumous editions also exist; not all signed works are lifetime editions

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 Erté

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Erté 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 Erté artwork?

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