# Gottfried Kneller artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/gottfried-kneller/ Profile generated: 2026-05-04T21:09:47.153Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1646-08-08 - Death date: 1723-10-19 - Nationality: German, British - Movements: Baroque portraiture - Common media: oil on canvas, engraving, drawing, miniature painting ## About Gottfried Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 1646–1723) was a German-born painter who became the dominant portraitist in England during the late Stuart and early Georgian eras. Born in the Free City of Lübeck, he trained on the continent before establishing himself in London, where he served as court painter to every English and British monarch from Charles II through George I. His sitters ranged from royalty and aristocracy to leading intellectuals of his age, including Isaac Newton, and foreign heads of state such as Louis XIV of France. Kneller is credited with popularizing the kit-cat portrait format, producing more than forty such portraits of members of the politically influential Kit-Cat Club. He was also commissioned by William III to paint the series known as the Hampton Court Beauties, complementing a similar series by his predecessor Peter Lely. Knighted and later made a baronet, Kneller's prolific output shaped the visual record of Britain's ruling class for over four decades. ## Common works and media Kneller's most commonly encountered works are oil-on-canvas portraits in standard formats: the distinctive kit-cat size (approximately 36 × 28 inches showing head, hands, and one hand on a sword or garment), three-quarter-length, and full-length compositions. Sitters are typically English or British aristocrats, monarchs, politicians, military figures, and intellectuals of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Drawings, portrait miniatures, and engravings after Kneller's compositions also appear on the market. Named series include the Kit-cat Club portraits and the Hampton Court Beauties. ## Market and appraisal context Godfrey Kneller maintains an active and broad auction presence, with 67 lots recorded in the Appraisily auction dataset spanning from 1997 to early 2026 and 36 of those carrying realized prices. The price distribution is wide but concentrated at accessible levels: the minimum recorded price is $25, the 25th percentile is $475, the median is $1,000, the 75th percentile is $3,000, and the maximum is $17,859. Liquidity has increased recently, with 9 lots appearing in the most recent 12-month window versus 6 in the prior 12 months, indicating sustained and growing auction interest. Kneller works appear across a diverse set of international houses including Christie's, Freeman's, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Wannenes Art Auctions, Bonino, Osenat, and Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, confirming genuinely global demand across continental European, British, and North American Old Master sales. The majority of recent lots are portraits—oil on canvas, typically three-quarter or kit-cat format—with sitters ranging from unidentified ladies to named aristocrats such as Lady Diana de Vere, Duchess of Portsmouth, and Elizabeth Whitmore. A significant portion of lots carry qualifying attributions such as 'attributed to,' 'after,' 'entourage de,' 'zugeschrieben,' or 'cerchia di' (circle of), reflecting the well-documented challenge of distinguishing autograph Kneller works from his large workshop output and later copies. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Godfrey Kneller maintains an active and broad auction presence, with 67 lots recorded in the Appraisily auction dataset spanning from 1997 to early 2026 and 36 of those carrying realized prices. The price distribution is wide but concentrated at accessible levels: the minimum recorded price is $25, the 25th percentile is $475, the median is $1,000, the 75th percentile is $3,000, and the maximum is $17,859. Liquidity has increased recently, with 9 lots appearing in the most recent 12-month window versus 6 in the prior 12 months, indicating sustained and growing auction interest. Kneller works appear across a diverse set of international houses including Christie's, Freeman's, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Wannenes Art Auctions, Bonino, Osenat, and Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, confirming genuinely global demand across continental European, British, and North American Old Master sales. The majority of recent lots are portraits—oil on canvas, typically three-quarter or kit-cat format—with sitters ranging from unidentified ladies to named aristocrats such as Lady Diana de Vere, Duchess of Portsmouth, and Elizabeth Whitmore. A significant portion of lots carry qualifying attributions such as 'attributed to,' 'after,' 'entourage de,' 'zugeschrieben,' or 'cerchia di' (circle of), reflecting the well-documented challenge of distinguishing autograph Kneller works from his large workshop output and later copies. