Otto Pilny Auction Prices and Value Guide

Otto Pilny auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 208 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Otto Pilny auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Otto Pilny
Source records
208
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Otto Pilny

Otto Pilny (1866–1936) was a Swiss painter of Czech origin who became one of the more recognizable European Orientalists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born on 28 June 1866, he spent formative years in Prague before traveling to Egypt between 1875 and 1878 — journeys that defined his artistic direction. By 1885 he had settled in Zürich, where he established a career painting richly detailed genre scenes set in North Africa and the Middle East. Pilny's compositions typically feature bustling Egyptian street life, desert encampments, and encounters between Bedouin figures and European travelers, rendered with the warm palette and narrative detail characteristic of the Orientalist tradition. He is listed in the Bénézit dictionary of painters and the Schweizerisches Künstler-Lexikon, confirming his recognized place in Swiss art history.

Orientalismoil paintingOrientalist genre scenesEgyptian street and desert scenesBedouin and North African figures

Common works and media

Pilny primarily produced oil paintings on canvas. His most commonly seen subjects include Egyptian street and market scenes, desert caravans, Bedouin encampments, and figurative genre compositions set in imagined or observed North African settings. Single-figure studies and smaller cabinet-format paintings also appear at auction. Works on paper or panel are less common but do surface occasionally. Editioned prints or reproductions are not a documented part of his output.

Market and appraisal context

Otto Pilny's work appears regularly at auction, with over 200 recorded lots in major databases. Collectors most frequently encounter his Orientalist genre paintings — typically oil on canvas depictions of Egyptian or North African scenes with multiple figures. Appraisal of a Pilny painting should consider the complexity of the composition, canvas dimensions, condition (including any lining or restoration), provenance documentation, and the presence of a legible signature. Comparable realized prices from recent Orientalist art sales at major houses provide the most reliable benchmark. Because no catalogue raisonné has been published, attribution questions benefit from specialist review.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Appraisal caveats

  • Pilny is a well-represented artist in auction databases (208+ recorded lots), but no published catalogue raisonné is referenced in available sources, making definitive attribution without expert review difficult.
  • Orientalist painting values are sensitive to collector taste and subject matter. Prices for Pilny's work should be assessed against comparable realized auction results for similar-sized and themed Orientalist paintings by Swiss and Central European contemporaries.
  • The exact day and month of death are not confirmed in the source pack; only the year 1936 is consistently recorded.

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 Otto Pilny

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Otto Pilny 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 Otto Pilny artwork?

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