Julian Trevelyan Auction Prices and Value Guide
Julian Trevelyan auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,120 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Julian Trevelyan auction prices: quick answer
Julian Trevelyan auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Julian Trevelyan
- Source records
- 1,120
- Market update
- 2026-02-16
Julian Trevelyan market snapshot
Julian Trevelyan shows deep auction liquidity with 464 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $550. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 15 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2026-01-29.
Realized price distribution
- Under $1,000 (69.6% · 272 sales)
- $1,000 to $10,000 (23.3% · 91 sales)
- $10,000+ (7.2% · 28 sales)
- Median sale (last 12 months)
- $300
- Sales recorded (last 12 months)
- 15
- Median shift vs prior year
- +50.0%
- Latest recorded sale
- 2026-01-29
Artist context
About Julian Trevelyan
Julian Trevelyan (1910–1988) was a British painter, printmaker, photographer, and poet recognized for blending Surrealist experimentation with keen observation of everyday British life. Born Julian Otto Trevelyan, he became involved with the Mass Observation movement in the late 1930s, applying a documentary sensibility to urban and rural scenes that would define much of his mature output. Trevelyan worked across etching, lithography, oil painting, and photography, producing landscapes, riverside views, and industrial compositions that balance abstraction with recognizable form. He married the painter Mary Fedden in 1951, and the two artists shared studios and exhibited together for decades. His work is held by major public collections including Tate in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, reflecting his sustained contribution to twentieth-century British art.
Mass Observationpaintingprintmakingphotographylandscapeindustrial and riverside sceneseveryday British life
Common works and media
Trevelyan's most commonly encountered works at auction include etchings and lithographs of riverside, industrial, and architectural subjects, often executed with a combination of figurative clarity and abstract patterning. Oil paintings tend to depict Thames-side views, Mediterranean scenes, and urban panoramas. Photographs from his Mass Observation period also surface, though less frequently. Prints often appear in limited editions, and plate-signed or pencil-signed impressions affect value. Collectors may also encounter posters, illustrated books, and collaborative works produced alongside Mary Fedden.
Market and appraisal context
Julian Trevelyan's auction market is deep and well-established, with 545 recorded lots of which 443 carry a realized price, spanning sales from March 1993 through March 2026. His work trades regularly at top-tier houses including Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams, as well as respected UK regional firms such as Mallams, Dreweatts 1759, Forum Auctions, Lyon & Turnbull, and Gorringes, confirming broad secondary-market demand. Printmaking—particularly etchings with aquatint and lithographs—dominates the market and accounts for the densest portion of the price distribution. The median auction price sits at $528 (USD), with the interquartile range spanning $300 to $1,250, while the recorded maximum reaches $46,250, likely reflecting a major oil painting or an exceptionally rare early work. Signed London-series lithographs from the Curated Gallery Auctions sale of February 2026 realized between $180 and $400 each, and etchings with aquatint from the same period traded at $125–$500 at US houses, demonstrating an accessible entry point for collectors. Forum Auctions in London priced comparable etchings at £200–£300 in December 2024. Liquidity is solid but has moderated: the most recent 12-month window recorded 21 lots compared with 33 in the prior 12 months, suggesting a mild cooling that collectors should note. Overall, the market breadth, named-house representation, and multi-decade track record make Trevelyan a reliably tradeable Modern British artist at accessible-to-mid price tiers.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- printmaking
- painting
- works on paper
- photography
Value drivers
- [object Object]
Appraisal caveats
- Attribution should be confirmed against catalogue references; Julian Trevelyan's wife Mary Fedden was also a well-known painter and their styles are occasionally confused in auction listings.
- With over 1,100 auction records in the Invaluable/Appraisily dataset, Trevelyan's market is well-established but prices vary significantly by medium, period, and condition.
- MoMA spells his first name as 'Julien' in their records, which can complicate catalogue searches.
- [object Object]
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
- VIAF library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
- Tate museum or university
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 Julian Trevelyan 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 Julian Trevelyan artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.