Francis Picabia Auction Prices and Value Guide
Francis Picabia auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,598 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Francis Picabia auction prices: quick answer
Francis Picabia auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Francis Picabia
- Source records
- 1,598
- Market update
- 2026-02-16
Artist context
About Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (1879–1953) was a French painter, graphic artist, writer, and filmmaker whose career defied stylistic categorization. Born in Paris to a French mother and a Spanish father, he first gained recognition as an Impressionist painter around 1905 before turning to radical abstraction in 1912 with large-scale non-objective canvases that marked the arrival of abstract painting in Paris. During World War I he became a central figure of the Dada movement, publishing provocative journals in New York, Barcelona, and Zurich. Over five decades his output traversed mechanomorphic imagery, Surrealist-influenced figurative painting, photo-based works, and late-career Art Informel abstractions. Major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate, and Centre Pompidou hold significant collections of his work. The Comité Picabia, founded in 1990, oversees his archives and is preparing a multi-volume catalogue raisonné covering all mediums from 1898 to 1953.
DadaImpressionismAbstract artSurrealismArt Informel
Common works and media
Picabia worked across virtually all two-dimensional media. Common work types encountered in appraisal and auction contexts include oil paintings on canvas—from Impressionist landscapes to abstract compositions, mechanomorphic works, figurative nudes, and late abstractions—alongside works on paper such as watercolors, gouaches, and ink drawings. He also produced collages incorporating found materials, graphic prints and posters, photographs used as source material for photo-based paintings, and artist books with poetry. Edition prints and reproductions of his well-known Dada imagery circulate widely in the secondary market. The breadth of his output, from salon-scale oils to intimate drawings, means collectors may encounter Picabia works across a broad price spectrum.
Market and appraisal context
Francis Picabia's secondary-market footprint is deep and geographically broad, with 1,079 auction lots recorded from May 1993 through April 2026 and 730 of those carrying a realized price. The price distribution is wide and right-skewed: the minimum recorded price is $30 (edition prints and book lots) while the maximum reaches $3,780,000, with a median of $43,250 and an interquartile range of $10,000–$133,250. This dispersion reflects the full span of Picabia's oeuvre—from intimate works on paper and reproductive serigraphs trading in the hundreds to museum-quality oils from his Dada and abstract periods commanding seven figures. Liquidity remains strong: 49 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 64 in the prior 12-month period, indicating a sustained though slightly cooled cadence likely tied to macro auction-calendar shifts. The top houses handling his material are Christie's, Sotheby's, Artcurial, Bonhams, Tajan, Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Osenat, Ader, Piasa, and Art Atelier, confirming that Picabia lots circulate through both the international blue-chip evening-sale circuit and the mid-tier European auction market. Recent comparable lots include a Dorotheum painting at €150,000, an Artcurial painting at €270,000, a Christie's Impressionist landscape (Moret, effet de soleil) at €292,100, and lower-tier serigraphs and drawings between $700 and $15,000.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- Impressionist & Modern Art
- Post-War & Contemporary Art
- Works on Paper
- Prints & Multiples
- Old Master & 19th Century Paintings
Value drivers
- [object Object]
Appraisal caveats
- The catalogue raisonné is still in progress; some works have not yet been reviewed by the Comité Picabia, and attribution for certain pieces remains unresolved
- Picabia's stylistic versatility makes attribution without committee review especially challenging, as his oeuvre includes works that closely resemble those of contemporaries in multiple movements
- Some works have been lost, destroyed, or reworked by the artist and may never appear in the published catalogue
- The catalogue raisonné is still in progress; some works have not yet been reviewed by the Comité Picabia, and attribution for certain pieces remains unresolved. Attribution uncertainty can materially affect value.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Library of Congress library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History library authority
- Comité Picabia artist estate or foundation
- Wikidata library authority
- VIAF 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 Picabia 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 Picabia artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.