Peter Scott Auction Prices and Value Guide

Peter Scott auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 424 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Peter Scott auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Peter Scott
Source records
424
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Peter Scott

Sir Peter Markham Scott (1909–1989) was a British painter, illustrator, conservationist, and broadcaster celebrated for his depictions of wildfowl and wildlife. Born in London, he was the only child of the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Scott developed an early fascination with observing and painting birds, an interest that shaped both his artistic output and his lifelong work in conservation. He founded the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge and was instrumental in establishing the World Wildlife Fund, for which he designed its iconic panda logo. As a painter, Scott worked primarily in oils and watercolours, focusing on bird scenes and natural-history subjects drawn from direct field observation. His dual reputation as a serious wildlife artist and a prominent public conservation figure gives his work enduring appeal among collectors of British sporting and natural-history art.

British wildlife and sporting art traditionOil paintingWatercolourIllustration and drawingBirds and wildfowlWildlife and natural history

Common works and media

Peter Scott's most commonly encountered works are oil paintings and watercolours of wildfowl, shorebirds, and other bird species in their natural habitats. He also produced ink and pencil drawings, book illustrations — particularly for natural-history and conservation publications — and limited-edition prints reproducing his bird studies. Occasionally his landscape paintings featuring wetland or coastal settings appear at auction. His published illustrations for books on ornithology and wildlife conservation are widely held in institutional collections.

Market and appraisal context

Appraisily auction records index 92 lots attributed to 'Peter Scott', of which 58 carry a realised price, spanning April 2003 to May 2025. The price distribution is wide: the lowest-priced recorded lots (signed books and prints) realised around £10–£50, the interquartile range sits roughly at £60–£1,800, and the highest individual price in the dataset is £12,000 paid at Bonhams in September 2024 for the oil painting 'Swans at sunset'. Other notable prices include £2,750 at Doyle (May 2024), $2,600 at Cottone Auctions (March 2022), and A$1,800 at GFL Fine Art (November 2021). The median price across all priced lots is approximately £275 / $275. Oil paintings of wildfowl subjects command the strongest results; watercolours, lithographs, and limited-edition prints typically fall in the lower range. Signed books and ephemera cluster at the bottom. Liquidity is moderate: 7 lots appeared in the year ending May 2024 but only 1 in the most recent 12-month window, suggesting that quality consignments appear intermittently rather than in a steady stream. Major houses handling his work include Bonhams, Christie's, and Forum Auctions in the UK, alongside Cottone Auctions, Doyle, and Turner Auctions in the US, and GFL Fine Art in Australia.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Oil painting
  • Watercolour
  • Illustration and drawing
  • Prints and multiples
  • Books and ephemera

Value drivers

  1. Medium: original oil paintings command significantly higher prices than watercolours, prints, or book illustrations.
  2. Subject: wildfowl and bird subjects (particularly swans, geese, and ducks in flight or at wetland settings) attract the strongest collector demand.
  3. Size: larger compositions tend to realise higher prices; small works and prints cluster at the lower end.
  4. Provenance: works with documented exhibition history, gallery labels, or estate provenance linking them to Sir Peter Markham Scott carry a premium.
  5. Condition: as with all works on canvas and paper, condition reports materially affect realised price.
  6. Signature and dating: signed and dated works provide stronger attribution confidence than unsigned lots.

Appraisal caveats

  • Peter Scott is best known as a conservationist and broadcaster rather than a prolific fine artist, so the volume and range of his painted output is more limited than artists who painted full-time.
  • Collectors should verify attribution carefully, as the name 'Peter Scott' is shared by multiple artists and makers across different periods and mediums.
  • Market data for wildlife and sporting art can be narrow; comparable auction results should be consulted for up-to-date valuation guidance.
  • The name 'Peter Scott' is shared by multiple artists and makers. At least one recent lot (Strauss & Co, May 2025) relates to a Johannesburg jeweller, and another (William Bunch Auctions, June 2020) appears to be by an American painter active in 1999. Auction-house data is not always disambiguated, so lot-level attribution review is essential.

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 Peter Scott

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Peter Scott 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 Scott artwork?

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