Sean Scully Auction Prices and Value Guide

Sean Scully auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,097 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Sean Scully auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Sean Scully
Source records
1,097
Market update
2026-02-16

Sean Scully market snapshot

Sean Scully shows very deep auction liquidity with 708 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $7,500. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 33 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-12-07.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (4.9% · 27 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (48.6% · 266 sales)
  • $10,000+ (46.4% · 254 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$10,795
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
33
Median shift vs prior year
+96.3%
Latest recorded sale
2025-12-07

Artist context

About Sean Scully

Sean Scully is an Irish-born American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and photographer recognized as one of the most influential abstract painters of his generation. Born in Dublin in 1945, he grew up in London before relocating to New York in 1975. Scully became an American citizen in 1983. His work is defined by rhythmic compositions of stripes and layered blocks of color that move beyond the austerity of Minimalism toward what critics have described as emotional or spiritual abstraction. Twice nominated for the Turner Prize, Scully has exhibited widely and his paintings, prints, and works in other media are held in major museum collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate in London, and many others. Collectors encounter his work regularly at international auction.

Abstract PaintingPost-MinimalismOil paintingPrintmakingSculpturePhotographyAbstract stripes and bands

Common works and media

Scully's most commonly encountered works at auction include oil paintings on canvas and linen featuring his characteristic bands and blocks of color, aquatint and etching prints, lithographs, works on paper in watercolor or pastel, photographs, and occasional sculptural pieces. Prints often appear in signed and numbered editions. Collectors may also find artist books, portfolios, and exhibition posters associated with his extensive exhibition history.

Market and appraisal context

Sean Scully has a deep, well-established auction footprint with 740 recorded lots and 574 priced results spanning from June 1999 through May 2026. His market is anchored by major-tier houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips — which regularly offer large-scale oil paintings that achieve the strongest prices. Mid-tier and regional houses including Morgan O'Driscoll, Whyte's, Adam's, Artcurial, Bonhams, Rago Arts and Auction Center, and Piasa contribute consistent volume in prints, works on paper, and smaller paintings, reflecting broad geographic demand across the US, UK, Ireland, France, and Germany. Price dispersion is very wide: the recorded range runs from $20 for minor prints or posters to $11,000,000 for a museum-scale painting. The interquartile range ($3,000–$62,500) and median ($7,200) indicate that most lots fall in the accessible mid-market, while large oils at top houses reach into six and seven figures. Liquidity remains steady, with 39 lots in the most recent 12 months and 42 in the prior period, showing no significant softening in volume.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Oil painting
  • Printmaking
  • Works on paper
  • Photography
  • Sculpture

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Market values depend heavily on size, medium, date, condition, and provenance of the individual work.
  • The auction record should be consulted for comparable lots; generalized statements about price levels are not a substitute for lot-specific research.
  • [object Object]

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 Sean Scully

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Sean Scully 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 Sean Scully artwork?

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