# Friedensreich Hundertwasser artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/friedensreich-hundertwasser/ Profile generated: 2026-04-29T19:19:30.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1928-12-15 - Death date: 2000-02-19 - Nationality: Austrian - Movements: Independent expressionist and environmental art - Common media: Painting, Printmaking (lithographs, screenprints, woodcuts), Tapestry, Architecture, Applied arts and poster design ## About Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000), born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna, was an Austrian painter, printmaker, and architect who became one of the most distinctive European artists of the late twentieth century. He adopted his multilingual pseudonym—meaning Peace-Realm Rainy-Day Darkly-Colourful Hundred-Water—in the early 1950s and soon gained international attention for vividly coloured paintings that rejected straight lines in favour of spirals, organic forms, and dense, layered patterns. Beyond painting, he produced a substantial body of prints, tapestries, posters, and applied-arts objects, and later turned to architecture, designing buildings in Vienna and elsewhere that put his ecological and anti-straight-line philosophy into built form. An outspoken environmental advocate, Hundertwasser emigrated to New Zealand in the 1970s and spent much of his later life there, though he remained a prominent figure in the European art world until his death aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 in February 2000. ## Common works and media Collectors and appraisers most often encounter Hundertwasser's colour screenprints and lithographs, many produced in numbered editions from the 1960s onward. Original paintings in oil or mixed media on paper or canvas are rarer at auction. Tapestries woven after his designs, exhibition posters, and applied-arts objects such as ceramics and medal designs also appear. His graphic works typically feature bold, spiral-dominated compositions in high-chroma colour palettes. Subjects include fantastical architectural vistas, trees and organic growth, eyes, and abstracted landscapes. ## Market and appraisal context Hundertwasser's auction market is deep and liquid, with 2,193 recorded lots dating from February 2001 through April 2026. Activity is steady and growing: 200 lots in the most recent twelve months versus 186 in the prior period. Price dispersion is wide—realised prices range from $1 to $1,300,000—reflecting the broad spectrum from small editioned prints and posters to major original paintings. The interquartile range ($625–$2,800) and median of $1,300 indicate that the bulk of the market consists of editioned screenprints, lithographs, and works on paper. Premium results are driven by unique paintings, large-format prints, and works from the artist's most recognised periods (late 1950s–1970s). Top-tier houses such as Bonhams, Christie's, Dorotheum, and Koller Auctions regularly offer Hundertwasser, alongside a wide secondary network of specialist and regional houses including Henry's Auktionshaus, Bassenge, Nagel, and RoGallery. The market is geographically distributed across Europe (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK) and North America, consistent with the artist's international following. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Hundertwasser's auction market is deep and liquid, with 2,193 recorded lots dating from February 2001 through April 2026. Activity is steady and growing: 200 lots in the most recent twelve months versus 186 in the prior period. Price dispersion is wide—realised prices range from $1 to $1,300,000—reflecting the broad spectrum from small editioned prints and posters to major original paintings. The interquartile range ($625–$2,800) and median of $1,300 indicate that the bulk of the market consists of editioned screenprints, lithographs, and works on paper. Premium results are driven by unique paintings, large-format prints, and works from the artist's most recognised periods (late 1950s–1970s). Top-tier houses such as Bonhams, Christie's, Dorotheum, and Koller Auctions regularly offer Hundertwasser, alongside a wide secondary network of specialist and regional houses including Henry's Auktionshaus, Bassenge, Nagel, and RoGallery. The market is geographically distributed across Europe (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK) and North America, consistent with the artist's international following. ### Appraisal notes An Appraisily appraisal for a Hundertwasser work would draw on this auction-record dataset—2,193 lots with 1,525 priced results—to identify comparable lots by medium, period, edition size, dimensions, and condition. For screenprints and lithographs, the edition number and total run size are critical value differentiators; the recorded price distribution shows that seemingly similar prints can realise anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on edition position, signature (hand-signed versus plate-signed), and complexity of the print (e.g., works with metallic embossing and ground glass command premiums). For unique paintings and works on paper, provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue raisonné documentation are essential. Condition is a significant factor across all mediums: prints and posters are vulnerable to fading, foxing, toning, and handling creases, while tapestries and works on silk have their own conservation concerns. The appraiser would cross-reference the provided photographs and physical details against the recent comparable lots in this dataset, adjust for currency (lots are recorded in USD, EUR, and CHF), and factor in current market trends indicated by the stable-to-growing lot volume. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes ### Market caveats - The dataset includes lots priced in USD, EUR, and CHF; direct price comparisons require currency adjustment. Exchange-rate fluctuations between sale dates and the present can affect apparent value. - Hundertwasser produced a large volume of editioned prints and posters; not all works carry equal rarity or value. A small, unsigned poster and a major hand-signed screenprint may both be described as 'Hundertwasser prints' but occupy very different market tiers. - Some recorded lots lack realised prices (e.g., the April 2026 Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden lot), which may indicate unsold lots, post-sale negotiations, or data-capture timing. Such lots are excluded from the price-distribution statistics but should not be interpreted as zero-value indications. - The maximum recorded price of $1,300,000 represents an outlier likely associated with a unique painting; it should not be used as a benchmark for editioned prints or works on paper, which represent the majority of the market. - Attribution should be verified against the official catalogue raisonné. The artist's widespread popularity has led to reproductions, posters, and unauthorized copies in the secondary market that may appear in auction listings without being original works. ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/friedensreich-hundertwasser/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - Invaluable / Pasarel: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austrian-1928-2000-crusade-of-the-crossroaders-silkscreen-in-colors-with-metallic-embossing-and-ground-glass-229-c-0a0cfe0141 - Invaluable / Pasarel: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austrian-1928-2000-regentag-on-waves-of-love-hand-signed-silkscreen-in-colors-with-metallic-embossing-and-ground-glass-226-c-75d4563faf - Invaluable / Eldred's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austria-1928-2000-the-house-is-the-mirror-of-man-and-woman-1985-screenprint-on-silk-43-x-43-framed-46-x-45-5-3128-c-dec4d2eb83 - Invaluable / Helmuth Stone: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-good-morning-city-92-c-4b34d33b5d - Invaluable / Pasarel: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austrian-1928-2000-regentag-on-waves-of-love-hand-signed-silkscreen-in-colors-with-metallic-embossing-and-ground-glass-90-c-dc946dd9bf - Invaluable / Lion and Unicorn: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-serigraph-on-paper-good-morning-city-signed-278-c-e38412589c - Invaluable / J. Garrett Auctioneers: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austrian-1928-2000-140-c-e2446fd997 - Invaluable / Eldred's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austria-1928-2000-good-morning-city-bleeding-town-1970-1971-color-screenprint-with-metal-embossing-33-x-21-5-framed-40-x-28-25-7014-c-3144ee39f0 - Invaluable / Shannon's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-austrian-1928-2000-good-morning-city-bleeding-town-colored-screenprint-with-metal-imprints-33-1-2-x-22-in-85-1-x-55-9-cm-frame-33-3-4-x-22-1-4-x-1-1-2-in-85-7-x-56-5-x-3-8-cm-24-c-071487db01 - Invaluable / Helmuth Stone: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-midori-no-namida-241-c-1ce44629ab - Invaluable / Kunst- und Auktionshaus Quedlinburg: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-1928-2000-silk-scarf-512-c-93c40e8ae9 - Invaluable / Auctions at Showplace: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-regentag-screenprint-104-c-b8f433692a - Invaluable / Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-friedensreich-hundertwasser-2761-c-5f67cc1907 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from museum, library-authority, and institutional sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50036736 - RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/40612 - The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2766 - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q151836 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/12426797/ - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser - Friedensreich Hundertwasser: https://www.hundertwasser.at