# Eliot Hodgkin artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/eliot-hodgkin/
Profile generated: 2026-05-18T22:09:04.526Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1905-06-19
- Death date: 1987-05-30
- Nationality: English, British
- Movements: British still life painting, 20th century
- Common media: oil paint, tempera

## About Eliot Hodgkin

Eliot Hodgkin (1905–1987) was an English painter celebrated for his meticulously detailed still life compositions, executed primarily in oil and tempera. Active from the mid-1920s through the 1980s, Hodgkin developed a distinctive approach that emphasized close observation of everyday objects — fruit, flowers, feathers, and other natural forms — rendered with striking precision and subtle tonal control. His work stands apart from the dominant modernist currents of twentieth-century British art, favouring quiet, concentrated realism over abstraction. Hodgkin's paintings are held in public collections including the Tate, and his name appears in major library authority records such as the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, and the RKD. Collectors and curators recognise him as one of the most accomplished British still life specialists of his generation. His name sometimes appears as C. Eliot Hodgkin in catalogues and references.

## Common works and media

Hodgkin's output centres on still life paintings in oil and tempera. Common subjects include arrangements of fruit, vegetables, flowers, leaves, feathers, eggs, and other natural or domestic objects, often set against plain or subtly toned backgrounds. His technique emphasises fine detail, careful modelling, and restrained colour. Works range from small cabinet-sized panels to larger canvases. Prints and reproductions of his paintings also circulate. Collectors may encounter works signed 'Eliot Hodgkin' or catalogued as 'C. Eliot Hodgkin'.

## Market and appraisal context

Eliot Hodgkin's works appear at auction primarily as British and European paintings from the mid-twentieth century. The value of individual works depends on medium (tempera versus oil), size, subject matter, condition, provenance, and exhibition or publication history. His detailed still lifes of fruit, flowers, and natural objects tend to attract the strongest collector interest. Institutional holdings, including works in the Tate collection, reinforce his market standing. Provenance documentation linking a work to Hodgkin's exhibitions or estate can materially affect appraisal value. Comparable auction results from major houses should be reviewed for current pricing context.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine verified artist identity research from museum and library authority sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Eliot Hodgkin, this page draws on the Tate collection, the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, the RKD, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/38673
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/eliot-hodgkin-1294
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500000203
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/35531402/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1329617
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Hodgkin
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no92029547