Kiki Smith Auction Prices and Value Guide

Kiki Smith auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 728 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Kiki Smith auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Kiki Smith
Source records
728
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Kiki Smith

Kiki Smith is a German-born American artist recognized internationally for her sculpture, printmaking, and multimedia practice. Born in 1954 in Nuremberg, Germany, she is the daughter of the sculptor Tony Smith and grew up in an artistic household in the United States. Smith emerged in the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s and became known for figurative sculptures that explored the human body, vulnerability, and mortality—subjects shaped in part by the AIDS crisis and feminist discourse. Her later work expanded to address regeneration, the natural world, and the relationship between humans and animals. Smith works across bronze, wax, porcelain, glass, paper, and textile, and is also a prolific printmaker. Her work is held by major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London, and she continues to live and work in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

Contemporary ArtFeminist ArtSculpturePrintmakingLithographyPhotographyHuman body and anatomySex, birth, and regenerationFeminism and genderNature and the human condition

Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Kiki Smith's bronze and wax figurative sculptures, porcelain and glass objects, lithographs, etchings, and screen prints. Common subjects include the human figure—particularly female bodies and anatomical forms—animals, birds, and nature motifs. Editioned prints and multiples are widely represented in the auction market. Sculptures range from small tabletop works to large-scale installations. Works on paper, including drawings and photographs, also appear regularly. Many pieces are held in museum collections, which can serve as comparables for identification purposes.

Market and appraisal context

Kiki Smith maintains an active and well-documented secondary market spanning 25 years of auction records (2001–2026). The Appraisily auction-record index tracks 468 lots, of which 354 carry realized prices, indicating robust liquidity for a living contemporary artist. Her market is anchored by consistent presence at top-tier houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams—alongside strong mid-tier representation at Rago Arts and Auction Center, Freeman's | Hindman, Wright, and STAIR. Price dispersion is wide ($40–$284,800), reflecting the breadth of her output across media: prints and multiples cluster in the hundreds-to-low-thousands, while unique sculptures, glass works, and important prints like My Blue Lake reach the mid-thousands at major houses. The interquartile range ($900–$8,125) captures most editioned prints and small sculptures. Volume is rising—45 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 31 in the prior 12 months—signaling sustained or growing collector interest. Major auction houses have recently offered her cast-glass, white-bronze, and lead-paint-on-glass multiples at Christie's (Feb–Apr 2026), confirming continuing demand for distinctive three-dimensional works.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Contemporary Art
  • Prints and Multiples
  • Sculpture
  • Printmaking
  • Lithography

Value drivers

  1. Medium: sculptures in bronze, wax, porcelain, and glass carry different market weight than prints and works on paper
  2. Subject matter: figurative body-related works from the late 1980s–1990s period are among her most recognized and sought-after
  3. Provenance: exhibition history and museum holdings (MoMA, Tate, and other major institutions) strengthen value
  4. Edition: prints and multiples should be assessed for edition size, numbering, and whether the edition is complete
  5. Medium: unique sculptures in bronze, wax, porcelain, cast glass, and lead-paint-on-glass command significantly higher prices than editioned prints, photographs, and works on paper
  6. Scale and complexity: multi-part sculptural works (e.g., Nests in ten parts, World in six white-bronze parts) and large-format prints (e.g., My Blue Lake at 33½ × 45¾ in.) carry premium over small-scale or single-element works

Appraisal caveats

  • Kiki Smith works in a wide range of media and scales; appraisal requires identifying the specific medium, date, and edition status of the individual work
  • No specific auction price records or realized prices are available in the current source pack; comparable sale data should be consulted for valuation
  • The $284,800 maximum recorded price is an outlier that likely represents a major unique sculpture or installation; it should not be used to anchor expectations for typical prints or small sculptures
  • Some recent lots at Christie's (Feb–Apr 2026) show null priceRealised values, indicating either unsold lots or results not yet published; these should not be interpreted as failed sales without confirmation

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 Kiki Smith

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Kiki Smith 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 Kiki Smith artwork?

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