Ludwig Meidner Auction Prices and Value Guide

Ludwig Meidner auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 615 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Ludwig Meidner auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Ludwig Meidner
Source records
615
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Ludwig Meidner

Ludwig Meidner (1884–1966) was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker renowned for his intense, visionary depictions of urban catastrophe and psychological portraiture. Born in Bernstadt, Silesia, Meidner studied in Breslau and Paris before settling in Berlin, where he became a distinctive voice within German Expressionism. His celebrated Apocalyptic Landscape series, created in the years leading up to World War I, rendered cityscapes torn apart by comet strikes, floods, and convulsive energy, establishing him as one of the most imaginative painters of impending crisis in early twentieth-century European art. Beyond these dramatic compositions, Meidner produced penetrating portraits of cultural figures, self-portraits, and later turned toward religious and biblical subjects. His work is held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Meidner spent his later years in Darmstadt, where he died in 1966.

German Expressionismoil paintingprintmakinglithographyetchingapocalyptic landscapesportraitsurban landscapesreligious and biblical scenes

Common works and media

Collectors may encounter Meidner's work across several media: oil paintings of apocalyptic cityscapes and portraits, charcoal and ink drawings, and editioned prints including lithographs and etchings. Portrait heads and self-portraits are recurring subjects throughout his career. Illustration plates from periodicals such as Das Kunstblatt also appear in print collections. Later works include biblical scenes and landscape drawings in a more subdued figurative style.

Market and appraisal context

Ludwig Meidner has an established and active secondary market spanning over two decades, with 287 auction lots recorded since 2001 and 127 carrying realized prices. Activity remains consistent, with 16 lots in the most recent 12-month window and 19 in the prior period. Price dispersion is wide: the recorded range runs from €40 to €398,500, with a median of €480 and a 75th percentile of €2,000, reflecting that prints and works on paper dominate turnover while important Expressionist-period works command six-figure sums. The top-priced recent lot is Christie's October 2025 sale of "Apokalyptische Vision" (reed pen and pen and ink drawing) at £57,150, confirming strong demand for pre-WWI apocalyptic subject matter. Major houses handling Meidner include Christie's, Grisebach, Kunsthaus Lempertz, Galerie Kornfeld, and Vendu Rotterdam, alongside German regional specialists such as Auktionshaus Arnold, Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden, and Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden. The breadth of houses signals healthy distribution across European and international venues rather than concentration in a single channel.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil painting
  • printmaking
  • lithography
  • etching
  • drawing

Value drivers

  1. Works from the pre-WWI apocalyptic landscape series are the most sought-after period
  2. Prints and works on paper appear more frequently at auction than paintings, affecting accessibility and price range
  3. Medium, date, condition, provenance, and whether the work is from the Expressionist period versus later figurative work significantly affect value
  4. Period: pre-WWI Expressionist works (c. 1912–1916), especially apocalyptic landscapes and visionary subjects, command the highest prices; later figurative and religious works trade at lower levels
  5. Medium: oil paintings are the scarcest and most valuable; major works on paper (e.g., pen-and-ink apocalyptic drawings) can reach five-figure sums at international houses; editioned prints and small drawings cluster around or below the €480 median
  6. Subject matter: apocalyptic and visionary compositions carry a significant premium over portraits, landscapes, and biblical scenes

Appraisal caveats

  • No specific auction records are present in the source pack; market observations are drawn from museum holdings and biographical context only.
  • Later figurative and religious works from Meidner's post-war career may command different market interest than his early Expressionist output.
  • Of 287 recorded lots, only 127 carry realized prices (44%); unsold or price-withheld lots may skew the apparent median upward or downward
  • The €398,500 maximum represents the top of the observed range and is not representative of typical market levels—most lots fall well below the €2,000 75th percentile

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 Ludwig Meidner

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Ludwig Meidner 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 Ludwig Meidner artwork?

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