# Alberto Sughi artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/alberto-sughi/
Profile generated: 2026-05-10T11:55:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1928-10-05
- Death date: 2012-03-31
- Nationality: Italian
- Common media: oil on canvas, works on paper, graphic works / prints

## About Alberto Sughi

Alberto Sughi (1928–2012) was an Italian painter born in Cesena and later based in Bologna. Active from the mid-twentieth century through the 2000s, he worked primarily in oil on canvas, producing figurative compositions alongside landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and nudes. His paintings are held in public collections in Italy and abroad, and he maintained an active exhibition career documented by the Archivio Sughi on his official estate website. A catalogue raisonné of his graphic works was published by Silvana Editoriale. Sughi's figurative output places him within the broader current of post-war Italian realist and expressionist painting, though his work resists easy categorization under a single movement label. He died in Bologna on 31 March 2012 at the age of 83. Collectors encounter his paintings regularly at European auctions, with over four hundred documented lots.

## Common works and media

Sughi worked in oil on canvas, watercolor, and works on paper including drawings and prints. His subjects encompass figurative compositions, landscapes, still lifes, portraits, genre scenes, and nudes. His catalogue raisonné covers his graphic output (opera grafica). Collectors may encounter both large-scale exhibition paintings and smaller studio works, as well as editioned prints, at auction.

## Market and appraisal context

Alberto Sughi maintains an active and well-documented secondary market with 274 recorded auction lots, 147 of which carry realized prices. His auction footprint spans from April 2004 through April 2026, with steady liquidity—24 lots in the trailing 12 months and 28 in the prior period. The market is overwhelmingly concentrated at Italian regional auction houses, with Felima Art Casa D'Aste, Pananti Casa D'Aste, Finarte, ArtLaRosa, and Casa d'aste ARCADIA appearing most frequently in recent results. Prices are denominated in EUR and show wide dispersion: the recorded range is €40–€9,000, with a median of €700 and an interquartile range of €150–€2,500. This dispersion largely reflects the medium divide. Small works on paper, café scenes, and prints routinely sell between €40 and €150 at houses like Felima, while larger oil-on-canvas figurative compositions from the 1960s–1980s achieve €1,500–€4,800 at established houses such as Pananti, Finarte, and Colasanti. The strongest recent results include 'Il ballo' at €4,800 (Pananti, February 2026), an untitled work at €4,600 (Colasanti, November 2025), 'Bella bocca e occhi miei verdi, 1963' at €3,000 (Finarte, December 2025), and 'Caffè' at €3,000 (Mediartrade, December 2025). Landscape and still-life oils from the 1970s–1990s cluster in the €1,500–€2,000 range. The market is liquid but predominantly domestic; international exposure is limited, with occasional German appearances (Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen, Düsseldorf).

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Alberto Sughi maintains an active and well-documented secondary market with 274 recorded auction lots, 147 of which carry realized prices. His auction footprint spans from April 2004 through April 2026, with steady liquidity—24 lots in the trailing 12 months and 28 in the prior period. The market is overwhelmingly concentrated at Italian regional auction houses, with Felima Art Casa D'Aste, Pananti Casa D'Aste, Finarte, ArtLaRosa, and Casa d'aste ARCADIA appearing most frequently in recent results. Prices are denominated in EUR and show wide dispersion: the recorded range is €40–€9,000, with a median of €700 and an interquartile range of €150–€2,500. This dispersion largely reflects the medium divide. Small works on paper, café scenes, and prints routinely sell between €40 and €150 at houses like Felima, while larger oil-on-canvas figurative compositions from the 1960s–1980s achieve €1,500–€4,800 at established houses such as Pananti, Finarte, and Colasanti. The strongest recent results include 'Il ballo' at €4,800 (Pananti, February 2026), an untitled work at €4,600 (Colasanti, November 2025), 'Bella bocca e occhi miei verdi, 1963' at €3,000 (Finarte, December 2025), and 'Caffè' at €3,000 (Mediartrade, December 2025). Landscape and still-life oils from the 1970s–1990s cluster in the €1,500–€2,000 range. The market is liquid but predominantly domestic; international exposure is limited, with occasional German appearances (Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen, Düsseldorf).

