# Bob Carlos Clarke artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/bob-carlos-clarke/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T04:25:11.350Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1950-06-24
- Death date: 2006-03-25
- Nationality: Irish, British
- Common media: gelatin silver prints, C-type color photographs, photography

## About Bob Carlos Clarke

Bob Carlos Clarke (1950–2006) was a British-Irish photographer born in Ireland whose career spanned fine-art, editorial, and commercial image-making. He is best known for his boldly composed erotic photographs of women, which balanced meticulous technical precision with provocative visual storytelling. Beyond erotica, Clarke produced accomplished still lifes, documentary work, celebrity portraits, and fashion photography, demonstrating a versatility that placed him in both gallery and publishing contexts. His images appeared in high-profile magazines including Playboy, and his photographic books gained a dedicated following among collectors. Clarke's distinctive style — characterized by dramatic lighting, rich tonal range, and an unflinching approach to desire and glamour — has kept his work in active circulation on the secondary market. He died in London in March 2006 at the age of 55, leaving a body of work that continues to attract interest from photography collectors worldwide.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Clarke's gelatin silver prints and chromogenic (C-type) color photographs, particularly his erotic and fashion compositions featuring the female form. Still-life studies, celebrity portraits, and editorial work from magazine commissions also appear on the market. His images have been published in monographs and softcover books, which themselves have collectible value. Open-edition poster prints and reproduction book pages circulate widely and are typically priced well below original fine-art prints.

## Market and appraisal context

Bob Carlos Clarke's photographs trade actively at auction, with 137 documented lots and 69 priced results spanning October 2005 through April 2026. His work appears at a wide range of houses — from top-tier names (Christie's, Phillips, Bonhams) to UK regional specialists (Roseberys, Dreweatts 1759, Chiswick Auctions, Forum Auctions, Joshua Kodner, Bamfords) and continental sellers (Finarte in Italy). The price distribution shows meaningful dispersion: realized prices range from approximately $20 at the low end to $10,000 at the top, with a median near $450 and a 75th percentile around $1,200. This spread reflects the sharp distinction between unsigned or open-edition prints on the one hand and signed, limited-edition fine-art prints on the other. Erotic and fetish-themed compositions (PVC Suit, Fem Dom, Desire) and figurative studies (Portrait of Pippa, Tanya Van Hoorn) dominate recent offerings and tend to achieve the stronger results. Liquidity is moderate but real — 13 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window, down from 30 in the prior 12 months, suggesting the market is active but not flooded. Clarke's death in 2006 fixed the supply of vintage prints, which supports long-term value retention for well-documented examples.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Bob Carlos Clarke's photographs trade actively at auction, with 137 documented lots and 69 priced results spanning October 2005 through April 2026. His work appears at a wide range of houses — from top-tier names (Christie's, Phillips, Bonhams) to UK regional specialists (Roseberys, Dreweatts 1759, Chiswick Auctions, Forum Auctions, Joshua Kodner, Bamfords) and continental sellers (Finarte in Italy). The price distribution shows meaningful dispersion: realized prices range from approximately $20 at the low end to $10,000 at the top, with a median near $450 and a 75th percentile around $1,200. This spread reflects the sharp distinction between unsigned or open-edition prints on the one hand and signed, limited-edition fine-art prints on the other. Erotic and fetish-themed compositions (PVC Suit, Fem Dom, Desire) and figurative studies (Portrait of Pippa, Tanya Van Hoorn) dominate recent offerings and tend to achieve the stronger results. Liquidity is moderate but real — 13 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window, down from 30 in the prior 12 months, suggesting the market is active but not flooded. Clarke's death in 2006 fixed the supply of vintage prints, which supports long-term value retention for well-documented examples.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use the auction-record evidence above as a quantitative anchor, then layer in physical inspection of the print itself. Specifically, an appraiser would: (1) confirm the print medium — gelatin silver versus chromogenic (C-type) — since the record set includes both and they track to different price tiers; (2) verify edition numbering and signature, because the auction data shows a wide price spread consistent with edition size being the single strongest value driver; (3) assess condition (surface handling, fading, creasing, mounting) against the assumption that most comparable lots in the database were offered in good condition; (4) measure dimensions and compare against titled lots of similar subject matter; (5) check provenance documentation — gallery stickers, estate stamps, or exhibition history — since prints with traceable provenance align more closely with the upper end of the observed range; (6) match the specific image title or series to recent comparable lots (e.g., erotic/fetish works at Roseberys achieving £360–800, erotic and figurative studies at Joshua Kodner realizing $125–450, and The Agony and the Ecstasy at Finarte achieving €450); and (7) note whether the print is vintage (printed close to the negative date) or a later estate-authorized printing, as this materially affects valuation within the $20–$10,000 observed range.

