# George Barbier artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/george-barbier/
Profile generated: 2026-05-06T20:37:31.402Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1882-10-10
- Death date: 1932
- Nationality: French
- Movements: Art Deco
- Common media: pochoir prints, gouache, watercolour, book illustration, fashion illustration, costume and set design, jewellery design, glass design, wallpaper design

## About George Barbier

George Barbier (1882–1932), born Georges Augustin Barbier in Nantes, was one of the foremost French illustrators of the early twentieth century. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he rose to prominence through refined, elegantly stylized fashion illustrations for the influential journal Gazette du bon ton and for leading Parisian couture houses. Vogue nicknamed Barbier and his Beaux-Arts circle 'The Knights of the Bracelet' for their flamboyant personal style. His output extended well beyond fashion plates: he designed costumes and sets for theatre and the Folies Bergère, collaborated with Erté, created jewellery, glass, and wallpaper designs, and illustrated luxury editions of French literary works including Verlaine's Fêtes galantes. Active during the height of the Art Deco period, Barbier's aesthetic helped define the visual culture of 1920s Parisian luxury. His career was cut short by his death in 1932, at the peak of his reputation.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter George Barbier through pochoir fashion plates from Gazette du bon ton and related portfolios such as Falbalas et Fanfreluches. Original works on paper—including gouache and watercolour fashion illustrations, costume designs for ballet and theatre, and preparatory drawings—also appear at auction, though less often than printed material. Barbier further produced luxury book illustrations for editions of French literary classics, jewellery and glass design drawings, wallpaper patterns, and poster designs. Works signed 'E.-W. Larry' are by Barbier and should be identified accordingly.

## Market and appraisal context

George Barbier has a well-established secondary market spanning over two decades, with 119 auction lots tracked from September 2001 through April 2026 and 83 priced results. Realized prices range from approximately USD 60 for small printed material to USD 17,500 for premium original works, with a median near USD 460 and an interquartile range of roughly USD 220–1,100. The market is distributed across at least ten named auction houses, including Christie's, Artcurial, Hermitage Fine Art, Leonard Joel, Sworders, Tajan, and Gonnelli Casa d'Aste. Liquidity has increased recently: 12 lots appeared in the trailing twelve months versus 5 in the prior period. Original gouache and mixed-media works command significantly higher prices (e.g., AUD 7,500 for Eve at Leonard Joel, June 2025; EUR 2,000 and EUR 1,400 at Artcurial and Hermitage Fine Art respectively), while published pochoir prints and lithographs typically realize in the low-to-mid hundreds. Costume and theatre designs and complete illustrated book portfolios such as Falbalas et fanfreluches occupy a mid-range band (EUR 1,000–1,150). The breadth of houses and consistent turnover indicate stable collector demand rather than speculative spikes.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

George Barbier has a well-established secondary market spanning over two decades, with 119 auction lots tracked from September 2001 through April 2026 and 83 priced results. Realized prices range from approximately USD 60 for small printed material to USD 17,500 for premium original works, with a median near USD 460 and an interquartile range of roughly USD 220–1,100. The market is distributed across at least ten named auction houses, including Christie's, Artcurial, Hermitage Fine Art, Leonard Joel, Sworders, Tajan, and Gonnelli Casa d'Aste. Liquidity has increased recently: 12 lots appeared in the trailing twelve months versus 5 in the prior period. Original gouache and mixed-media works command significantly higher prices (e.g., AUD 7,500 for Eve at Leonard Joel, June 2025; EUR 2,000 and EUR 1,400 at Artcurial and Hermitage Fine Art respectively), while published pochoir prints and lithographs typically realize in the low-to-mid hundreds. Costume and theatre designs and complete illustrated book portfolios such as Falbalas et fanfreluches occupy a mid-range band (EUR 1,000–1,150). The breadth of houses and consistent turnover indicate stable collector demand rather than speculative spikes.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily uses these auction records as a comparable-sales baseline. To produce a credible appraisal, the records are combined with: (1) clear photographs showing the work's front, verso, any signatures or stamps, and the pseudonym E.-W. Larry where applicable; (2) exact dimensions and medium—distinguishing original gouache or watercolour on paper from pochoir prints and lithographs is essential, as the price differential can be an order of magnitude; (3) condition report focusing on colour integrity in stencilled prints, paper toning, foxing, and any restoration; (4) provenance documentation and exhibition history; (5) edition details for printed material, including portfolio title and plate position; and (6) selection of the most comparable lots from the 83 priced results, filtered by medium, period, and size. Because no single catalogue raisonné is available, attribution should be cross-checked against Bénézit or Saur references and, where possible, confirmed by a specialist in Art Deco works on paper.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- The Barbier market is accessible across multiple price tiers. Entry-level pochoir prints from Gazette du bon ton or similar journals can be acquired for roughly USD 100–500, making them a practical starting point. Mid-range buyers will find costume and theatre designs, Falbalas et fanfreluches portfolios, and multi-plate groups in the USD 500–1,500 band. Premium original works on paper—particularly gouache with mixed media—are scarcer and have recently achieved prices above USD 5,000 at houses like Leonard Joel. Auction turnover is consistent but not high-volume; collectors should expect selective opportunities rather than continuous supply. When purchasing, verify that prints have not been removed from bound volumes in a way that damages margins, and confirm that original works are distinguished from later reproduction prints. Works signed E.-W. Larry should be cross-referenced with Barbier's catalogue to ensure attribution. The recent increase in lot frequency (12 versus 5 year-over-year) suggests growing market attention, which may support medium-term value stability.

### Market caveats

- No single catalogue raisonné exists for George Barbier; attribution relies on expert opinion and published references (Bénézit, Saur). Collectors should seek specialist confirmation for any attribution claim.
- Published pochoir prints are relatively common at auction, and not all listed lots may represent unique or original works. The price distribution reflects this mix of originals and multiples.
- Prices span multiple currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD) across the dataset; currency conversion and regional market differences should be considered when using comparables.
- Some recent lots in the source pack lack realized prices (indicated as null), which may represent unsold lots or pre-sale estimates; these are excluded from the priced-lot statistics but reduce the effective sample size.
- Barbier's career ended with his death in 1932 at approximately age 50. Supply is finite and will not grow, but the body of work is substantial enough that individual prints remain regularly available.
- The source data does not include category labels from the auction houses; the common auction categories listed are inferred from lot titles and the artist's known mediums.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/george-barbier/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-george-barbier-tamar-karsavina-album-cover-1914-830-c-bcebe60040
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-george-barbier-1882-1932-colored-lithograph-print-259-c-5df4e03ae5
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-art-deco-george-barbier-falbalas-et-fanfreluches-pour-1925-chez-meynia-274-c-8624480bc4

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research drawn from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For George Barbier, identity data has been corroborated across the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q536721
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barbier_(illustrator)
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500031474
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/36914178/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81120607
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/4331