Raoul Ubac Auction Prices and Value Guide

Raoul Ubac auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,023 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Raoul Ubac auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Raoul Ubac
Source records
1,023
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Raoul Ubac

Raoul Ubac (born Rudolf Ubach, 1910–1985) was a Belgian painter, sculptor, photographer, engraver, and mosaicist who spent most of his career active in France. Born in Malmédy, Belgium, he became associated with the Surrealist movement, contributing photographic experiments during the 1930s and 1940s that explored dreamlike imagery and unconventional darkroom techniques. Later in his career, Ubac shifted toward painting, printmaking, sculpture, and large-scale mosaic work. His photographs from the Surrealist period are held in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. With over one thousand works documented across auction records, Ubac's output spans multiple media and decades, making him a recurring presence in post-war and Surrealist art sales.

Surrealismphotographypaintingsculptureprintmaking and engraving

Common works and media

Ubac is represented across a broad range of media. His photographic works from the 1930s and 1940s include experimental Surrealist images using techniques such as solarization and photomontage. Later output encompasses oil paintings, etchings and lithographs, sculptures, and large mosaic commissions. Graphic works and prints appear frequently in auction contexts, alongside a smaller volume of photographs and paintings.

Market and appraisal context

Raoul Ubac has a well-established auction footprint with 555 lots recorded since 2001, of which 259 carry realized prices. His work appears predominantly at French and Belgian houses—Artcurial, Tajan, Piasa, Cornette de Saint-Cyr, and Bernaerts Auctioneers—alongside periodic offerings at Christie's, confirming institutional-tier recognition. The price distribution is wide: the recorded range spans $20 at the low end to $300,000 at the high, with a median of $700 and a 75th percentile near $4,000. Lithographs, etchings, and other graphic works dominate recent offerings, typically realizing in the low hundreds of euros. The strongest recent result was €12,500 at Artcurial in April 2025, likely for a painting or significant work on paper. Exhibition posters from Galerie Maeght (1967) appear repeatedly at German regional houses, generally without published results. Liquidity has contracted: the most recent 12-month window records 22 lots versus 44 in the prior period, which may reflect reduced supply rather than demand softening for a deceased artist with a finite oeuvre.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Prints and multiples
  • Works on paper
  • Photographs
  • Paintings
  • Sculpture

Value drivers

  1. Medium — photographs, prints, paintings, and sculptures by Ubac each carry distinct market expectations
  2. Date — work from the Surrealist photography period (c. 1934–1945) may be more sought after
  3. Attribution — known aliases (Raoul Michelet, Rudolf Ubach) may appear on earlier works
  4. Medium — unique photographs and paintings from the Surrealist period generally command higher prices than later lithographs and prints; the recorded range of $20 to $300,000 reflects this hierarchy
  5. Period — works from the Surrealist photography period (c. 1934–1945) are more sought after than later abstract graphic output
  6. Edition — for prints and lithographs, edition size, numbering, and whether the impression is an artist's proof affect value; many Ubac lithographs appear in open or large editions at the low end

Appraisal caveats

  • No major auction-house source was available in this source pack; auction categories are inferred from documented mediums and museum holdings.
  • The German National Library lists a birth year of 1911 rather than 1910, which may appear on some cataloguing records.
  • Auction records show 555 total lots but only 259 with realized prices; many listings (especially posters and lower-tier prints) do not publish results, which may overrepresent unsold material in the unpriced set.
  • Lot titles mix currencies (EUR, USD, CHF); the Appraisily price statistics are derived from normalized data, but individual lot comparisons should account for currency and date of sale.

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 Raoul Ubac

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Raoul Ubac 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 Raoul Ubac artwork?

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