Xanthus Robert Smith Auction Prices and Value Guide

Xanthus Robert Smith auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 205 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Xanthus Robert Smith auction prices: quick answer

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

Artist
Xanthus Robert Smith
Source records
205
Market update
2026-02-16

Xanthus Robert Smith market snapshot

Xanthus Robert Smith shows thin auction liquidity with 1 tracked lots. Median realized sale is around $0. Category concentration is still broad or sparse. Last 12 months recorded 0 sales. Latest recorded sale: 2013-11-30.

Realized price distribution

  • Under $1,000 (0.0% · 0 sales)
  • $1,000 to $10,000 (0.0% · 0 sales)
  • $10,000+ (0.0% · 0 sales)
Median sale (last 12 months)
$0
Sales recorded (last 12 months)
0
Median shift vs prior year
0.0%
Latest recorded sale
2013-11-30

Artist context

About Xanthus Robert Smith

Xanthus Russell Smith (1839–1929) was an American painter celebrated for his marine subjects and detailed depictions of American Civil War naval engagements. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith established himself as one of the principal visual chroniclers of Civil War maritime conflict, producing paintings and illustrations that documented key naval battles, ironclad warships, and fleet actions of the 1860s. His work combines close documentary observation with compositional skill, making his paintings significant both as art and as historical records. Beyond military subjects, Smith painted coastal views, harbor scenes, and landscapes in the tradition of nineteenth-century American seascape painting. He is recorded in Bénézit's Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, the Witt Checklist of painters, and the Groce and Wallace biographical dictionary. With 205 documented auction appearances, his work surfaces regularly in the American painting market.

oil paintingwatercolorillustrationmarine and naval scenesAmerican Civil War battles and vesselslandscape

Common works and media

Smith's most frequently encountered works are oil paintings of Civil War naval engagements, particularly scenes featuring ironclad vessels and fleet battles. He also produced marine paintings of coastal and harbor views, landscape paintings, watercolors, and ink drawings. Illustrations for period publications documenting the war also appear in the market. Collectors may find works ranging from small watercolor studies to larger exhibition-scale oil canvases. Common subjects include warships, naval combat, seascapes, and Pennsylvania landscapes.

Market and appraisal context

Xanthus Russell Smith's paintings appear with consistent regularity at auction, reflecting sustained collector interest in Civil War–era American art. Values are influenced by medium and format, with oil paintings on canvas generally commanding more than watercolors or works on paper. Subject matter is a primary value driver: Civil War naval battle scenes and identifiable warship portraits are the most desirable. Provenance clarity, condition, and confirmed attribution also affect outcomes. Smith's work is referenced in standard scholarly dictionaries, which supports collector confidence. Auction results can vary widely depending on the historical specificity of the scene depicted and the overall quality of the composition.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Appraisal caveats

  • The artist's canonical name is Xanthus Russell Smith; the name 'Xanthus Robert Smith' does not appear in any authority file and may be a cataloging error that could affect search and attribution matching.
  • Smith's birth year is inconsistently recorded as both 1838 and 1839 across authority sources.
  • No major museum collection or catalogue raisonné source was available in this source pack; attribution claims should be verified against institutional records when possible.

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 Xanthus Robert Smith

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Xanthus Robert Smith 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 Xanthus Robert Smith artwork?

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