# Franz Radziwill artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/franz-radziwill/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T13:01:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1895-02-06
- Death date: 1983-08-12
- Nationality: German
- Movements: Magic Realism, New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)
- Common media: oil painting, printmaking / engraving, drawing

## About Franz Radziwill

Franz Radziwill (1895–1983) was a German painter, graphic artist, and draftsman recognized as one of the leading figures of Magic Realism and the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) movement in twentieth-century German art. Born in Strohausen and trained at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Bremen, Radziwill settled in the coastal village of Dangast, which became a defining setting for his landscape paintings. His work is distinguished by precise, often eerie compositions that fuse realistic detail with an unsettling, dreamlike atmosphere. Radziwill's career was interrupted by military service in the First World War, after which he returned to Bremen before relocating to Dangast in 1922. He made extended visits to the Netherlands between 1925 and 1933. His paintings are held in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Collectors encounter Radziwill's work at auction primarily through his landscape oils and graphic works, which reflect the tensions between realism and surreal stillness characteristic of interwar German painting.

## Common works and media

Radziwill's most commonly encountered works at auction include oil-on-canvas or oil-on-panel landscape paintings, often depicting the flat coastal scenery around Dangast. He also produced engravings, etchings, and drawings, some of which originated from visits to the Netherlands. Graphic works on paper appear with moderate frequency and span landscapes, architectural studies, and figurative compositions. Collectors may also encounter later-career paintings that revisit his characteristic precise, moody realism.

## Market and appraisal context

Franz Radziwill's work appears at auction in categories spanning Post-War and Contemporary Art, German Expressionism, and Works on Paper. Oil paintings from his 1920s and 1930s output—particularly Magic Realist landscapes and architectural subjects—tend to attract the strongest market interest. Drawings, prints, and engraved works provide a more accessible entry point for collectors. Provenance, exhibition history, and inclusion in published catalogues are significant value factors. As with many interwar German artists, attribution questions can arise for undated or unsigned works, and expert authentication may be warranted. Appraisers should consult up-to-date auction databases for realized prices and comparable sale records, as public price-trend data was not available in the sources collected here.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured artist-identity research from authority files and museum records with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Franz Radziwill, identity and biographical data are grounded in the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Museum of Modern Art, and Wikidata. Market observations are general and should be supplemented with current auction-database results before use in formal appraisals.

## Sources

- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/65403
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4785
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/50018096/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454593
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500004909
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Radziwill
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50052448