# Henri Masson artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/henri-masson/ Profile generated: 2026-05-05T06:37:00.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1907-01-10 - Death date: 1996-01-01 - Nationality: Canadian, Belgian - Movements: Canadian scene painting (Quebec regionalist tradition) - Common media: Oil painting, Engraving, Graphic arts ## About Henri Masson Henri Léopold Masson (1907–1996) was a Belgian-born Canadian painter, engraver, and graphic artist whose work is closely associated with the landscapes and daily life of Quebec. Born in Namur, Belgium, Masson immigrated to Canada as a teenager and established a decades-long career depicting rural and village scenes across the province. His paintings are recognized for their vivid sense of place and their contribution to a regional Canadian figurative tradition. Masson worked across painting, engraving, and graphic arts, and his output appears frequently in Canadian art-market contexts. He is listed in the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History. ## Common works and media Masson is best known for oil paintings depicting Quebec landscapes, villages, winter scenes, and rural life. He also produced engravings and graphic works in various print media. Collectors may encounter both original paintings and editioned prints at auction. Common formats include small-to-mid-size canvases, works on paper, and etchings or other intaglio prints. Subjects range from snowy village streets and farmsteads to harbor views and figurative genre scenes. ## Market and appraisal context Henri Masson's auction market is anchored in Canadian regional auction houses, with 31 recorded lots (25 with prices realized) spanning 2006–2025. Nine distinct houses have offered his work, led by Walker's (12 lots), Kavanagh Auctions, and Waddington's — all Canadian specialists. Price dispersion is moderate: the interquartile range runs from approximately CAD/USD 850 to 2,500, with a median of 1,560 (predominantly CAD). The ceiling among tracked lots is 4,312 and the floor is 120 (a signed lithograph). Oil paintings of Quebec landscapes on canvas cluster in the mid-hundreds to low thousands; prints and works on paper generally realize below 600 CAD. Liquidity is steady but thin — only one lot appeared in the most recent 12-month window (A. H. Wilkens, August 2025, CAD 550), suggesting modest annual throughput rather than active speculative turnover. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Henri Masson's auction market is anchored in Canadian regional auction houses, with 31 recorded lots (25 with prices realized) spanning 2006–2025. Nine distinct houses have offered his work, led by Walker's (12 lots), Kavanagh Auctions, and Waddington's — all Canadian specialists. Price dispersion is moderate: the interquartile range runs from approximately CAD/USD 850 to 2,500, with a median of 1,560 (predominantly CAD). The ceiling among tracked lots is 4,312 and the floor is 120 (a signed lithograph). Oil paintings of Quebec landscapes on canvas cluster in the mid-hundreds to low thousands; prints and works on paper generally realize below 600 CAD. Liquidity is steady but thin — only one lot appeared in the most recent 12-month window (A. H. Wilkens, August 2025, CAD 550), suggesting modest annual throughput rather than active speculative turnover. ### Appraisal notes An Appraisily appraisal for a Henri Masson work would cross-reference the price distribution above with the specific piece's medium (oil on canvas vs. print/lithograph), dimensions, signature presence and location, subject matter (Quebec landscape and village scenes command stronger results), condition report, exhibition or collection provenance, and the applicable currency (most results are CAD; USD results from U.S. houses like Akiba and Litchfield should be normalized). Comparable lots are selected by matching medium, size range, subject, and sale date proximity. The appraiser would note that Walker's lots from 2010 represent the densest comparable cluster, while more recent results (2018–2025) are sparser and may warrant wider comparables. ### Valuation factors - Medium and support — original oil on canvas commands significantly more than lithographs or works on paper - Subject matter — titled Quebec landscapes, winter village scenes, and skating scenes are the most frequently realized and recognizable subjects - Dimensions — the Waddington's lot at 18×24 inches (45.7×61 cm) realized CAD 1,560, providing a useful mid-size canvas benchmark - Signature and labeling — lots with gallery labels or stretcher-bar inscriptions (e.g., the Waddington's entry) provide stronger provenance signals - Currency — the majority of results are in CAD; USD-denominated lots from U.S. houses (Akiba, Joshua Kodner, Litchfield) should be currency-adjusted for comparability - Sale timing — the densest comparable window is 2010–2014 (Walker's); recent results are few, so comparables may need to span a wider date range - Condition and restoration history - Exhibition or publication history, if documented ### Collector notes - Henri Masson's market is accessible: the median auction result is in the low four figures (CAD), and strong Quebec landscape oils have realized CAD 2,500–3,750 at Walker's. Buyers should note that results are mixed-currency (primarily CAD with some USD), so direct comparison requires currency normalization. Lithographs and prints trade well below oil paintings (CAD 120–600 range), making them an affordable entry point. Signed oil paintings with clear Quebec subject matter and titled stretchers or gallery labels tend to outperform untitled or generic lots. The market is concentrated among Canadian regional houses — Walker's, Waddington's, Westbridge, Empire, and Kavanagh — so monitoring their upcoming catalogs is the most efficient way to track availability. Annual supply is thin (roughly one to two lots per year in recent seasons), so patience may be required. ### Market caveats - Price distribution is drawn from 25 priced lots across a 19-year span; the sample is useful but not large enough to establish narrow per-square-inch or per-subject pricing bands. - Mixed currencies (CAD and USD) in the lot history require normalization before direct comparison. - Several Walker's lots from 2014 and a Kavanagh lot from 2022 have no price-realized value recorded, which may indicate buy-ins or withdrawn lots; the actual trading rate may differ from the priced-lot statistics. - The 672-lot figure cited in the existing profile comes from a broader database count and is not directly reflected in this 31-lot sample; the larger universe of results may include works with weaker attribution or different market segments. - Attribution should be verified for unsigned works, as the volume of total recorded lots suggests a wide range of material in circulation. ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/henri-masson/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-henri-masson-canadian-1907-1996-3191-c-12f421482d ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files, museum databases, and encyclopedic sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82103248 - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51791276 - Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500090204 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54420385/ - RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/53154 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Masson_(artist)