Robert Combas Auction Prices and Value Guide

Robert Combas auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 2,440 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Robert Combas auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Robert Combas
Source records
2,440
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Robert Combas

Robert Combas is a French painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Lyon on 25 May 1957. He grew up in the Mediterranean port city of Sète and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in both Montpellier and Paris, graduating in 1978. Combas emerged publicly around 1980 in a French art scene then dominated by conceptual practice, introducing a vividly figurative, emotionally direct style that drew on rock music, comic books, graphic signage, and North-African street decoration he observed in Sète. After moving to Paris in 1981, critic Bernard Lamarche-Vadel presented his work alongside Hervé di Rosa, Rémy Blanchard, and François Boisrond in the exhibition "Finir en beauté." The artist Ben later coined the term Figuration Libre for this loosely affiliated group, whose energetic, color-saturated painting attracted wide media attention throughout the 1980s. Combas has since expanded far beyond that initial label, building a complex body of work across painting, sculpture, and ceramics that merges high and popular culture without hierarchy.

Figuration Librepaintingsculptureceramicspopular culture and rock imageryfigurative narrative scenes

Common works and media

Combas is most frequently encountered in appraisal and auction contexts as a painter working in acrylic or oil on both traditional canvas and unconventional supports including found cardboard and recycled materials. His sculptures range from small ceramic pieces to large-scale painted constructions. Prints and multiples — often screenprints or lithographs in bold color — circulate widely and account for a significant portion of secondary-market appearances. Common subjects include densely populated figurative narratives, mythological and religious tableaux, portraits, and scenes inspired by rock culture and comic-book visual language.

Market and appraisal context

Robert Combas has a deep and well-documented secondary market spanning more than two decades, with 1,879 auction lots tracked by Appraisily and 1,206 carrying realized prices. His auction history runs from June 1999 through April 2026, reflecting sustained and regular turnover. The price distribution is wide but informative: the 25th percentile sits at €1,300, the median at €4,800, and the 75th percentile at €24,000, with a recorded maximum of €420,000. This dispersion reflects the breadth of his output — editioned prints and small works on paper trade in the hundreds to low thousands of euros, while significant paintings from the 1980s Figuration Libre period and large-scale mixed-media constructions regularly achieve five-figure results, with exceptional pieces reaching six figures. The French auction circuit dominates: Artcurial, Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Piasa, Tajan, Aguttes, and Millon & Associés account for the majority of lots. Christie's also appears among the top ten houses. International exposure is present but limited; a notable recent result was $70,000 USD achieved at Los Angeles Modern Auctions in February 2026 for a painting titled "Phillibert se prend pour une plante a fleurs." Auction volume has contracted noticeably, with 71 priced lots in the most recent 12-month window compared to 186 in the prior 12 months, which may reflect broader market softening, consignment timing, or a shift toward gallery and direct sales.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Post-War and Contemporary Art
  • Prints and Multiples
  • Contemporary Sculpture
  • Ceramics

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Market context is inferred from the artist's known output and auction-house categories; no specific realized prices were available in the source pack
  • Combas has used unconventional supports (recuperated materials, cardboard) which can complicate condition assessment and conservation
  • All price data is derived from the Appraisily auction record index sourced from public auction feeds; private sales, gallery prices, and dealer asking prices are not reflected.
  • The reported price distribution (minimum €10, maximum €420,000) spans all media and dates; meaningful comparables require filtering by medium, period, and scale.

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 Robert Combas

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Robert Combas 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 Robert Combas artwork?

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