# Colin Self artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/colin-self/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T18:18:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1941-07-17
- Nationality: British, English
- Movements: Pop Art
- Common media: Printmaking (etching, screenprint), Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Watercolour, Ceramics, Collage

## About Colin Self

Colin Self (born 1941, Rackheath, Norfolk) is an English Pop artist best known for works that confront Cold War politics, nuclear anxiety, and the tensions between consumer culture and military threat. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1961 to 1963, where David Hockney and Peter Blake encouraged his early drawings and collages. Trips to the United States in 1962 and 1965 sharpened his focus on American nuclear shelters, cinema interiors, and consumer objects. His innovative printmaking — including Nuclear Bomber No. 1 (1963) and the Power and Beauty screenprints (1968) — made him a central figure in the 1960s British print boom. Richard Hamilton once called him 'the best draughtsman in England since William Blake.' After withdrawing from the commercial art world in the 1970s, Self produced atmospheric watercolours of Norfolk and Scotland, collaborated with German potter Mathies Schwarze on ceramics, and returned to Cold War themes after visiting the Soviet Union in 1985–86. His work is held by major public collections including Tate and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

## Common works and media

Colin Self's most frequently encountered works at auction are etchings and screenprints from the 1960s, particularly the Nuclear Bomber series, the Power and Beauty screenprints published by Editions Alecto, and the Prelude to the 1000 Temporary Objects of Our Time etching suite. Also seen are collages, ink and charcoal drawings of glamorous models and bombers, watercolour landscapes of Norfolk and Scotland, and ceramic pieces from his collaboration with Mathies Schwarze near Cologne. His iconic Leopard-skin Nuclear Bomber sculptures appear rarely. Drawings of American consumer subjects — hot dogs, cinema interiors, fallout shelters — from his 1965 US trip also circulate in the market.

## Market and appraisal context

Colin Self's auction market is anchored by his 1960s prints — etchings and screenprints from series such as Nuclear Bomber, Power and Beauty, and Prelude to the 1000 Temporary Objects of Our Time. These editioned works appear most frequently at auction and form the baseline of his market. Paintings, sculptures (including the Leopard-skin Nuclear Bomber series), and ceramics from his 1970s collaboration with Mathies Schwarze are less common and can command higher prices when they surface. Provenance from the Robert Fraser Gallery period adds value. Collectors should note edition size, impression quality, condition, and subject matter when evaluating Self's prints. Museum holdings at Tate and MoMA reinforce his institutional standing. Self's deliberate withdrawal from the commercial art world during the 1970s means that auction records may not fully reflect his output across all media and periods.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on institutional sources including Tate, RKD, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Wikidata. Market observations are general and do not constitute appraisals or valuations.

## Sources

- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/colin-self-1922
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/71874
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/161156619/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500000611
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5145554
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Self
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88094361
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5334