# Anish Kapoor artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/anish-kapoor/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T05:29:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1954-03-12
- Nationality: British, Indian
- Movements: Installation art, Conceptual art, Contemporary British sculpture
- Common media: Sculpture (steel, stone, pigment, PVC, mirror-polished stainless steel), Wax and resin installations, Mixed-media assemblage

## About Anish Kapoor

Sir Anish Kapoor (born 12 March 1954, Mumbai) is a British-Indian sculptor whose practice spans installation, conceptual art, and monumental public sculpture. He moved to England in 1972 and studied at Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art and Design. Kapoor first gained recognition in the early 1980s for pigment-covered sculptural assemblages, and has since become known for mirror-polished stainless steel forms, immersive void sculptures, and large-scale architectural installations sited in cities and museums worldwide. His work investigates materiality, perception, and the phenomenology of space using media ranging from raw pigment and stone to engineered surfaces. Major public commissions include Cloud Gate in Chicago and the ArcelorMittal Orbit in London. Kapoor has exhibited at Tate, MoMA, the Serpentine Gallery, and numerous international venues. He was appointed CBE in 2003, elected a Royal Academician in 2008, and received a knighthood in 2016.

## Common works and media

Kapoor's output encompasses pigment sculptures built from raw color powder, mirror-polished stainless steel concave and convex forms, void works carved in alabaster and sandstone, freestanding stone and fibreglass pieces, wax and resin installations, PVC membrane sculptures, and architectural-scale public commissions. Editioned prints, artist's proofs, and maquettes for larger projects also circulate at auction. Collectors may encounter wall-based mirror reliefs and mixed-media works combining engineered and natural materials.

## Market and appraisal context

Anish Kapoor maintains a deep, liquid secondary market spanning over two decades of auction records. Appraisily's auction-record index tracks 551 total lots with 416 priced results, dating from February 2002 through May 2026. His work appears consistently at the top tier of the contemporary sculpture market: Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips, and Artcurial all feature Kapoor regularly. Price dispersion is extremely wide—from $20 for small editioned prints to $5,860,000 for monumental unique sculptures—reflecting a catalogue that ranges from woodcuts and jewellery editions through pigment-on-paper works, alabaster carvings, and large-scale stainless steel and fibreglass installations. The median realised price of approximately $23,750 and a 75th percentile near $242,500 confirm that mid-career unique works command significant sums, while editioned prints and small objects trade in the low thousands. Liquidity has moderated slightly: 19 priced lots in the most recent 12-month window versus 28 in the prior 12 months, though this may reflect normal auction-cycle variation rather than softening demand. Recent highlights include a large Untitled sculpture (2004) selling for £380,000 at Bonhams in October 2025, an alabaster Untitled fetching $381,000 at Christie's in September 2025, and an Artcurial lot realising €520,000 in October 2025.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Anish Kapoor maintains a deep, liquid secondary market spanning over two decades of auction records. Appraisily's auction-record index tracks 551 total lots with 416 priced results, dating from February 2002 through May 2026. His work appears consistently at the top tier of the contemporary sculpture market: Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips, and Artcurial all feature Kapoor regularly. Price dispersion is extremely wide—from $20 for small editioned prints to $5,860,000 for monumental unique sculptures—reflecting a catalogue that ranges from woodcuts and jewellery editions through pigment-on-paper works, alabaster carvings, and large-scale stainless steel and fibreglass installations. The median realised price of approximately $23,750 and a 75th percentile near $242,500 confirm that mid-career unique works command significant sums, while editioned prints and small objects trade in the low thousands. Liquidity has moderated slightly: 19 priced lots in the most recent 12-month window versus 28 in the prior 12 months, though this may reflect normal auction-cycle variation rather than softening demand. Recent highlights include a large Untitled sculpture (2004) selling for £380,000 at Bonhams in October 2025, an alabaster Untitled fetching $381,000 at Christie's in September 2025, and an Artcurial lot realising €520,000 in October 2025.

