Peter Hujar Auction Prices and Value Guide
Peter Hujar auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 170 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
Peter Hujar auction prices: quick answer
Peter Hujar auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- Peter Hujar
- Source records
- 170
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
Peter Hujar market snapshot
Peter Hujar shows solid auction liquidity with 135 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $9,500. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 10 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-11.
Realized price distribution
- Under $1,000 (3.6% · 4 sales)
- $1,000 to $10,000 (48.2% · 54 sales)
- $10,000+ (48.2% · 54 sales)
- Median sale (last 12 months)
- $4,750
- Sales recorded (last 12 months)
- 10
- Median shift vs prior year
- 0.0%
- Latest recorded sale
- 2025-12-11
Artist context
About Peter Hujar
Born
1934
Died
1987
Nationality
American
Peter Hujar (1934–1987) was an American photographer closely associated with the Downtown New York City art scene. He is particularly known for black-and-white portraiture and for an attentive approach that allowed sitters to appear psychologically present rather than conventionally posed. Although his photography circulated within New York's creative community, museum accounts note that it remained relatively little known beyond that milieu during his lifetime. His reputation expanded considerably after his death. Hujar published the photobook Portraits in Life and Death in 1976, an important reference point within his documented body of work. Collectors may encounter his photographs as individual prints, portraits of identified or unidentified sitters, or images connected to published and exhibited contexts. His combination of formal restraint, close observation, and ties to Downtown New York culture has made accurate identification of the image, subject, date, and publication history important when researching a work attributed to him.
PhotographyBlack-and-white photographyPhotographic portraiturePortraits and individual sittersPeople associated with Hujar's Downtown New York milieu
Common works and media
Works encountered in collection and auction contexts are primarily photographs, especially black-and-white portraits. Cataloging may identify a sitter, title, image date, or relationship to Hujar's Downtown New York milieu and his 1976 photobook Portraits in Life and Death. The source pack does not support assuming a specific edition, print date, or production history for an unidentified print.
Market and appraisal context
A Peter Hujar appraisal should distinguish the underlying photograph from the particular physical print being examined. Useful research points include the identified sitter or subject, documented title and image date, and any connection to Portraits in Life and Death or another established publication or exhibition context. Comparable public auction records are most informative when they concern the same image or a closely related photograph. The collected sources do not establish the edition, printing date, provenance, condition, or sale history of any individual object, so those details require print-specific documentation and inspection. Artist-level auction records should therefore be treated as context rather than as an automatic valuation.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- Photographs
- Black-and-white portrait photographs
Value drivers
- Identification of the sitter or subject and the photograph's documented title or date
- Documented relationship to Hujar's published corpus, including Portraits in Life and Death
- Comparable public auction records for the same image or closely related photographs
Appraisal caveats
- Artist identity alone does not establish the value of a particular print; the physical object and its documentation require individual review.
- The collected source pack does not provide sale-level descriptions, realized prices, edition information, printing dates, provenance, or condition reports for specific lots.
- No price trend or future-value conclusion can be supported from this source pack.
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- The Museum of Modern Art museum or university
- Wikidata library authority
- IdRef library authority
- Tate museum or university
- Getty Vocabulary Program 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 Peter Hujar 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 Peter Hujar artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.