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal for a Sughi work would begin by confirming medium, dimensions, signature, date, and condition from photographs and owner documentation. Authentication should be cross-referenced against the Archivio Sughi records and the Silvana Editoriale catalogue raisonné covering his graphic output (opera grafica). The large price spread (€40–€9,000) makes medium identification critical: oil-on-canvas paintings from prime periods (1960s–1980s) anchor the upper quartile, while prints and small works on paper anchor the lower. Comparable lots should be drawn from the same medium and approximate scale, prioritizing results from established Italian houses (Finarte, Pananti, Aste Bolaffi, Bertolami Fine Art) where cataloguing tends to be more thorough. Provenance—especially prior exhibition history or inclusion in a published catalogue—can materially affect value. The appraiser should note whether the work has appeared in the Archivio Sughi documentation and whether the auction record for the specific lot includes an image, as many lots in the dataset do not.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: oil on canvas commands significantly more than works on paper or prints; the price distribution confirms this is the dominant value driver
- Dimensions and scale: large figurative canvases consistently outperform small-format works
- Date of execution: oils from the 1960s–1980s period appear to achieve the strongest prices in the observed record
- Subject matter: figurative compositions and café/interior scenes are most common; narrative works like 'Il ballo' and 'Donna al bar' attracted premium bids
- Provenance and exhibition history: documented provenance and Archivio Sughi confirmation add value
- Condition and conservation state: especially important for works on paper and prints
- Authentication against the Archivio Sughi records or the Silvana Editoriale catalogue raisonné for graphic works
- Auction house placement: consignment to established houses (Finarte, Pananti, Bertolami) correlates with stronger realized prices than smaller regional houses

### Collector notes

- Sughi's market is liquid and accessible, with over two dozen lots passing through auction annually. Collectors seeking investment-grade material should focus on large oil-on-canvas paintings from the 1960s–1980s with clear provenance and Archivio Sughi documentation; these have reached €3,000–€4,800 at established Italian houses. Prints and small works on paper can be acquired below €200 but offer limited appreciation potential. The market is predominantly Italian, so works consigned or purchased through well-known houses (Finarte, Pananti, Aste Bolaffi) tend to receive stronger cataloguing and broader bidder interest. Sellers should obtain condition reports and, where possible, Archivio Sughi authentication before consignment, as catalogue raisonné confirmation materially strengthens buyer confidence. Buyers should be aware that many lots in the dataset lack images, so requesting additional photographs or condition reports from the auction house is advisable before bidding.

### Market caveats

- All prices are in EUR and reflect Italian/European auction results; they may not translate directly to North American or Asian markets.
- 147 of 274 lots have recorded realized prices; unsold lots and price-withheld results are excluded from the distribution, which may inflate observed averages.
- The wide price range (€40–€9,000) spans multiple media; median and quartile figures should not be applied to an individual work without first confirming medium and scale.
- Authentication requires independent confirmation against the Archivio Sughi or the Silvana Editoriale catalogue raisonné; auction catalog descriptions may not constitute full scholarly verification.
- The dataset is derived from public auction feeds and does not capture private sales, gallery transactions, or direct estate sales.
- Several recent lots lack source URLs or images in the dataset, limiting the ability to verify medium from listing descriptions alone.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/alberto-sughi/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable (Felima Art Casa D'Aste): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-caffe-75-c-27968b45f2
- Invaluable (Felima Art Casa D'Aste): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-al-bar-74-c-c2bacf4b79
- Invaluable (Felima Art Casa D'Aste): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-nudo-di-ragazza-con-cane-1982-6-c-8fb83e61b6
- Invaluable (Wannenes Art Auctions): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-140-c-2e47cc2a53
- Invaluable (ArtLaRosa): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-cesena-1928-bologna-2012-interior-of-a-cafe-116-c-b98302f921
- Invaluable (ArtLaRosa): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-cesena-1928-bologna-2012-woman-with-cup-of-coffee-115-c-8112d3ef70
- Invaluable (ArtLaRosa): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-cesena-1928-bologna-2012-young-man-chased-by-dogs-114-c-72cc3f154f
- Invaluable (Felima Art Casa D'Aste): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-paesaggio-1991-79-c-c22df52ab8
- Invaluable (Pananti Casa D'Aste SRL): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-cesena-1928-bologna-2012-il-ballo-233-c-b66b1e9558
- Invaluable (ArtLaRosa): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alberto-sughi-cesena-1928-bologna-2012-landscape-of-romagna-70-53-c-d8905566dd

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured identity research from museum, library, and authority sources with auction records, sale dates, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Alberto Sughi, this page draws on Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the artist's official estate site.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/76022
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88266748
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/96175600/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500070830
- Alberto Sughi (estate): https://www.albertosughi.com/index.html
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1118376
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Sughi