Fred Yates Auction Prices and Value Guide

Fred Yates auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,706 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Fred Yates auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Fred Yates
Source records
1,706
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Fred Yates

Fred Yates (1922–2008), born Frederick Joseph Yates in Urmston, Manchester, was a British painter celebrated for vibrant, impressionistic depictions of everyday life. Originally a schoolteacher in Bournemouth and Brighton, Yates devoted himself to painting full-time after moving to Cornwall in 1969. Inspired by L. S. Lowry, he focused on ordinary people going about their daily routines, capturing what he called "the disappearing England" with bold color and expressive, impastoed brushwork. Working chiefly en plein air, Yates developed a distinctive style that combined sharp social observation with a warm, painterly energy. Despite his reclusive temperament—he famously relocated to France in 1996 without widespread notice—his work entered numerous public collections, including Brighton and Hove Art Gallery, the University of Warwick, and Russell Coates Gallery in Bournemouth. His paintings continue to appeal to collectors drawn to post-war British figurative painting with an intimate, unsentimental eye.

British Impressionism (associated)oil paintingdrawingordinary people and daily lifestreet and urban scenesCornish landscapes and coastal scenesdisappearing England

Common works and media

Oil paintings on canvas or board form the bulk of Fred Yates's output seen at auction. Common subjects include busy street scenes, market days, beachgoers, football matches, harbour views, and rural or coastal landscapes—often rendered in thick impasto with strong, saturated colour. Works on paper, including drawings, appear less frequently. Prints or reproductions are not a significant part of his documented output. Collectors most often encounter mid-sized canvases from his Cornwall and France periods.

Market and appraisal context

Fred Yates has a well-established and liquid secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 1,033 lots with 873 carrying realised prices, spanning 2001 to April 2026. Price dispersion is wide but centred in the low-to-mid four figures (GBP): the interquartile range runs from £850 to £2,500, with a median of £1,377 and a ceiling of £13,800. Major houses—including Bonhams, Christie's, Sotheby's, Artcurial, and Dreweatts—appear frequently, joined by strong regional UK specialists such as John Nicholson's, Roseberys, Gorringes, and Chorley's. The 24 most recent lots (Dec 2025–Nov 2024) show Bonhams handling the majority of higher-value material, with standout prices of £10,000 (Polruan, Nov 2024), £9,000 (The Lane, Oct 2025), and £6,000 (Hampstead Village School, Nov 2024). Smaller works and minor subjects regularly trade between £300 and £1,500 at regional houses. Liquidity has softened in the trailing twelve months (10 priced lots versus 29 in the prior period), which may reflect normal auction-cycle variation rather than structural demand change.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil painting
  • drawing
  • acrylic on board
  • watercolour

Value drivers

  1. Subject matter: bustling street scenes and Cornish coastal works are most commonly encountered at auction
  2. Provenance: works with gallery or estate provenance from his Cornwall or France periods may carry stronger attribution confidence
  3. Condition: impasto and expressive brushwork can make condition assessment important
  4. Medium: oil on canvas or board is the primary auction medium; works on paper appear less frequently
  5. Subject matter: iconic Cornish harbour and coastal scenes, London street scenes, and crowded leisure compositions command the strongest prices (£3,000–£10,000+); smaller landscapes and floral works trade in the £500–£2,500 range.
  6. Size and format: mid-sized canvases and boards (approximately 30–60 cm on the longest side) dominate the auction record; unusually large or very small works may sit outside the central price band.

Appraisal caveats

  • No catalogue raisonné is referenced in available sources, making comprehensive attribution verification difficult.
  • Fred Yates was reclusive and largely self-taught in his painting practice; attribution should be supported by provenance or expert review.
  • Market data in this summary is inferred from biographical context and the artist's public profile; specific auction records should be consulted for valuation.
  • No catalogue raisonné exists for Fred Yates; attribution cannot be verified against a definitive catalogue and should be supported by provenance, signature analysis, or specialist review.

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 Fred Yates

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Fred Yates 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 Fred Yates artwork?

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