Moses Soyer Auction Prices and Value Guide

Moses Soyer auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,270 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Moses Soyer auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Moses Soyer
Source records
1,270
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Moses Soyer

Moses Soyer (1899-1974) was a Russian-born American painter recognized as a leading figure in the Social Realist movement. Emigrating to the United States in his youth, Soyer studied at the National Academy of Design and the Ferrer Art School in New York. He became known for empathetic depictions of everyday urban life, figurative compositions, and portraits that captured the character of working people and artists around him. Soyer's twin brother, Raphael Soyer, was also a prominent painter, and the two brothers are often discussed together as central figures in twentieth-century American realist painting. Moses Soyer's work is held in major museum collections, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York. His papers from 1937 through 1965 are archived at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art.

Social RealismOil paintingWorks on paperFigurative compositionsPortraits

Common works and media

Moses Soyer worked primarily in oil on canvas and on paper. His subjects include figurative scenes of urban workers, dancers, artists in their studios, and portraits of family and friends. He also produced drawings and prints. Collectors most frequently encounter mid-sized oil paintings and works on paper from the 1930s through the 1960s at auction.

Market and appraisal context

Moses Soyer maintains an active and well-documented secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 724 total lots with 503 carrying realized prices, spanning from January 1999 through May 2026. The price distribution is wide but informative: the 25th percentile sits at $150, the median at $500, and the 75th percentile at $1,400, with a recorded maximum of $22,500. This dispersion reflects the broad range of media Soyer produced — prints and lithographs cluster at the low end ($20–$225), while signed oil paintings of signature subjects such as dancers and nudes regularly reach $1,200–$6,350 at houses like Christie's and Swann Auction Galleries. Forty lots appeared in the trailing twelve months, down from 57 in the prior period, suggesting a modest contraction in supply but continued steady liquidity. Major houses handling Soyer include Christie's, Heritage Auctions, Swann Auction Galleries, DuMouchelles, and Millea Bros Ltd, alongside numerous regional auctioneers.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Oil painting
  • Works on paper
  • Prints and lithographs
  • Pastels and drawings

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Over 1,200 lots attributed to Moses Soyer have appeared at auction, indicating a broad and active secondary market with wide price variation
  • Works should be distinguished from those of his twin brother Raphael Soyer, also a well-known painter
  • RKD records an alternate birth year of 1898, which may appear in older catalogue entries
  • [object Object]

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 Moses Soyer

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Moses Soyer 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 Moses Soyer artwork?

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