# Edouard Cortès artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/edouard-cortes/ Profile generated: 2026-04-30T13:56:07.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1882-08-26 - Death date: 1969-11-26 - Nationality: French - Movements: Post-Impressionism - Common media: Oil on canvas, Gouache ## About Edouard Cortès Édouard Léon Cortès (1882–1969) was a French painter celebrated for his luminous Paris street scenes, which earned him the nickname "Le Poète Parisien de la Peinture." Born in Lagny-sur-Marne to the Spanish-born painter Antonio Cortès, he grew up in an artistic household and first exhibited at the Paris Salon at the age of sixteen. Over a career spanning roughly seventy years, Cortès depicted the boulevards, monuments, and neighborhoods of Paris across every season, time of day, and weather condition — from rain-slicked evening avenues to snow-dusted morning markets. Though broadly associated with Post-Impressionism, his style is distinctive for its rich impasto, vibrant palette, and atmospheric treatment of light, which collectors continue to prize. ## Common works and media The majority of Cortès works encountered at auction are oil paintings on canvas or panel, depicting Parisian street and boulevard scenes. Common subjects include views of Notre-Dame, the Madeleine, the Opéra, the Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, and the Quai de la Seine. He also painted riverside scenes, market squares, and village views around Lagny-sur-Marne. Gouaches and smaller works on board surface less frequently but are known. Cortès typically signed his work with variant forms of his name, including 'Cortès,' 'H. Cortes,' and 'Edouard-Léon Cortès.' ## Market and appraisal context Édouard Cortès maintains a liquid and well-documented secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 73 lots spanning 2007 to late 2025, with 52 carrying realized prices. The recorded price distribution ranges from approximately $4,750 at the low end to $59,100 at the high end, with a median near $18,750 and an interquartile spread of $13,750–$30,000. His work is traded predominantly at top-tier houses — Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams — supplemented by a strong international roster including Van Ham Kunstauktionen (Germany), Waddington's (Canada), Artcurial (France), Morton Subastas (Mexico), Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden, Dallas Auction Gallery, Neal Auction Company, and A.B. Levy's Palm Beach. The last twelve months saw four priced results (Artcurial at €30,000, Waddington's at CAD 37,250 and CAD 44,450, Van Ham at €15,000), compared with two in the prior twelve-month window, suggesting stable-to-improving liquidity. Night scenes and rain-slicked Paris landmarks (Madeleine, Opéra, Place Vendôme, Seine quays) command the strongest prices, with Sotheby's results for individually catalogued landmark views clustering between $20,000–$34,000 USD. Smaller or less compositionally complex works trade below $10,000. Four Bonhams lots and several others were withdrawn between 2020 and 2022, and one Brunk Auctions lot was explicitly catalogued as 'Follower of Edouard Cortès,' underscoring the attribution risk that accompanies his popularity. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Édouard Cortès maintains a liquid and well-documented secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 73 lots spanning 2007 to late 2025, with 52 carrying realized prices. The recorded price distribution ranges from approximately $4,750 at the low end to $59,100 at the high end, with a median near $18,750 and an interquartile spread of $13,750–$30,000. His work is traded predominantly at top-tier houses — Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams — supplemented by a strong international roster including Van Ham Kunstauktionen (Germany), Waddington's (Canada), Artcurial (France), Morton Subastas (Mexico), Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden, Dallas Auction Gallery, Neal Auction Company, and A.B. Levy's Palm Beach. The last twelve months saw four priced results (Artcurial at €30,000, Waddington's at CAD 37,250 and CAD 44,450, Van Ham at €15,000), compared with two in the prior twelve-month window, suggesting stable-to-improving liquidity. Night scenes and rain-slicked Paris landmarks (Madeleine, Opéra, Place Vendôme, Seine quays) command the strongest prices, with Sotheby's results for individually catalogued landmark views clustering between $20,000–$34,000 USD. Smaller or less compositionally complex works trade below $10,000. Four Bonhams lots and several others were withdrawn between 2020 and 2022, and one Brunk Auctions lot was explicitly catalogued as 'Follower of Edouard Cortès,' underscoring the attribution risk that accompanies his popularity. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily uses observed auction records as a comparable-sales anchor but requires additional item-specific data to produce a credible appraisal: high-resolution photographs showing surface texture and impasto characteristics, measured dimensions, confirmed medium (oil on canvas versus gouache or panel), signature form and placement, condition report addressing craquelure, inpainting, relining, or frame condition, and documented provenance chain. For Cortès, attribution authentication is a critical step because copies, studio works, and misattributed paintings circulate in the secondary market. The 'Follower of' lot at Brunk Auctions and multiple withdrawn lots at Bonhams illustrate this risk. A qualified specialist should verify the signature variant against known examples before any insurance, estate, or fair-market valuation is finalized. Comparable lots are selected by matching landmark subject, composition size, atmospheric conditions (night, rain, snow), and sale date proximity, with currency conversion at the prevailing rate. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Market caveats - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/edouard-cortes/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine structured identity research from authority files and museum databases with publicly available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot information. For Édouard Cortès, sources include the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, and Wikidata. When full catalogue raisonné access is not available, Appraisily notes this and encourages collectors to consult a qualified appraiser for authoritative attribution and valuation. ## Sources - RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/18517 - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr98009040 - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q274275 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edouard_Cort%C3%A8s - VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/37972991/