# Emilio Scanavino artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/emilio-scanavino/ Profile generated: 2026-05-02T05:45:00.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1922-02-28 - Death date: 1986-11-28 - Nationality: Italian - Movements: Post-war Italian art - Common media: painting, sculpture, ceramics ## About Emilio Scanavino Emilio Scanavino (1922–1986) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Genoa. He trained between 1938 and 1942 and began exhibiting soon after World War II, spending formative time in Paris in 1947. Scanavino participated in the Venice Biennale four times — in 1950, 1954, 1958, and 1966 — placing him firmly within the post-war Italian art dialog. He relocated to Milan in 1958, later lived in Calice Ligure and Rome, and remained active until his death in Milan in 1986. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and he is documented in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History. Collectors most often encounter his work at post-war and contemporary art auctions across Europe and North America. ## Common works and media Collectors and appraisers may encounter Scanavino works in oil on canvas, mixed-media compositions, sculpture, and ceramics. Paintings ranging from small works on paper to large-format canvases appear regularly at European auction houses. Sculptural works and ceramic pieces are less common but well-documented in museum and gallery records. Editioned prints and works on paper also circulate in the secondary market. ## Market and appraisal context Emilio Scanavino has a deep and liquid secondary market with 771 auction lots recorded since 1994, of which 461 carry realized prices. His work appears regularly at European auction houses led by Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Art-Rite, Il Ponte, and Fabiani Arte, with significant lots also passing through Sotheby's and Christie's. The price distribution is wide: the median realized price is €1,600, the 75th percentile reaches €7,000, and the top recorded price is €2,415,000, reflecting the gap between small works on paper or ceramics and important oil paintings from his most sought-after periods. Recent 12-month volume (67 lots) is slightly below the prior 12 months (76 lots), suggesting stable but modestly softening liquidity. Oil paintings from the 1950s and 1960s—especially those tied to his Venice Biennale years—command the strongest results, while ceramics, prints, and small works on paper trade in the low hundreds of euros. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Emilio Scanavino has a deep and liquid secondary market with 771 auction lots recorded since 1994, of which 461 carry realized prices. His work appears regularly at European auction houses led by Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Art-Rite, Il Ponte, and Fabiani Arte, with significant lots also passing through Sotheby's and Christie's. The price distribution is wide: the median realized price is €1,600, the 75th percentile reaches €7,000, and the top recorded price is €2,415,000, reflecting the gap between small works on paper or ceramics and important oil paintings from his most sought-after periods. Recent 12-month volume (67 lots) is slightly below the prior 12 months (76 lots), suggesting stable but modestly softening liquidity. Oil paintings from the 1950s and 1960s—especially those tied to his Venice Biennale years—command the strongest results, while ceramics, prints, and small works on paper trade in the low hundreds of euros. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily would use the 461 priced auction records as a comparable-lot baseline, then weight results by similarity to the subject work in medium (oil on canvas, mixed media, sculpture, ceramic, or work on paper), date (works from the 1950s–1960s Biennale period carry a premium), dimensions, condition, provenance (gallery or Biennale exhibition history), and signature clarity. The wide price spread—€10 to €2,415,000—means that selecting truly comparable lots is critical; a small ceramic bowl (e.g., €240 at Finarte) is not comparable to a large-period oil painting (e.g., €30,000 at Colasanti or the €2.4M top record). Editioned prints and works on paper cluster at the lower end and should be compared only within that tier. Provenance linking to notable galleries, the Venice Biennale, or museum exhibitions can materially affect value. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes ### Market caveats - The wide price range (€10 to €2,415,000) means average or median prices are not reliable indicators for any individual work; appraisal requires medium-, period-, and size-specific comparable lot analysis. - Several recent lots show null (unrealized) prices, which may indicate buy-ins or withdrawn lots and could skew the observable distribution upward. - Auction-record data is derived from public auction feeds aggregated by Appraisily and may not capture private sales or all regional Italian auction results. - The slight year-over-year volume decline (67 vs 76 lots) is based on a short window and may not reflect a sustained trend. - Scanavino's death-date has a minor discrepancy across authority sources (Library of Congress records 1986-11-28; RKD records 1986-11-29). This does not affect market value but should be noted for catalogue entries. ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/emilio-scanavino/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - Invaluable (Bonino): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-1986-composizione-astratta-128-c-f2fc5c255c - Invaluable (Bonino): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-1986-composizione-astratta-87-c-e22e394968 - Invaluable (Hampel Fine Art Auctions): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-genua-1986-mailand-1090-c-83528022be - Invaluable (Bonino): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-1986-composizione-astratta-128-c-376e29a018 - Invaluable (Bonino): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-1986-composizione-astratta-87-c-af1263067c - Invaluable (Louiza Auktion & Associés): https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emilio-scanavino-1922-1986-number-1-1970-271-c-d31cc444af ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library-authority, and institutional sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Emilio Scanavino, this page draws on the Museum of Modern Art, Library of Congress, RKD, and VIAF authority records. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88075011 - RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/252580 - The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5193 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/59889866/ - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q472656 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Scanavino