# Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T03:48:51.114Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1889-08-13
- Death date: 1946-10-07
- Nationality: British, English
- Movements: Futurism, Vorticism
- Common media: Oil painting, Etching, Lithography, Drypoint

## About Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889–1946) was an English painter, printmaker, and etcher who became one of the most recognized British war artists of the First World War. Known professionally by his initials C. R. W. Nevinson, he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London before engaging with the Futurist movement and briefly associating with the Vorticist circle in the years leading up to 1914. His wartime experiences — first as a volunteer ambulance driver in France and later as an official war artist — produced some of the most powerful and technically innovative depictions of modern warfare. Works such as his machine-age battlefields and stark urban scenes established his reputation. After the war, Nevinson turned to cityscapes, landscapes, and figure subjects, though he never regained the critical prominence of his pre-1918 output. His work is held by major institutions including Tate, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Imperial War Museum.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Nevinson's work in the form of etchings and drypoint prints depicting war scenes, industrial landscapes, and Parisian or London cityscapes. Oil paintings on canvas span both his wartime period and later figurative work. Lithographs — including posters and book illustrations — also appear on the market. Subjects range from battlefield tableaux and ruined towns to harbors, roads, and urban panoramas. Many prints were produced in signed editions, and untitled or later-state impressions also circulate.

## Market and appraisal context

C. R. W. Nevinson has a well-established secondary market with 270 auction lots recorded over more than two decades (2003–2026), of which 211 carry realized prices. The market is anchored by top-tier houses — Sotheby's and Christie's dominate the upper end — with consistent mid-tier activity at Forum Auctions, Dreweatts, Bonhams, Mallams, and Olympia Auctions. Price dispersion is very wide: the recorded range spans $50 at the low end (small prints) to $1,869,000 at the top (major oil paintings), with a median of $4,375 and a 75th percentile of $16,800. This spread reflects the sharp stratification between Nevinson's editioned graphic work, which trades frequently at four-figure sums, and his rare large-scale oils, which command six- and seven-figure prices at Sotheby's and Christie's. Recent 12-month activity (6 priced lots) is slightly below the prior 12-month window (9 priced lots), suggesting modest but stable liquidity. Confirmed high-value recent sales include Boulogne at Sotheby's (£54,000, November 2024), an untitled work at Olympia Auctions (£28,000, February 2026), and Among the Bathers at Sotheby's (£20,400, June 2024). Prints such as Third Avenue (£2,286) and Venice Night (£1,200) illustrate the more accessible tier. The mix of London and international houses confirms sustained cross-market demand.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

C. R. W. Nevinson has a well-established secondary market with 270 auction lots recorded over more than two decades (2003–2026), of which 211 carry realized prices. The market is anchored by top-tier houses — Sotheby's and Christie's dominate the upper end — with consistent mid-tier activity at Forum Auctions, Dreweatts, Bonhams, Mallams, and Olympia Auctions. Price dispersion is very wide: the recorded range spans $50 at the low end (small prints) to $1,869,000 at the top (major oil paintings), with a median of $4,375 and a 75th percentile of $16,800. This spread reflects the sharp stratification between Nevinson's editioned graphic work, which trades frequently at four-figure sums, and his rare large-scale oils, which command six- and seven-figure prices at Sotheby's and Christie's. Recent 12-month activity (6 priced lots) is slightly below the prior 12-month window (9 priced lots), suggesting modest but stable liquidity. Confirmed high-value recent sales include Boulogne at Sotheby's (£54,000, November 2024), an untitled work at Olympia Auctions (£28,000, February 2026), and Among the Bathers at Sotheby's (£20,400, June 2024). Prints such as Third Avenue (£2,286) and Venice Night (£1,200) illustrate the more accessible tier. The mix of London and international houses confirms sustained cross-market demand.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 270 auction records as comparable-lot evidence alongside the client's photographs, stated dimensions, medium identification, signature review, condition report, and any documented provenance. For oil paintings, the upper quartile of the record set (above $16,800) provides the most relevant comparables, with adjustments for subject matter — wartime compositions carry a premium over postwar landscapes or figure studies. For etchings and drypoints, edition size and state (as catalogued in Guichard or Black) are critical: the difference between a signed first-state impression and a later unsigned state can represent a factor of several times. Provenance linking a work to a named collection, exhibition, or Nevinson's estate materially increases value. The auction record shows that the same print title (e.g., Modern War Paintings) can sell for £500–£700 depending on condition and edition, underscoring the need for lot-specific detail rather than title-only matching. Books and printed ephemera attributed to Nevinson trade at the low end and should be distinguished from original graphic works.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: oil paintings on canvas command the highest prices; etchings and drypoints trade at a fraction but offer higher turnover
- Period: works from 1914–1918 (war artist period) are the most commercially significant; postwar works are more variable in demand
- Subject: iconic WWI battle scenes and machine-age compositions are most sought after; cityscapes and landscapes are mid-tier; figure studies and later works are lower
- Edition and state: for prints, the catalogued edition number, plate state, and signature status (pencil-signed vs. unsigned) are primary value drivers
- Provenance: documented exhibition history, museum loans, or inclusion in a named collection can materially increase value
- Condition: foxing, trimming, or fading in works on paper disproportionately affects value relative to oil paintings
- Size: larger oils and multi-plate print series command premiums over small-format works
- Attribution clarity: unsigned or undocumented prints require expert connoisseurship; misattribution risk is elevated given Nevinson's large graphic output

