Francis Bott Auction Prices and Value Guide
Francis Bott auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 426 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Francis Bott auction prices: quick answer
Francis Bott auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Francis Bott
- Source records
- 426
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
Artist context
About Francis Bott
Francis Bott (1904–1998) was a German painter, graphic artist, and draftsman born in Frankfurt am Main. He began his career as a journalist and art critic in Germany before emigrating in 1933. After settling in Paris in 1937, Bott devoted himself to painting at the encouragement of Oskar Kokoschka. Over a career spanning five decades he worked across oil, watercolor, gouache, lithography, collage, and drawing. A retrospective covering the years 1938–1985 was presented in 1987. Bott spent his later years in the Lugano region of Switzerland, where he died in 1998. Collectors encounter his work at auction primarily through paintings, works on paper, and original prints.
oil paintinglithographywatercolorgouache
Common works and media
Bott produced oil paintings, watercolors, gouaches, and drawings, as well as lithographs and other graphic works. Collage is also documented among his techniques. Subjects range from figurative compositions to more abstract explorations. His prints and works on paper appear frequently at auction, while oil paintings are less common and may command stronger prices.
Market and appraisal context
Francis Bott's work has a well-established secondary-market footprint spanning over two decades of recorded auction activity, with 199 catalogued lots and 113 priced results dating from 2002 to late 2025. The price distribution is moderately dispersed: the median realized price is approximately €1,417, the 25th percentile sits near €950, and the 75th percentile rises to €3,300, with a recorded maximum of €37,000. Oil paintings on canvas command a clear premium—an Artcurial sale in April 2023 realized €25,000 for a 1965–66 oil composition—while prints, serigraphs, and works on paper cluster in the low hundreds to low thousands. The artist's liquidity is moderate: three priced lots appeared in the trailing twelve months and seven in the prior twelve months, indicating steady but not high-volume turnover. Major houses that have offered Bott include Christie's, Bonhams, Artcurial, Grisebach, Koller Auctions, and Karl & Faber, alongside specialist German and Swiss regional houses such as Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden, Germann Auction House Ltd, and Kunst und Design Auktionshaus Schops Turowski. Works are predominantly offered in EUR and CHF, reflecting Bott's career arc through Germany, France, and Switzerland.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- oil painting
- lithography
- watercolor
- gouache
- collage
Value drivers
- Medium and technique affect value, with oil paintings generally commanding higher prices than works on paper or prints
- Provenance and exhibition history, including documented retrospectives, can influence appraisal
- Attribution and dating should be verified, as Bott worked across several decades and cities (Frankfurt, Paris, Lugano)
- Medium is the strongest price differentiator: oil paintings on canvas have realized up to €25,000–€37,000, while prints and serigraphs typically sell below €1,000
- Period and dating matter—works from Bott's Paris period (post-1937) and especially the 1950s–1960s appear to generate stronger auction results
- Provenance adds value when documented through gallery labels, exhibition history, or the 1987 retrospective referenced in authority files
Appraisal caveats
- The source pack does not include specific auction results or price-history data; comparable sale records should be consulted for valuation.
- No catalogue raisonné is referenced in the collected sources; attribution verification may require specialist examination.
- Auction prices in the source data are reported in mixed currencies (EUR and CHF); direct comparisons require currency normalization and exchange rates at time of sale are not provided.
- Of 199 catalogued lots, only 113 have recorded realized prices; 86 lots show no price, which may indicate unsold lots, withdrawn lots, or data gaps, potentially skewing the price distribution upward.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Wikidata library authority
- Getty Vocabulary Program library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History library authority
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 Francis Bott 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 Francis Bott artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.