Matthew Barney Auction Prices and Value Guide
Matthew Barney auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 370 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Matthew Barney auction prices: quick answer
Matthew Barney auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Matthew Barney
- Source records
- 370
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
Artist context
About Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney (born 1967, San Francisco) is an American contemporary artist whose practice spans sculpture, film, photography, drawing, and performance. He is best known for The Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002), a five-part film series that interweaves biological, geological, and mythological narratives into an expansive meditation on creation and transformation. His long-running Drawing Restraint series, begun in 1987, uses self-imposed physical resistance as a generative principle for mark-making. Later projects — including Drawing Restraint 9 (2005), River of Fundament (2014), and Redoubt (2018) — continue his engagement with landscape, ritual, and the body as sites of artistic inquiry. Barney's work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate in London, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and other major international institutions. Active primarily in New York since 1989, he remains a central figure in contemporary art discourse.
Contemporary artBody art / Performance artSculptureFilm and videoPhotographyDrawingMythology and ritualHuman body and physical transformationGeology and landscapeGender and sexuality
Common works and media
Collectors most frequently encounter Barney's work in the form of gelatin silver and chromogenic photographs (often related to his film projects), cast-sculpture multiples in resin, plastic, and metal, drawings from the ongoing Drawing Restraint series, and editioned prints. Film installations — particularly elements from The Cremaster Cycle — do appear at auction but are less common and require specialized condition assessment. Sculptural objects combining petroleum jelly, tapioca, and other unconventional materials are also characteristic of his practice and warrant careful condition review.
Market and appraisal context
Matthew Barney's auction presence includes sculpture, unique and editioned photographs, works on paper, prints, and film-related installations. Works associated with The Cremaster Cycle tend to attract the strongest collector interest at auction. Key factors in appraisal include medium, edition number and size, provenance documentation, exhibition history, and condition — especially for sculptural components and video installations requiring playback equipment. Barney's institutional holdings at MoMA, Tate, and the Guggenheim provide a strong provenance benchmark. Collectors should note that large-scale installations and film works appear infrequently on the secondary market, which can make comparable-sale pricing less straightforward than for prints or photographs.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Appraisal caveats
- Auction results for Barney's work vary widely by medium and edition size; film installations and large-scale sculptures are infrequent at auction and may not reflect general price levels.
- The source pack does not include specific realized-price auction records; collectors should consult live auction databases for current comparable-sale data.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
- Getty Vocabulary Program library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
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.
Artist value FAQ
How much is Matthew Barney 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 Matthew Barney artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.