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily uses these auction records as comparable-sale evidence alongside the details a collector provides—photographs of the work, exact dimensions, medium, signature or inscription details, condition report, conservation history, and any provenance documentation. For Kneller, attribution status is the single most consequential variable: an autograph work by Kneller himself will appraise very differently from a studio copy, a work from his circle, or an 'after' painting. The price distribution shows that autograph portraits of identified sitters in good condition tend toward the upper end of the range (above $3,000 and into five figures), while attributed, circle-of, or after-Kneller works with unknown sitters cluster at the lower end (under $1,000). Appraisers should cross-reference the sitter's historical significance, the painting's format (full-length commands a premium over kit-cat or bust), and the auction-house tier (Christie's or Freeman's realizations versus regional houses) when selecting comparable lots. Because many compositions exist in multiple versions, provenance documentation and expert connoisseurship are essential supporting evidence for any formal appraisal. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes - Kneller works come to auction frequently—an average of roughly 6 to 9 lots per year—so buyers have regular opportunities but should be selective. The single most important purchasing decision is attribution: many lots are explicitly catalogued as workshop, circle, or 'after' Kneller, and these sell at a steep discount to autograph works. If you are considering a purchase, verify how the work is attributed in the catalogue entry and whether any expert opinion or provenance supports an autograph designation. Portraits of identifiable sitters in three-quarter or full-length format, in good condition, with clear provenance, represent the strongest value retention. Be aware that a significant number of Kneller-attributed lots at auction go unsold or have no reported price, which may indicate reserve issues or attribution uncertainty in the market. For sellers, providing condition reports, conservation records, and any provenance documentation can meaningfully improve the outcome. ### Market caveats - Of 67 recorded lots, only 36 carry realized prices; the remaining lots may be unsold, withdrawn, or have unreported results, which means the actual sell-through rate and market liquidity are less certain than the raw counts suggest. - A large proportion of recent lots carry qualifying attributions ('attributed to,' 'after,' 'entourage de,' 'zugeschrieben,' 'cerchia di') rather than firm autograph designations, and these attribution qualifiers significantly depress realized prices relative to securely attributed works. - The price range is very wide ($25–$17,859), reflecting the enormous variation in attribution confidence, sitter importance, format, and condition across the dataset. The median of $1,000 should not be treated as a typical value for any specific work without assessing these factors. - Kneller's prolific workshop produced many versions and copies of popular compositions; two works with similar titles may not be directly comparable without examining attribution status and sitter identity. - Reported prices are in mixed currencies (USD, EUR, CHF) and have not been normalized to a single currency; cross-currency comparisons should account for exchange rates at the time of sale. ### Market evidence sources - undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/gottfried-kneller/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-portrait-of-a-lady-attributed-to-godfrey-kneller-99-c-d131e2e322 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-gottfried-kneller-18-c-f204d61b0e - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-after-british-17th-century-portrait-of-an-aristocratic-lady-wearing-a-golden-brown-gown-and-blue-cloak-oil-on-canvas-28-5-x-24-inches-frame-36-x-31-5-inches-482-c-c1b638412b - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-1646-1723-entourage-de-portrait-de-femme-au-collier-de-perles-et-son-serviteur-12-c-133f3ed38e - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-1646-1723-entourage-de-portrait-de-marquis-11-c-86f7898040 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-lubecca-1646-londra-1723-148-c-71a4fbda05 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-gottfried-kneller-56-c-dc140ac87a - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-british-1646-1723-portrait-of-elizabeth-whitmore-three-quarter-length-25-c-eb946dda5f - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-godfrey-kneller-cerchia-di-62-c-611459a904 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research 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 Sir Godfrey Kneller, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), the Tate gallery, and Wikidata. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82103048 - RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/45019 - Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-godfrey-kneller-310 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/74127041/ - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65317 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Kneller