Milton Avery Auction Prices and Value Guide

Milton Avery auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,944 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Milton Avery auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Milton Avery
Source records
1,944
Market update
2026-02-06

Milton Avery market snapshot

Milton Avery shows very deep auction liquidity with 926 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $9,000. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 53 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-19.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (10.4% · 74 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (40.5% · 288 sales)
  • $10,000+ (49.1% · 349 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$3,780
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
53
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-12-19

Artist context

About Milton Avery

Milton Avery portrait
Sally Michel · CC0 · Source

Born

1885

Died

1965

Nationality

American

Also known as

Milton Clark Avery

Milton Clark Avery (1885–1965) was an American painter active principally in New York and an independent figure in American modern art. His paintings translate observed subjects into flattened areas of carefully balanced color bounded by fluid, economical contours. Avery remained committed to recognizable imagery even as his later compositions became increasingly broad and abstract in appearance. Landscapes and beach scenes were recurring subjects, alongside figures, portraits, animals, and interiors. His color-centered approach developed outside the dominant naturalistic styles of his earlier contemporaries and later attracted the attention of younger American painters, including his friend Mark Rothko. Collectors encounter Avery through paintings, drawings, watercolors, gouaches, prints, and other works on paper. The range of media, dates, dimensions, subjects, and degrees of finish makes careful object-level identification essential when comparing an attributed work with museum examples or public auction records.

American modern paintingRepresentational modernism approaching abstraction in later workPaintingDrawingGouache and watercolorWorks on paper and printsLandscapesBeach scenesFigures, portraits, animals, and interiors

Common works and media

Auction and appraisal contexts commonly include Avery's paintings and works on paper, particularly landscapes, beach scenes, figures, portraits, animals, and interiors. Drawings, watercolors, gouaches, prints, and editions may also appear. His later representational works can be highly simplified and may initially look abstract, making the medium, date, inscriptions, provenance, and physical construction important to identification and comparison.

Market and appraisal context

Milton Avery has an established public auction history across paintings, drawings, prints, and other works on paper. An appraisal should begin with comparable works that align in medium, dimensions, date, subject, and position within the artist's career. Condition, restoration, surface quality, signature or inscriptions, edition information, provenance, exhibition history, catalogue references, and attribution confidence may all affect comparability. Broad market summaries should not be treated as predictions for an individual object. Auction reports can use different fee conventions, while private sales and incomplete feeds may be absent. Strong conclusions therefore require inspection of the specific work and careful comparison with recent, well-documented public sales.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Fine art and paintings
  • Works on paper and prints
  • Editions and other multiples

Value drivers

  1. Medium, dimensions, date, and period within Avery's career
  2. Condition, restoration history, and surface quality
  3. Signature, inscriptions, edition details, and attribution confidence
  4. Provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue references
  5. Comparable public auction sales for works similar in medium, size, date, and subject
  6. Subject matter, rarity, and observed market demand

Appraisal caveats

  • Public auction records provide comparison points rather than a final appraisal; the Appraisily source notes that private sales and incomplete auction feeds may not be represented. Source: https://appraisily.com/artist/milton-avery/
  • Reported auction totals may include buyer premiums or fees under differing conventions, so comparisons should use like-for-like figures. Source: https://appraisily.com/artist/milton-avery/
  • Authentication, attribution, and condition can materially affect an individual result. Source: https://appraisily.com/artist/milton-avery/

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 Milton Avery

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Milton Avery 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 Milton Avery artwork?

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