# Budd Hopkins artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/budd-hopkins/
Profile generated: 2026-05-27T11:56:42.454Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1931-06-15
- Death date: 2011-08-21
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Abstract Expressionism
- Common media: Painting, Sculpture

## About Budd Hopkins

Elliot Budd Hopkins (1931–2011) was an American painter and sculptor based in New York. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, he established himself within the post-war Abstract Expressionist circle and produced paintings and sculptural works throughout a career spanning several decades. Hopkins exhibited his abstract compositions in galleries and received recognition in standard contemporary artist references, including the Cummings dictionary of contemporary artists and the Witt Checklist of painters. In addition to his visual art practice, Hopkins became a widely known author and researcher on UFO and alien abduction phenomena, publishing several influential books on the subject. He died in Manhattan on August 21, 2011, at the age of 80. His dual identity as a serious abstract artist and a prominent UFO researcher makes him a distinctive figure in twentieth-century American cultural history.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Hopkins's abstract paintings in oil and acrylic on canvas, as well as smaller works on paper including drawings and prints. He also produced sculptural works. His paintings are typically non-representational, reflecting the Abstract Expressionist idiom. Works range from small-scale studies to larger gallery-sized canvases. Outside the fine-art market, Hopkins authored several books on UFO phenomena — these are collectible as publications but are a distinct category from his visual art.

## Market and appraisal context

Budd Hopkins's original paintings and sculptures appear at auction under Post-War and Contemporary Art and American Art categories. His abstract canvases and sculptural works are the primary fine-art objects of interest to collectors and appraisers. Key factors affecting appraisal include the medium (oil on canvas, works on paper, or sculpture), scale, date of execution, exhibition history, and documented provenance. Hopkins is listed in the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Library of Congress authority files, which supports identity verification for appraisal purposes. Collectors should distinguish between his fine-art output and his separately published UFO-research books, which represent a different collectible market.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Budd Hopkins, identity data has been verified against the Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Wikidata, and the Library of Congress authority file.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/39672
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2641808
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/42047091/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500008902
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80149114
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Hopkins