# Emil James Bisttram artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/emil-james-bisttram/
Profile generated: 2026-08-19T16:24:43.400Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Hungarian-American
- Movements: Modernism, Abstract art, Transcendental Painting Group
- Common media: Painting, Printmaking, Murals and mural studies

## About Emil James Bisttram

Emil James Bisttram (1895–1976) was a Hungarian-American artist associated with modernist and abstract art in the United States. Authority records describe him as both a painter and printmaker, while biographical sources connect his career with New York and Taos, New Mexico. He is also identified as a co-founder of the Transcendental Painting Group, an important context for interpreting his abstract work. Bisttram's documented production extended beyond easel painting and prints to public murals and preparatory mural studies, including civic projects concerned with justice. Collectors may therefore encounter his name across several kinds of objects rather than within a single uniform body of work. Establishing the medium, date, subject, physical history, and relationship to his broader modernist practice is especially useful when identifying or comparing a work attributed to Bisttram.

## Common works and media

Works encountered in appraisal and auction contexts include paintings, works on paper, and prints. Documented public projects also establish Bisttram's work in murals and mural studies, including civic imagery concerning justice, while abstract compositions reflect his modernist and Transcendental Painting Group context. Auction records additionally place some attributed objects in sculpture, mixed-media, decorative-art, and edition categories; these less concentrated categories require careful verification of medium and authorship.

## Market and appraisal context

Auction evidence for Bisttram spans paintings, works on paper and prints, as well as smaller groups described as sculpture, mixed media, decorative art, or editions. A credible appraisal should compare the object with public sales of genuinely similar works rather than applying one artist-wide price benchmark. Medium, dimensions, date, condition, restoration, signature or inscriptions, attribution confidence, provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue references can all affect comparability. Subject matter, rarity, and current demand also deserve consideration. Public results are only a starting point because private transactions, incomplete feeds, fee treatment, and later attribution changes may not be reflected in the available data.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine researched artist identity data with matched public auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Private sales, incomplete feeds, fee differences, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5371184
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006843
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/33566282/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88268990
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/185434290
- National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.33197.html
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Bisttram
- Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Bisttram
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/emil-james-bisttram/
- Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oil_painting_%22Contemporary_Justice_and_Woman,%22_first_floor_lobby,_Department_of_Justice,_Washington,_D.C_LCCN2010720193.tif