# Asger Jorn artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/asger-jorn/
Profile generated: 2026-04-30T14:26:50.458Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1914-03-03
- Death date: 1973-05-01
- Nationality: Danish
- Movements: COBRA, Situationist International
- Common media: oil painting, sculpture, ceramics, lithography, printmaking

## About Asger Jorn

Asger Jorn, born Asger Oluf Jørgensen in 1914 in Vejrum, Denmark, was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramicist, printmaker, and author who became one of the most inventive European artists of the post-war era. He studied in Paris under Fernand Léger before co-founding the experimental COBRA group in 1948, an artist collective named after Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam that championed spontaneous, expressive painting rooted in myth, folk art, and the unconscious. Jorn later helped found the Situationist International, contributing theoretical writings alongside his visual work. His paintings are recognized for their vigorous brushwork, vivid color, and hybrid figurative-abstract forms. Major museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate in London, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam hold significant collections of his work. Jorn died in 1973 in Aarhus, Denmark.

## Common works and media

Jorn's output spans oil paintings on canvas and panel, gouaches and works on paper, lithographs and screen prints (often issued in editions), ceramic plates and vessels, bronze sculptures, woven tapestries based on his designs, and artist books. Common subjects include semi-abstract figures, masked faces, animal-like creatures, and vibrant landscape-inspired compositions. Collectors encountering Jorn at auction will most frequently find mid-century oil paintings and editioned lithographs.

## Market and appraisal context

Asger Jorn maintains an active and well-documented secondary market spanning over three decades, with 862 cataloged lots and 576 priced records in the Appraisily database. His work is traded internationally through top-tier houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, and Artcurial, as well as regional European specialists such as Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Adams Amsterdam Auctions, and Bernaerts Auctioneers. The price distribution is wide: prints and minor works on paper regularly realize between €30 and €700, while unique oil paintings from his COBRA period (late 1940s–early 1950s) have commanded results approaching $2.1 million at the top end. The median price of $4,750 reflects the mix of editioned prints, ceramics, and unique works that characterize his market. Liquidity is solid, with 47 lots offered in the most recent 12-month period (down from 62 the prior year), suggesting continued but slightly cooling supply.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Asger Jorn maintains an active and well-documented secondary market spanning over three decades, with 862 cataloged lots and 576 priced records in the Appraisily database. His work is traded internationally through top-tier houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, and Artcurial, as well as regional European specialists such as Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Adams Amsterdam Auctions, and Bernaerts Auctioneers. The price distribution is wide: prints and minor works on paper regularly realize between €30 and €700, while unique oil paintings from his COBRA period (late 1940s–early 1950s) have commanded results approaching $2.1 million at the top end. The median price of $4,750 reflects the mix of editioned prints, ceramics, and unique works that characterize his market. Liquidity is solid, with 47 lots offered in the most recent 12-month period (down from 62 the prior year), suggesting continued but slightly cooling supply.

### Appraisal notes

An appraisal of an Asger Jorn work should begin with precise medium identification, as the artist produced oil paintings, gouaches, lithographs, screen prints, ceramics, bronzes, and tapestries, each with a distinct market tier. The Appraisily database of 862 lots provides comparable-sale context: editioned lithographs typically trade in the €30–€600 range, while unique paintings on canvas from key periods can reach six and seven figures. Appraisers should document dimensions, signature, edition number and size, condition (noting humidity damage or foxing, which appears in surviving lots), and provenance. Tracing ownership to the artist's estate, a recognized COBRA-era dealer, or a museum deaccession meaningfully strengthens attribution and value. Works lacking documentation or appearing unsigned should be referred to the RKD (record 42924) or a qualified specialist before valuation is finalized.

