Noel Rockmore Auction Prices and Value Guide
Noel Rockmore auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 699 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Noel Rockmore auction prices: quick answer
Noel Rockmore auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Noel Rockmore
- Source records
- 699
- Market update
- 2026-02-16
Artist context
About Noel Rockmore
Noel Rockmore (1928–1995), born Noel Montgomery Davis in New York City, was an American painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. The son of noted illustrators Gladys Rockmore Davis and Floyd Davis, he grew up immersed in the art world and adopted the surname Rockmore early in his career. He is best known for his portraits, particularly the celebrated series depicting jazz musicians at New Orleans' Preservation Hall during the 1960s. Rockmore claimed a lifetime output exceeding 15,000 works spanning oil paintings, drawings, and sculpture. His early rise to prominence in the New York art scene, followed by his deep engagement with New Orleans musical culture, gives his work a distinctive cross-current of mid-century American portraiture and vernacular music history. Collectors most frequently encounter his portraits, figure studies, and jazz-themed compositions at auction.
oil paintingdrawingsculptureportraitsjazz musiciansNew Orleans culture
Common works and media
Collectors and appraisers may encounter Rockmore oil-on-canvas or board portraits, charcoal or ink figure drawings, and small-scale sculptures. The Preservation Hall jazz-musician series is the most widely recognized body of work. Other common subjects include portrait commissions, genre scenes, and figurative compositions. Works range from small studies on paper to larger exhibition-scale canvases.
Market and appraisal context
Noel Rockmore's work trades in an active, regionally concentrated secondary market centered on New Orleans auction houses. Appraisily auction records index 501 lots with 383 carrying realized prices, spanning sales from June 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide but accessible: realized prices range from $10 (small prints and pen-and-ink drawings) to $22,800, with a median of $768 and an interquartile spread of $366–$1,708. The market is liquid and accelerating—27 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window compared to 13 in the prior 12 months, roughly doubling turnover. The dominant venues are Neal Auction Company, New Orleans Auction Galleries, and Crescent City Auction Gallery, with additional appearances at St Charles Gallery, Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Toomey & Co., and regional houses such as EJ'S Auction & Appraisal and Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches. Swann Auction Galleries in New York has also offered Rockmore work, indicating some national reach beyond the Gulf South. Oil paintings—especially Preservation Hall jazz-musician subjects—command the strongest prices: a Neal Auction offering of "Billie and DeDe Pierce of Preservation Hall" (oil on masonite) realized $4,687 in January 2026, and Swann sold "Jury No. 1" (1981) for $3,810 in September 2025. Works on paper, prints, and small pen-and-ink drawings typically trade below $500. Mixed-media and collage-on-canvas compositions have realized in the $487–$1,062 range.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- oil painting
- drawing
- watercolor
- pastel
- mixed media
Value drivers
- Provenance and attribution: Rockmore was prolific and works vary in quality; authentication matters
- Subject: Preservation Hall jazz-musician portraits carry strongest collector recognition
- Medium: paintings, drawings, and sculptures all appear at auction; condition and medium affect value
- Volume: claimed output of 15,000+ works means many pieces circulate and scarcity may vary by period
- Subject: Preservation Hall jazz-musician portraits carry the strongest collector recognition and highest realized prices ($3,810–$4,687 in recent sales)
- Medium and scale: larger oil-on-canvas and oil-on-masonite works outperform works on paper, prints, and pen-and-ink drawings by a wide margin
Appraisal caveats
- No museum-grade catalogue raisonné was identified in the source pack; attribution and dating should be corroborated.
- The claimed body of 15,000+ works means the market includes a wide range of quality and subjects.
- No published catalogue raisonné has been identified; attribution and dating cannot be verified against an authoritative reference and should be corroborated by expert review.
- Rockmore claimed a lifetime output exceeding 15,000 works. The market includes a very wide range of quality, period, and subject, and not all works will carry significant value.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- Library of Congress library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Getty Vocabulary Program library authority
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
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 Noel Rockmore 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 Noel Rockmore artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.