Frederick Ferdinand Schafer Auction Prices and Value Guide

Frederick Ferdinand Schafer auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 181 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Frederick Ferdinand Schafer auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Frederick Ferdinand Schafer
Source records
181
Market update
2026-02-16

Frederick Ferdinand Schafer market snapshot

Frederick Ferdinand Schafer shows solid auction liquidity with 59 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $2,196. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 2 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-11-18.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (18.6% · 8 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (69.8% · 30 sales)
  • $10,000+ (11.6% · 5 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$1,400
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
2
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-11-18

Artist context

About Frederick Ferdinand Schafer

Born

1839

Died

1927

Nationality

German-American

Also known as

Friedrich Ferdinand Schäfer, Frederick Ferdinand Schaeffer

Frederick Ferdinand Schafer (1839–1927) was a German-born American painter associated principally with landscape painting. Born in Braunschweig, he emigrated to the United States in 1876, established a studio on Montgomery Street in San Francisco, and later lived in Oakland. His career reportedly encompassed more than 500 paintings. A German-language biography associates him with the San Francisco School and Rocky Mountain School, although stronger institutional documentation is needed before treating those labels as definitive. Collectors encounter Schafer through Western landscape paintings and a substantial public-auction history. Reported public holdings include the British Columbia Archives, Birmingham Museum of Art, Fairfield University Art Museum, and Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. His name also appears in records as Friedrich Ferdinand Schäfer, while Appraisily’s matched auction data includes the spelling Frederick Ferdinand Schaeffer. Those variants, together with reported signatures such as “FSchafer” and “F. Schafer,” are useful when reviewing possible works.

San Francisco SchoolRocky Mountain SchoolPaintingLandscape

Common works and media

Available biographical sources identify Schafer as a landscape painter, and Appraisily’s auction index places his work primarily within fine art and paintings. Reported signature forms include “FSchafer” and “F. Schafer.” The collected evidence does not establish prints, sculpture, ceramics, or editions as characteristic parts of his production, so objects in those categories require especially careful attribution research. For any painting, compare the specific medium, support, size, subject, date, condition, provenance, inscriptions, and signature with documented examples and relevant auction records.

Market and appraisal context

Schafer’s public auction history is concentrated in fine art and paintings. Appraisal should begin with genuinely comparable works sharing the same medium, dimensions, subject, date, condition, and attribution strength. Surface quality, restoration, provenance, exhibition history, inscriptions, and the form and placement of a signature may also affect how a work compares with prior sales. Appraisily’s collected market excerpt reports an observed auction range of $200 to $39,000 across priced records from 1996 through 2025, but those endpoints should not be interpreted as a forecast for an individual object. Public results may omit private transactions, and reported prices may not treat buyer’s premiums consistently. The source excerpt also contains conflicting lot totals, so the underlying record count needs reconciliation.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Fine art and paintings

Value drivers

  1. Medium, dimensions, date, and place within the artist’s career
  2. Condition, restoration history, and surface quality
  3. Signature, inscriptions, and attribution confidence
  4. Provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue references
  5. Subject matter and recent public auction results for genuinely comparable works

Appraisal caveats

  • Public auction records are a starting point rather than a complete appraisal.
  • Private sales and incomplete auction feeds may not be represented.
  • Reported prices may differ in their treatment of buyer’s premiums and fees.
  • Authentication, attribution changes, and condition can materially affect value.

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 Frederick Ferdinand Schafer

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Frederick Ferdinand Schafer 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 Frederick Ferdinand Schafer artwork?

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