# Edgar Chahine artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/edgar-chahine/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T18:15:22.606Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1874-10-31
- Death date: 1947-03-18
- Nationality: French
- Common media: painting, engraving, printmaking, pastel, illustration

## About Edgar Chahine

Edgar Chahine (1874–1947) was a French painter, engraver, and illustrator of Armenian descent, born in Vienna and active in Paris from the 1890s onward. He became widely known for his etchings and drypoints, which depicted Parisian street life, fashionable society, and everyday scenes with technical precision and atmospheric sensitivity. Over his career Chahine produced hundreds of prints alongside paintings in oil and pastel, and he illustrated literary works by contemporary French authors, including Octave Mirbeau. His graphic output places him within the broader French etching revival of the early twentieth century. Chahine's work is held in major museum and library collections and appears regularly in the auction market, with nearly five hundred recorded lots. His dual heritage as an Armenian-born artist working in the French tradition has also drawn scholarly attention.

## Common works and media

Chahine's most common auction works are etchings and drypoints on paper, often depicting Parisian boulevards, cafés, promenading figures, and genre scenes. He also produced oil paintings, pastels, and book illustrations for literary editions. Prints were frequently issued in numbered editions, and both hand-signed and plate-signed impressions appear in the market.

## Market and appraisal context

Edgar Chahine's etchings and drypoints are the works most frequently encountered at auction, appearing regularly in Modern Print and Works on Paper sales. Paintings and pastels are comparatively rare and can attract stronger interest when well-documented. For appraisal, the medium, edition size and impression number, plate signature versus hand signature, paper condition, and subject matter all influence value. Parisian street scenes and figure studies tend to be the most sought-after categories. Collectors should verify impressions against catalogue raisonné entries and review condition reports carefully, as many prints have circulated since the early twentieth century.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library, and authority sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50036130
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/16238
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/7407427/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500010769
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q785327
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Chahine