### Valuation factors

- Medium and support: oil on canvas works command significantly stronger results than works on paper, prints, or ceramics. The Appraisily dataset shows a 150× spread between the 25th percentile ($700) and the 75th percentile ($34,850), largely driven by medium differentiation.
- Period: COBRA-era works (1948–1951) and early 1950s paintings are the most sought-after, aligning with the artist's founding role in the movement.
- Edition prints and multiples are abundant and accessible but require verification of edition number, signature, and condition. Later or posthumous editions trade at a discount.
- Provenance tracing to the artist's estate, a recognized gallery, or a major museum deaccession materially strengthens both attribution confidence and value.
- Condition is a factor especially for works on paper: recent lot records note humidity stains on lithographic folders, which would reduce value relative to clean copies.
- Size matters within each medium: larger canvases and more complex compositions attract stronger competition at the major houses (Christie's, Sotheby's).

### Collector notes

- Jorn's editioned lithographs and prints offer an accessible entry point, with many lots realizing between €30 and €600 at auction. These are widely available through houses like Adams Amsterdam, Bruce Teleky, and Capitolium Art.
- For buyers seeking investment-grade material, focus on unique oil paintings from the late 1940s through the 1950s, ideally with documented provenance. These lots are concentrated at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bruun Rasmussen.
- The 'La Joie D'etre 1969' print series has appeared unsold at Bruce Teleky Inc. in multiple 2025–2026 sessions, which may indicate soft demand for that specific edition or an optimistic reserve.
- Sotheby's results include a lot realizing £30,000 (2013) and another at €12,500 (2012), demonstrating meaningful price levels for quality works at international houses.
- Collectors should verify edition details carefully: Jorn's lithographic folders (e.g., the Ridotto edition of 90) and individual prints have different scarcity profiles and values.
- Sellers of higher-value Jorn paintings should ensure strong photographic documentation, condition reports, and provenance files before consignment, as knowledgeable buyers at top houses will expect these.

### Market caveats

- Price data is drawn from the Appraisily auction-record index and covers lots from 1995 through April 2026. Not all lots have realized prices (576 of 862 are priced), so unsold or reserve-not-met lots are excluded from price statistics.
- Currencies are mixed (EUR, GBP, USD, SEK). All percentile figures are presented in approximate USD equivalents; exchange-rate fluctuations may affect cross-currency comparisons.
- Jorn produced a large volume of editioned prints and ceramics alongside unique paintings. Medium identification is essential before any valuation, as the same artist's work can span a 100× price range.
- Attribution of unsigned or undocumented works should be confirmed through the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History, record 42924) or a qualified specialist. The COBRA market has seen misattributions due to stylistic overlap with contemporaries like Karel Appel and Pierre Alechinsky.
- The recent 12-month lot count (47) is lower than the prior 12 months (62). This may reflect normal market cycling, consignor timing, or a modest softening in supply rather than a change in demand.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/asger-jorn/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-denmark-1914-1973-lithographic-folder-1958-series-of-four-lithographs-copy-51-90-signed-by-the-artist-and-justified-by-hand-edition-by-ridotto-galleria-d-arte-moderna-torino-they-present-humidity-stains-297-c-288254f754
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-rare-signed-lithograph-in-colours-by-asger-jorn-180-c-b0a45829ab
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-1914-1973-1547-c-2d2a568530
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-la-joie-d-etre-1969-1134h-c-aa9f42451d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-1914-1973-d-apres-portrait-de-baj-d-apres-dalla-cartella-40-disegni-di-maestri-moderni-218-c-7d91164e4b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-1914-1973-149-c-2b34028d82
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-jutland-1914-aarhus-1973-euclide-coince-1972-55-c-1a820a8a3f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-asger-jorn-danish-1914-1973-sans-titre-396-c-44f46eb9e0

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine researched artist identity data from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, medium and edition details, and comparable lots when those records are available. The goal is to help collectors and appraisers understand what factors may affect valuation and to flag where additional specialist verification is recommended.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83578
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asger_Jorn
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/64026325/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79127955
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2943
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/asger-jorn-1375
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/42924