Samuel Bough Auction Prices and Value Guide

Samuel Bough auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,124 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Samuel Bough auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Samuel Bough
Source records
1,124
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Samuel Bough

Samuel Bough (1822–1878) was an English-born painter who built his reputation in Scotland as one of the leading landscape and marine artists of the Victorian era. Born in Carlisle, he moved north and spent much of his career in Edinburgh, where he became known for atmospheric coastal views, harbour scenes, and sweeping Scottish landscapes. He worked in both oil and watercolour, and his topographical subjects—particularly dramatic seascapes such as Bass Rock after a Storm—earned him recognition among contemporary collectors. The Tate, the National Galleries of Scotland, and other public collections hold examples of his work. Bough died in Edinburgh at the age of 56, leaving a substantial body of landscapes and marine paintings that continue to circulate on the art market.

Victorian-era British landscape paintingoil on canvaswatercolourmarine and coastal scenesScottish landscapestopographical viewsshipping and harbour scenes

Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Bough's oil paintings and watercolours depicting Scottish coastal scenes, harbours, shipping, and inland landscapes. Titles recorded in authority files include works such as The Bass Rock after a Storm, Baggage Waggons Approaching Carlisle, and Askham Mill. Marine subjects, topographical town views, and pastoral landscapes are all well represented in his output. Works on paper in watercolour or wash appear alongside larger canvases, and unsigned or lesser-documented sketches occasionally surface at regional auctions.

Market and appraisal context

Samuel Bough maintains a well-established secondary market with 111 recorded auction lots in the Appraisily dataset (64 with realised prices), spanning sales from 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide: realised prices range from approximately £45 at the low end to £73,892 at the top, with a median of £550 and an upper-quartile threshold near £2,040. This dispersion reflects the material divide between minor works on paper (watercolours, pencil sketches, pastels) and significant oil paintings of sought-after Scottish marine and coastal subjects. Major international houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams—have offered Bough works, alongside respected UK regional specialists such as Lyon & Turnbull, Roseberys, Chiswick Auctions, and John Nicholson's. Recent liquidity is modest but steady: three lots appeared in the trailing twelve months and one in the prior twelve months, indicating a consistent if low-volume market. The highest recent recorded price was USD 16,000 at Brunk Auctions (September 2023), likely for a substantial oil, while smaller watercolours and sketches routinely sell in the £130–£750 range.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil on canvas
  • oil on panel
  • watercolour
  • works on paper (pencil, ink, wash)

Value drivers

  1. Subject matter: dramatic coastal and marine subjects such as Bass Rock and Scottish harbour views are most sought after
  2. Medium: oil paintings command stronger prices than watercolours
  3. Provenance and exhibition history enhance value
  4. Condition and attribution should be verified; Bough's works span several decades and styles
  5. Medium: oil paintings on canvas or panel consistently command the highest prices; watercolours and works on paper trade at a significant discount
  6. Subject matter: Scottish marine scenes, harbour views, and coastal subjects (especially Bass Rock, Scottish fishing villages) are the most commercially desirable

Appraisal caveats

  • No catalogue raisonné is cited in available sources, making full authentication dependent on expert connoisseurship.
  • With 1,124 auction records in the Invaluable/Appraisily dataset, Bough appears frequently at auction, but realised prices can vary widely by size, medium, subject, and condition.
  • Of 111 recorded lots, only 64 carry realised prices; the remaining 47 either did not sell or the price was not reported, which limits the reliability of price-distribution statistics.
  • Recent annual volume is low (3 lots in the trailing twelve months, 1 in the prior twelve months), so median and percentile figures should be interpreted as long-run averages rather than current-market indicators.

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 Samuel Bough

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Samuel Bough 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 Samuel Bough artwork?

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