Kyffin Williams Auction Prices and Value Guide

Kyffin Williams auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 999 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Kyffin Williams auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Kyffin Williams
Source records
999
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Kyffin Williams

Sir John Kyffin Williams (1918–2006) was a Welsh painter and draftsman celebrated for his powerful depictions of the landscapes and people of North Wales. Born in Llangefni on Anglesey, he lived much of his life at Pwllfanogl near Llanfairpwll, and is widely regarded as the defining Welsh artist of the twentieth century. Working primarily in oil and on paper, Williams built a body of work rooted in the mountains, coastlines, farming communities, and weather of his native region. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he won the Slade Portrait Prize, and later balanced his painting career with teaching. His distinctive impasto technique and restrained palette of earth tones, slate greys, and muted greens became hallmarks immediately associated with the Welsh landscape tradition. Knighted and appointed OBE, Williams remains a central figure in British regional painting.

20th-century Welsh landscape paintingoil paintingdrawingWelsh landscapespeople of North Walesportraiture

Common works and media

Williams is best known for oil paintings of Welsh mountain and coastal landscapes, particularly scenes of Snowdonia and Anglesey rendered in thick impasto with earthy, muted tones. He also produced portrait paintings and figure studies of Welsh farmers, quarrymen, and rural workers. Works on paper include drawings in ink, charcoal, and watercolour. Limited-edition prints and reproductions of his more popular compositions circulate widely. His subjects almost always centre on the terrain, climate, and people of North Wales.

Market and appraisal context

Kyffin Williams has a well-documented auction footprint spanning nearly three decades, with 62 tracked lots (44 with realised prices) recorded between February 1996 and September 2025. His work appears at major international houses — Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, and Heritage Auctions — as well as established UK and Irish regional specialists including Morgan O'Driscoll, Gorringes, Mallams, Tennants, Woolley & Wallis, Wingetts, and John Nicholson's. Price dispersion is wide: the dataset minimum is £12 (likely a print or small work on paper) while the maximum is £40,320 for the portrait 'Anna' at Sotheby's in September 2022. The median sits at approximately £864 equivalent, and the interquartile range runs from roughly £156 to £3,750, indicating that while a meaningful share of his market consists of accessible works on paper and prints, important oil landscapes and portraits reliably achieve five-figure results. Recent comparable lots underscore this split: 'Storm of Anglesey' made £13,200 at Sotheby's (November 2024), an oil titled 'Enjoying Rhoscryman' reached £14,000 at John Nicholson's (March 2024), and a Patagonian-valley oil realised $18,750 at Heritage Auctions (June 2017). Liquidity is steady but moderate — roughly two priced lots per year in both the most recent and prior 12-month windows — which is typical for a respected regional British artist with a devoted but niche collector base.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil painting
  • drawing
  • works on paper
  • prints

Value drivers

  1. Subject matter: iconic North Welsh mountain and coastal landscapes command the strongest interest
  2. Medium: oil paintings generally achieve higher results than works on paper or drawings
  3. Provenance and exhibition history: works with documented exhibition records or estate provenance are more sought after
  4. Attribution should be confirmed as Williams's palette and subject matter have been widely imitated by contemporary Welsh landscape painters
  5. Medium is the strongest value driver: oil paintings on canvas consistently achieve the highest prices, while ink-and-wash drawings, watercolours, and works on paper trade in a lower tier, and prints lower still
  6. Subject matter: iconic Snowdonia and Anglesey landscapes and Welsh coastal scenes command the strongest interest; portraits such as 'Anna' can also achieve premium results at major houses

Appraisal caveats

  • The source pack does not include specific auction-house results or price databases; market value ranges are not provided here.
  • Williams is among the most collected Welsh artists, so attribution verification is especially important for works offered outside major auction houses.
  • Auction prices are realised results (hammer plus buyer's premium where recorded) and reflect conditions at the time of sale; they are not guarantees of future value.
  • The dataset mixes currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, AUD) across different markets and periods; direct price comparisons require currency normalisation.

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 Kyffin Williams

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Kyffin Williams 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 Kyffin Williams artwork?

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