Martin Sharp Auction Prices and Value Guide

Martin Sharp auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 835 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Martin Sharp auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Martin Sharp
Source records
835
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Martin Sharp

Martin Sharp (1942–2013) was an Australian artist, cartoonist, songwriter, and filmmaker whose visually explosive work helped define the psychedelic and pop art aesthetics of the 1960s counterculture. Born Martin Ritchie Sharp in suburban Sydney, he co-founded the groundbreaking underground magazine Oz—first in Australia and later in London—where his role as art director brought his kaleidoscopic poster designs and collages to an international audience. Sharp's creative output extended well beyond publishing: he produced album-cover art, paintings, screen prints, and film projects, collaborating with prominent musicians and cultural figures of the era. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his influence on graphic and psychedelic art is widely recognized. After decades split between London and Sydney, Sharp returned permanently to Australia, where he continued making art until his death in 2013. Collectors today encounter his work across a broad spectrum of media, from original paintings to iconic concert posters.

Psychedelic artPop artpaintingcollagescreen printingcartooningpsychedelic imagerypop culture iconsmusic and musician portraitscounterculture

Common works and media

Martin Sharp's output spans oil and acrylic paintings, collage, pen-and-ink cartoons, screen-printed posters, lithographs, mixed-media works, and short films. The most commonly encountered works at auction are screen-printed concert and cultural-event posters from the 1960s and 1970s, often featuring vivid psychedelic imagery, pop-culture portraiture, and surrealist compositions. Original collages, paintings on board or canvas, and preparatory drawings also appear, along with printed ephemera connected to Oz magazine and music-industry commissions.

Market and appraisal context

Martin Sharp's secondary market is well established, with 444 recorded auction lots—326 with realized prices—spanning from late 2000 through early 2026. The market is anchored in Australia, with the majority of activity flowing through Sydney- and Melbourne-area houses such as Lawsons, Leonard Joel, Raffan Kelaher & Thomas, and Shapiro Auctioneers. International presence is confirmed by Christie's, Swann Auction Galleries (New York), Sworders (UK), and Bamfords (UK), giving the market geographic breadth beyond Australia. Pricing is strongly tiered: screen prints and posters typically realize between AUD 200 and AUD 1,200, with editioned works from the Nimrod series and Oz-era posters forming the most liquid segment. Original paintings and lightbox constructions command significantly more—recent lightbox works realized AUD 3,400 and AUD 7,000 at Yarra Valley Auctions (September 2024), and the all-time high of AUD 288,000 indicates a top tier for major original works. The interquartile range of AUD 325–1,200 captures the accessible middle market. Liquidity is steady, with 10 lots recorded in each of the last two 12-month windows, suggesting consistent collector demand rather than speculative spikes.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • screen prints
  • posters (concert and cultural-event)
  • paintings
  • collage
  • lithographic prints

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Sharp's graphic style has been widely reproduced; authentication may require specialist review
  • Poster and print markets are sensitive to condition and edition details
  • The large volume of recorded lots (over 800) suggests a broadly distributed body of work across price ranges
  • Prices are denominated in AUD, GBP, and USD across the record set; currency conversion is required for cross-comparison and Appraisily does not normalize prices to a single currency.

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 Martin Sharp

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Martin Sharp 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 Martin Sharp artwork?

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