### Collector notes

- Nevinson's market is bifurcated: entry-level collectors can acquire signed etchings and drypoints — especially from the war series — in the £1,000–£5,000 range at regional UK houses such as Forum Auctions, Mallams, and Dreweatts. The mid-range (£10,000–£50,000) captures smaller oils and exceptional prints, typically at Sotheby's, Christie's, or Olympia Auctions. Major oils above £100,000 appear infrequently and are concentrated at Sotheby's and Christie's London sales. Liquidity is reasonable for prints (multiple lots appear annually) but thin for significant oils, meaning sellers of major works should allow longer marketing periods. Buyers should verify the Guichard catalogue number and edition details for any print, and request condition reports for works on paper. Some lots in the broader record set are misattributed to other artists named Christopher; collectors should confirm the lot is a genuine Nevinson work before using it as a price guide. The recent softening in lot count (6 vs 9 over the trailing 12-month windows) does not indicate declining values — prices at the top end remain strong — but may reflect timing of consignments at the major houses.

### Market caveats

- Several lots in the recent sample are attributed to other artists named Christopher (MacDonald, Meadows, Clark, Huntington, Fox Payne) and do not relate to C. R. W. Nevinson; these inflate the lot count but are filtered from price statistics
- Some low-price entries (£500–£700 for 'Modern War Paintings') appear to be books or printed ephemera rather than original graphic works
- The price distribution includes all currencies (GBP and USD) without normalization; the median and quartile figures reflect mixed-currency lot records
- The max price of $1,869,000 is an outlier representing a major museum-quality oil; it is not representative of the typical Nevinson lot
- Attribution of unsigned prints requires specialist expertise; the auction record cannot confirm or deny authenticity of individual lots
- Prices realized include buyer's premiums in some cases and hammer price only in others, depending on the reporting house; direct comparisons should account for this

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Clarke Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-c-r-w-nevinson-british-1889-1946-14-c-fcd47fd89c
- Invaluable / Chiswick Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-british-1889-1946-venice-night-guichard-94-10-c-92c7ac4d95
- Invaluable / Sotheby's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-a-r-a-28-c-10c92909da
- Invaluable / Olympia Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-british-1889-1946-258-c-3b739341c5
- Invaluable / Sloane Street Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-british-1889-1946-the-mirror-643-c-03046d0ad3

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent 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 C. R. W. Nevinson, identity data has been corroborated across the Library of Congress, VIAF, RKD, Tate, and MoMA.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n86139912
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/59260
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/44474596/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q185850
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/christopher-richard-wynne-nevinson-1697
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4279
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._R._W._Nevinson
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500031355