Kenny Scharf Auction Prices and Value Guide

Kenny Scharf auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,187 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Kenny Scharf auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Kenny Scharf
Source records
1,187
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Kenny Scharf

Kenny Scharf (born 1958, Hollywood, California) is an American painter, sculptor, and installation artist who rose to prominence as a central figure in New York City's East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. After earning a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in 1980, Scharf developed a cross-disciplinary practice encompassing painting, sculpture, murals, collage, video, performance, and street art. His work draws heavily on the visual language of mid-century television and consumer culture — animated characters such as the Flintstones and the Jetsons appear alongside futuristic, cosmic imagery and satirical portraits of suburban life. Scharf is also known for immersive environments like his long-running Cosmic Cavern installations and for public mural projects worldwide. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and has been exhibited internationally.

East Village art scene (1980s)Neo-Pop / Street ArtPaintingSculpturePrints and screenprintsMurals and street artPop culture icons (The Flintstones, The Jetsons)Futuristic and science fiction imageryCaricatures of middle-class Americans in apocalyptic settingsCosmic and outer-space motifs

Common works and media

Scharf's auction and appraisal profile includes acrylic and oil paintings on canvas, fiberglass and mixed-media sculptures, limited-edition screenprints, murals, collage works, and customized three-dimensional objects (including his KARBOMBZ car sculptures and Lixo recycled-material series). Recurring subjects include cartoon-inspired characters, cosmic and outer-space motifs, brightly colored abstracted figures, and pop-culture references. Collectors may also encounter posters, exhibition prints, and collaborative product editions.

Market and appraisal context

Kenny Scharf maintains a deep and active secondary market, with 694 auction lots recorded in the Appraisily index dating from February 2002 through May 2026. His work trades across a wide price spectrum: from $51 at the low end for signed serigraphs and small editions, through a median of $3,750, up to $945,000 for major unique paintings. The interquartile range ($750–$26,000) reflects a market where editioned prints and multiples sit in the low hundreds to low thousands, while unique paintings and sculptures from key periods—particularly 1980s East Village-era works—command five and six figures. Recent 12-month auction volume (51 priced lots) is down from the prior 12 months (97 lots), which may indicate normal market cycling or a modest cooling in the prints-and-multiples tier. Major houses handling Scharf include Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams, alongside specialist and regional houses such as RoGallery, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Wright, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, and Joshua Kodner. Recent standout results include a 1983 painting titled Boy selling for £25,000 at Bonhams (March 2026) and the 1989 painting Frosty Mint realizing €25,400 at Christie's (April 2026), both confirming that significant early-period canvases remain in strong demand.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Post-War and Contemporary Art
  • Street Art
  • Prints and Multiples
  • Painting
  • Sculpture

Value drivers

  1. Medium: large-scale paintings and unique sculptures command higher values than prints and multiples
  2. Provenance: works with East Village era or direct exhibition history carry added significance
  3. Edition: prints and multiples should be checked for edition size, numbering, and signature
  4. Condition: mixed-media and installation works may involve non-traditional materials requiring specialist assessment
  5. Subject: works featuring signature characters and pop-culture motifs are most recognized by collectors
  6. Medium and uniqueness: unique paintings and sculptures command significantly more than editioned prints, screenprints, and giclée reproductions

Appraisal caveats

  • Market data should be corroborated with recent public auction records from major houses.
  • Scharf's output spans fine art, editions, merchandise, and collaborative products; attribution and category should be confirmed before appraisal.
  • Auction prices realized reflect hammer or inclusive-premium results as reported by individual houses and may not account for buyer's premiums, unsold lots, or post-sale private treaties.
  • The Appraisily index records 694 lots but only 416 carry a realized price; the remaining lots may include unsold, withdrawn, or price-not-yet-reported entries.

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 Kenny Scharf

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Kenny Scharf 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 Kenny Scharf artwork?

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