William Pierce Stubbs Auction Prices and Value Guide

William Pierce Stubbs auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 294 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

William Pierce Stubbs auction prices: quick answer

William Pierce Stubbs auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
William Pierce Stubbs
Source records
294
Market update
2026-02-16

William Pierce Stubbs market snapshot

William Pierce Stubbs shows deep auction liquidity with 175 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $4,500. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 9 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2025-09-19.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (2.8% · 4 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (85.5% · 124 sales)
  • $10,000+ (11.7% · 17 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$2,750
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
9
Median shift vs prior year
+10.0%
Latest recorded sale
2025-09-19

Artist context

About William Pierce Stubbs

William Pierce Stubbs (1842–1909) was an American marine painter active in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the second half of the 19th century. Born in Bucksport, Maine, Stubbs specialized in ship portraits and maritime scenes, a genre with strong regional demand in New England's port cities. He shared a Boston studio with fellow marine painter Wesley Webber, placing him within a circle of commercially successful maritime artists working in the city. His paintings are held by the Bostonian Society, the Cape Ann Museum, and the Peabody Essex Museum, institutions with significant American maritime collections. Stubbs died in Medfield, Massachusetts, in 1909. He is recorded in the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, and the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD).

19th-century American marine paintingoil on canvasshipsharborsmaritime scenes

Common works and media

Stubbs' most commonly encountered works are oil-on-canvas ship portraits depicting individual sailing vessels, often shown in coastal or harbor settings. These paintings typically feature detailed renderings of rigging, hulls, and flags set against open water or port backgrounds. Marine subjects dominate his known output. Works may be signed "W.P. Stubbs" or "William P. Stubbs." Smaller harbor scenes and coastal views also appear in auction records, though less frequently than full ship portraits.

Market and appraisal context

William Pierce Stubbs' works appear at auction primarily as ship portraits and coastal maritime scenes in oil on canvas. Collectors should consider the specificity of the vessel depicted, the accuracy of rigging and hull detail, overall condition, and provenance when evaluating a Stubbs painting. Institutional holdings at the Cape Ann Museum and Peabody Essex Museum provide useful comparable references. Because no published catalogue raisonné is known, attribution of unsigned or poorly documented works should be approached carefully and supported by expert opinion.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Value drivers

  1. Subject matter: ship portraits and harbor scenes are the most commonly encountered works
  2. Attribution: works are signed W.P. Stubbs or William P. Stubbs; unsigned works require provenance documentation
  3. Institutional holdings: works in the Bostonian Society, Cape Ann Museum, and Peabody Essex Museum support long-term collectibility

Appraisal caveats

  • Marine painting from this period has a wide quality range; condition, detail of rigging, and vessel identification affect value significantly.
  • No catalogue raisonné is referenced in available sources, making attribution without strong provenance difficult to confirm.

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 William Pierce Stubbs

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is William Pierce Stubbs 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 Pierce Stubbs artwork?

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