William Etty Auction Prices and Value Guide
William Etty auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,091 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.
William Etty auction prices: quick answer
William Etty auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.
- Artist
- William Etty
- Source records
- 1,091
- Market update
- 2026-02-06
William Etty market snapshot
William Etty shows deep auction liquidity with 154 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $1,900. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 6 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2026-01-28.
Realized price distribution
- Under $1,000 (33.3% · 35 sales)
- $1,000 to $10,000 (57.1% · 60 sales)
- $10,000+ (9.5% · 10 sales)
- Median sale (last 12 months)
- $650
- Sales recorded (last 12 months)
- 6
- Median shift vs prior year
- 0.0%
- Latest recorded sale
- 2026-01-28
Artist context
About William Etty
William Etty (1787–1849) was an English painter born in York who became the first major British artist to specialize in nude figure painting. After a seven-year apprenticeship as a printer in Hull, he moved to London and enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools in 1807, where he studied under Sir Thomas Lawrence and honed his skill by copying old-master works. Etty gained recognition for his ability to render flesh tones with striking realism, producing historical and classical compositions that drew on mythological and literary subjects. Although his early career brought limited commercial success, his large-scale figure paintings eventually earned him a prominent place in nineteenth-century British art. He worked in both London and Rome and remained active until his death in York in 1849. Today his work is held by major institutions including Tate and is represented in over a thousand auction records.
British Romantic paintingBritish Academic artOil paintingNude figuresHistorical and classical subjectsStill lifes
Common works and media
Etty worked primarily in oil on canvas. His most characteristic works are large-scale historical and mythological paintings featuring nude or partially draped figures in classical settings. He also produced still-life paintings, figure studies, preparatory oil sketches, and drawings. Subjects range from biblical and literary narratives to allegorical scenes and life-drawing studies. Works encountered at auction include finished exhibition pieces, smaller cabinet paintings, studio studies, and occasional prints after his compositions.
Market and appraisal context
William Etty's auction market is active and well distributed. Over 25 years of recorded sales, 166 lots have appeared across major and regional houses, with 118 carrying realized prices. The market is anchored by top-tier firms—Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams—alongside respected British and European specialists including Dreweatts 1759, Sloane Street Auctions, Kunsthaus Lempertz, and Roseberys. The price range is wide: the dataset floor is $50 for small studies and the ceiling reaches $66,000 for significant exhibition-scale oils. The interquartile spread ($650–$3,528) reflects a market dominated by mid-value works—figure studies, preparatory sketches, and smaller cabinet paintings—while finished classical compositions with strong provenance trade well above the median. Recent activity is stable at 8–9 lots per year, suggesting consistent but modest liquidity. The highest recent recorded price is £14,000 for a portrait of the actor William Charles Macready sold at Dreweatts in February 2025, followed by €10,000 for a sleeping female nude at Lempertz in November 2023. Attribution qualifiers ("attr.", studio, or study) appear frequently in lot descriptions and correlate with lower price tiers.
Auction categories and appraisal factors
Common auction categories
- Old Master & British Paintings
- Oil painting
- Works on Paper
- British Art
Value drivers
- Subject matter: historical and mythological scenes with nude figures are his most recognized works
- Provenance: works with documented exhibition history at the Royal Academy or other institutional venues carry stronger attribution
- Condition and medium: oil on canvas is the primary medium; condition reports and restoration history are material factors
- Attribution: Etty trained by copying old masters, so distinguishing original compositions from copies after other artists is important
- Work type: finished exhibition-scale oils of classical nudes, historical subjects, or named portraits command the highest prices; preparatory studies, life drawings, and copies after other artists trade at a fraction
- Medium: oil on canvas carries the strongest market; watercolor, ink, and charcoal studies sell in the lower range (typically $100–$650)
Appraisal caveats
- Etty's output includes studies, sketches, and copies after other artists alongside finished exhibition pieces; auction identity should be confirmed case by case.
- No comprehensive catalogue raisonné is referenced in the available sources; attribution verification may require specialist consultation.
- No comprehensive catalogue raisonné is referenced in the available sources; attribution verification may require specialist consultation, particularly for works not documented in museum collections
- Etty trained by copying old masters and produced copies alongside original compositions; distinguishing autograph originals from copies after other artists requires connoisseurship
Evidence
Sources for artist context
This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History) library authority
- Library of Congress library authority
- VIAF library authority
- Tate museum or university
- Wikidata library authority
- Wikipedia wikipedia
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.
Artist value FAQ
How much is William Etty 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 William Etty artwork?
Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.