# Guy Pène DuBois artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/guy-pene-dubois/
Profile generated: 2026-05-13T02:22:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1884-01-04
- Death date: 1958-07-18
- Nationality: American
- Movements: American Modernism
- Common media: oil painting

## About Guy Pène DuBois

Guy Pène DuBois (1884–1958) was an American painter, art critic, and educator known for sharply observed scenes of twentieth-century social life. Born in the United States into a French family, he developed a distinctive figurative style that captured café interiors, theatre audiences, and the stylized world of 1920s flappers with both wit and restraint. Unlike many of his contemporaries who pursued abstraction, Pène DuBois remained committed to representational painting that commented on the manners and rituals of modern urban society. He was active as a critic and educator alongside his painting practice, contributing to the broader discourse on American art. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his career is documented in a scholarly monograph by B. Fahlman, Guy Pène du Bois: Painter of Modern Life (2004).

## Common works and media

Pène DuBois primarily produced oil paintings on canvas and panel, though works on paper including drawings may also appear. His signature subjects are figurative scenes of social gatherings: café patrons, theatre-goers, parties, and portraits of fashionable urban figures. Collectors may encounter works dating from the 1910s through the 1950s, with the strongest demand typically for his 1920s society scenes. Signed works are the norm; verify signatures against documented variants of his name.

## Market and appraisal context

Guy Pène DuBois appears regularly in the American Paintings auction market, with nearly 400 recorded lots. Valuation is influenced by medium and size, with oil paintings on canvas commanding the strongest results. Provenance traced to established galleries or institutional collections, such as MoMA, supports buyer confidence. The 2004 Fahlman monograph provides a scholarly reference point for attribution, and collectors should be aware of multiple recorded name variants when researching provenance. Condition, date of execution, and subject matter—all hallmarks of his social-scene imagery—affect individual lot outcomes.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from museum records, library authority files, and scholarly references with auction records and comparable lot data from the Invaluable database. When available, realized prices, sale dates, and auction-house provenance are incorporated to provide context for collectors seeking appraisal guidance.

## Sources

- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/24441
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5622550
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4460
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/37823028/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500120494
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_P%C3%A8ne_du_Bois
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81043140