# Fritz Scholder artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/fritz-scholder/
Profile generated: 2026-04-30T10:50:15.586Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1937-10-06
- Death date: 2005-02-10
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Expressionism, Postmodernism, Pop Art influence
- Common media: painting (oil and acrylic), lithography, monotype, sculpture (bronze), photography, serigraphy / screen printing

## About Fritz Scholder

Fritz Scholder (1937–2005) was a Luiseño-American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and educator whose expressionist works challenged romanticized depictions of Native American life. Born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, Scholder studied at Sacramento State College and the University of Arizona before joining the faculty of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in 1964. Although an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, he resisted the label "Indian artist," insisting on being recognized simply as an artist. His Indian series of the late 1960s and early 1970s—marked by vivid color, gestural brushwork, and psychological intensity—brought him national attention. Works from this period and beyond are held by the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Denver Art Museum, and other major collections worldwide. Across painting, lithography, monotype, sculpture, and photography, Scholder explored themes ranging from Native identity to ancient Egypt, mystery women, and floral still life.

## Common works and media

Scholder worked across oil and acrylic painting, lithography, monotype, serigraphy, bronze sculpture, and photography. His most recognized works include expressionist portraits and figures from the Indian series, depicting Native American subjects with bold, saturated color and gestural distortion. Additional recurring series address ancient Egyptian imagery, enigmatic female figures, and floral compositions. Limited-edition lithographs and exhibition posters are frequently encountered in the secondary market. Bronze sculptures and monotypes also appear at auction. Collectors may find both unique works and editioned multiples spanning several decades of production from the 1960s through the early 2000s.

## Market and appraisal context

Fritz Scholder maintains a deep and liquid secondary market, with 852 auction lots recorded by Appraisily spanning December 1993 through April 2026. Of those, 721 carry realized prices, producing a distribution from $10 (posters and minor prints) to $400,000 (major unique works). The interquartile range ($540–$4,000) and median of $1,300 reflect the high volume of editioned lithographs, serigraphs, and posters that circulate widely, while unique paintings and sculptures from hallmark series—particularly the Indian series—command five- and six-figure prices. Recent standout results include a 1994 Dancer oil selling at Bonhams for $120,000 (November 2025), Man & Dog #1 acrylic on canvas reaching $60,200 at Bradford's (November 2022), and a large Self Portrait acrylic realizing $40,000 at Soulis Auctions (February 2026). Annual throughput remains robust at 80–94 priced lots per year, with consistent representation at Santa Fe Art Auction, Hindman, Heritage Auctions, Bonhams, Christie's, and regional specialists including Altermann Galleries, J Levine, Bradford's, and RoGallery. The market is well-established, geographically distributed, and benefits from sustained institutional and collector interest in Native American and Post-War Contemporary art.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Fritz Scholder maintains a deep and liquid secondary market, with 852 auction lots recorded by Appraisily spanning December 1993 through April 2026. Of those, 721 carry realized prices, producing a distribution from $10 (posters and minor prints) to $400,000 (major unique works). The interquartile range ($540–$4,000) and median of $1,300 reflect the high volume of editioned lithographs, serigraphs, and posters that circulate widely, while unique paintings and sculptures from hallmark series—particularly the Indian series—command five- and six-figure prices. Recent standout results include a 1994 Dancer oil selling at Bonhams for $120,000 (November 2025), Man & Dog #1 acrylic on canvas reaching $60,200 at Bradford's (November 2022), and a large Self Portrait acrylic realizing $40,000 at Soulis Auctions (February 2026). Annual throughput remains robust at 80–94 priced lots per year, with consistent representation at Santa Fe Art Auction, Hindman, Heritage Auctions, Bonhams, Christie's, and regional specialists including Altermann Galleries, J Levine, Bradford's, and RoGallery. The market is well-established, geographically distributed, and benefits from sustained institutional and collector interest in Native American and Post-War Contemporary art.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal of a Fritz Scholder work would cross-reference the 721 priced auction records in the Appraisily database to establish comparable-lot benchmarks keyed to medium, subject or series, dimensions, date of execution, edition details (for prints), and provenance. Photographs would be assessed for condition, signature placement, and consistency with documented techniques. For paintings and sculptures, comparable lots from the upper price tier—particularly Indian-series oils, acrylics, and bronzes at major houses—would anchor fair-market value estimates. For lithographs and serigraphs, edition size, numbering, workshop attribution (e.g., Tamarind Institute), and condition of the paper support would be weighed against the dense middle-market record. Provenance linking to notable galleries, museum exhibitions, or the artist's estate would be documented as value-enhancing factors. The appraisal report would note the wide dispersion between poster/print and unique-work segments and clearly distinguish which market segment the subject work inhabits.

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### Market evidence sources

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- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-luiseno-signed-1979-american-indian-film-festival-poster-711460-c-f6a47348fc
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-luiseno-american-1937-2005-13-c-a60474c90e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-2-fritz-scholder-fancy-dancy-gallery-prints-1151-c-3794993af2
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-native-american-ceramic-tile-688-c-346408e967
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-large-fritz-scholder-man-dog-1-original-acrylic-on-canvas-with-signed-book-1104-c-ecb4e21a9e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-museum-exhibited-fritz-scholder-san-ildefonso-original-acrylic-on-canvas-with-exhibition-catalog-1025-c-f304e67804
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-blue-bolo-tie-original-acrylic-on-paper-1019-c-b1d4df6857
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-8-posters-1975-1996-418-c-0019b44177
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-1937-2005-self-portrait-in-barcelona-91-c-72e04d97cf
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-1937-2005-native-american-83-c-75e1067fb2
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-minnesota-1937-arizona-2005-retrato-de-831-c-7b586ef0fc
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-minnesota-1937-arizona-2005-retrato-de-830-c-4f0e1cdae6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-minnesota-1937-arizona-2005-retrato-de-829-c-e5bd0d435e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-minnesota-1937-arizona-2005-sin-titulo-828-c-c03fe68b3d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-minnesota-1937-arizona-2005-retrao-de-h-827-c-a269829378
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-1937-2005-cat-scratching-183-c-9a75b1ca1d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-1937-2005-screaming-indian-on-horseback-182-c-89dcd0ae13
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-fritz-scholder-1937-2005-standing-indian-feather-fan-in-hand-181-c-80b37338f9

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library, and authority sources with public auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when available. This page draws on records from the Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, the Museum of Modern Art, and the artist's official estate, supplemented by auction-house data.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79059723
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5258
- Fritz Scholder Estate: http://fritzscholder.com/
- VIAF / OCLC: https://viaf.org/viaf/61655601/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5505013
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/70878
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Scholder
- Getty Research Institute: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500127466