### Valuation factors

- Print medium — gelatin silver prints dominate the auction record and typically track at a different price tier than C-type color photographs; confirm which process applies to the subject print
- Edition size and numbering — the $20–$10,000 price spread strongly correlates with edition rarity; signed and numbered limited-edition prints command multiples over open-edition or unsigned examples
- Vintage versus later printing — prints made close to the original negative date are scarcer since Clarke died in 2006 and can no longer authorize new editions
- Subject and series — erotic, fetish, and figurative compositions (PVC Suit, Fem Dom, Desire, Tanya Catsuit) achieve the strongest results at auction; still-life and landscape titles tend to sell at lower levels
- Provenance and documentation — gallery labels, estate stamps, certificates of authenticity, and exhibition history all narrow the comparable range
- Condition — as with all photography, surface marks, fading, toning, and mounting methods affect value and should be compared against the condition assumed in auction comparables
- Dimensions and presentation — larger prints and works in original frames or archival mounts may trade at premiums; confirm size against titled auction lots
- Currency and market — recent lots traded in USD, GBP, and EUR across UK, US, and Italian houses; currency conversion and regional demand differences should be factored into comparable analysis

### Collector notes

- Clarke's market is well-established but selective. The median auction result near $450 and the 75th percentile around $1,200 give a practical benchmark: expect unsigned or open-edition prints to trade well below the median, while signed limited-edition erotic and figurative works from the 1980s–1990s series typically land in the upper half of the range. Roseberys (London) is the most active recent seller, offering multiple Clarke lots per sale session, which provides good comparable density for UK-based valuations. Finarte has listed The Agony and the Ecstasy (1994) repeatedly — unsold on at least two attempts before achieving €450 in October 2025 — illustrating that even titled works can require patience. The decline from 30 lots in the prior 12-month period to 13 in the most recent 12 months may reflect tightening supply rather than falling demand, since Clarke's estate is finite. Collectors seeking the strongest appreciation potential should prioritize signed, numbered gelatin silver prints from the erotic and fashion series, ideally with gallery provenance. Unsigned prints and book reproductions are affordable entry points but should not be expected to appreciate at the same rate.

### Market caveats

- Auction prices in the source pack are denominated in mixed currencies (USD, GBP, EUR) and have not been normalized to a single currency; direct price comparisons require conversion at the relevant sale-date exchange rate
- Of 137 recorded lots, only 69 (50%) have published realized prices; the remaining lots may have sold below estimate, been bought in, or have prices not yet reported
- The lot count (137) and price distribution cited here come from the Appraisily auction-record index derived from public auction feeds and may not capture every sale worldwide — private sales and some regional auction results may be missing
- Recent 12-month lot count (13) is noticeably lower than the prior 12-month period (30), which could indicate market softening, supply contraction, or simply normal cyclical variation; a single-year change is not a reliable trend indicator
- Titles in auction records are transcribed from house catalogs and may contain minor inconsistencies (e.g., 'PVC suit, 1' versus 'PVC suit, 2'; variant spellings); match comparables by image content, not title alone
- Clarke's work spans fine-art, editorial, and commercial contexts; some auction lots may be reproduction prints, book pages, or posters rather than original fine-art photographs, and this distinction may not always be clear from the lot title alone

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/bob-carlos-clarke/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-violin-in-carmona-1980-s-882-c-2534e5eb31
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-portrait-of-pippa-1990-295-c-757ae16e8b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-1950-2006-the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-1994-211-c-ad5cb68213
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-portrait-of-pippa-1990-279-c-f40b88957f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-fem-dom-tanya-catsuit-1990-277-c-54f1ce2681
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-british-irish-1950-2006-desire-black-and-white-photo-303-c-2176645cd6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-british-irish-1950-2006-pvc-suit-2-black-and-white-302-c-a075f654b9
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-bob-carlos-clarke-british-irish-1950-2006-pvc-suit-1-photographic-pri-301-c-73719e2f4f

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authorities and published sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on VIAF, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and Wikidata authority files for biographical and professional facts. Market observations are based on the artist's documented areas of practice and standard photography-appraisal factors.

## Sources

- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/110512320/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81044258
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/344190
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q887830
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Carlos_Clarke