# Edward Penfield artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/edward-penfield/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T13:05:41.708Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Common media: Illustration, Painting, Poster and graphic design

## Portrait

![Edward Penfield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Edward_Penfield_LCCN2001704105.jpg)
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Penfield_LCCN2001704105.jpg

## About Edward Penfield

Edward Penfield (1866–1925) was an American illustrator and painter whose career is associated with the Golden Age of American Illustration. Public reference accounts especially connect his reputation with the development of American poster and graphic design, while authority records also identify painting among his activities. His work therefore sits at the intersection of illustration, fine art, and early modern commercial graphics. Collectors may encounter his name on posters, illustrated compositions, other graphic works, and paintings rather than in a single uniform category. Penfield is represented by stable public identity records maintained by Wikidata, Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of Modern Art. Those records provide a useful foundation for distinguishing him from similarly named creators, although the collected authorities contain a conflict over his death year. Appraisily follows the better-supported 1925 date while preserving that uncertainty in its research notes.

## Common works and media

Auction and appraisal records may classify works attributed to Edward Penfield as posters, illustrations, other graphic works, or paintings. His strongest documented public association is with illustration and poster design, while VIAF-linked authority data also identifies him as a painter. Because the collected source pack does not describe specific editions, printing processes, recurring subjects, or named series, those details should be established from the individual object and its cataloguing rather than assumed.

## Market and appraisal context

Edward Penfield's market should be examined by separating posters and graphic works from illustrations and paintings, because those categories do not provide interchangeable comparisons. The object's stated medium, work type, date, and relationship to Penfield's documented illustration period help determine which public auction records are relevant. Comparable lots are most useful when their cataloguing, sale dates, realized prices, and work types closely match the object under review. The available identity sources establish Penfield's artistic roles but do not provide detailed, artist-specific rules for editions, printing, condition, or provenance. Appraisal conclusions should therefore rely on the evidence attached to the individual object and on suitably matched auction records, not on the artist name or an isolated result alone.

## Appraisily data basis

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

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2912571
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500017237
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5198736/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n94029042
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4547
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Penfield
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/edward-penfield/