### Appraisal notes

When Appraisily prepares an appraisal for an Anish Kapoor work, the auction-record evidence above is used alongside photographs, measured dimensions, medium identification, signature or edition markings, condition report, and documented provenance. Comparable lots are selected by matching medium (pigment on fibreglass, mirror-polished stainless steel, alabaster, pigment on paper, prints), date of execution, scale, and edition status. For example, a pigment-on-paper work from the 2000s would be compared against the Christie's March 2026 pigment-on-paper lot (£139,700) and the pigment-on-fibreglass lot (£60,960), adjusted for size, date, and condition. A large unique sculpture would reference the Bonhams £380,000 result and the Christie's alabaster at $381,000. Editioned prints and multiples would be benchmarked against the woodcut (£2,000 at Setdart), aquatint ($1,300 at District Auction), and screenprint ($5,040–$8,820 at Christie's) results. Provenance linking to institutions such as Kunsthaus Bregenz or notable exhibitions can materially affect value. Condition is especially critical for pigment surfaces and mirror-polished steel, which are susceptible to handling marks, surface degradation, and environmental damage.

### Valuation factors

- Medium is the strongest price determinant: monumental unique sculptures in pigment, mirror-polished steel, or alabaster trade in the hundreds of thousands to millions; works on paper and prints trade in the low thousands
- Scale and whether the work is a unique piece versus an edition (editions of 75–95 for prints and jewellery trade far below one-of-a-kind sculptures)
- Date of execution: early pigment works from the 1980s and large-scale mirror sculptures from the 2000s onward are particularly sought after
- Provenance and exhibition history, especially institutional links such as Kunsthaus Bregenz, Tate, or major museum exhibitions
- Condition is critical for pigment surfaces and mirror finishes, which are susceptible to handling damage, staining, and environmental degradation
- Auction-house tier matters: results from Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips carry more weight as comparables than those from regional houses
- Currency and market location: Kapoor trades in GBP, USD, and EUR across London, New York, and Paris salerooms; currency conversion and buyer's premium must be normalised for accurate comparison

### Collector notes



### Market caveats

- Auction prices shown are realised prices (hammer plus buyer's premium in most cases) and may not reflect the full cost basis for a buyer. They should not be treated as appraised values.
- Price dispersion across currencies (GBP, USD, EUR) means direct comparison requires conversion to a common currency at the relevant date.
- Some lots in the record may be attributed to the artist without full authentication documentation; buyers should verify authenticity independently.
- The source pack records an artist birth year of 1955 in some auction catalogues (Setdart) versus the documented 1954; this is a common catalogue discrepancy and does not affect attribution.
- Lot titles are reproduced as provided by the auction data feed and may contain catalogue-specific formatting, abbreviated dimensions, or incomplete medium descriptions.
- Installation-specific or site-conditioned works may require specialist assessment for reinstallability, which is not captured in auction price data.
- Market values for living artists can be volatile and are influenced by gallery representation, museum exhibitions, and critical reception beyond what auction records alone reflect.

### Market evidence sources

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- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-b-1954-untitled-pigment-on-fibreglass-and-string-gauze26-372-c-c2540816fd
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- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-b-1954-untitled-stainless-steel16-7-8-x-29-1-2-x-24in-43-349-c-8911196db6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-b-1954-teardrop-table-lamp-384-c-91c40af9b9
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-untitled-earthenware-frosted-glass-1993-42-c-d714acd84a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-chastre-1993-351-c-7b346baab6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-anish-kapoor-144-c-365c381d00

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine researched artist identity from museum, library-authority, and official sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when available. For Anish Kapoor, identity data is drawn from the Library of Congress, VIAF, Tate, MoMA, the RKD, and the artist's official site.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85262543
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/43466
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/66514335/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q327293
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-anish-kapoor-cbe-ra-1384
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2995
- Anish Kapoor: http://www.anishkapoor.com
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anish_Kapoor
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500005997