# Howard Hodgkin artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/howard-hodgkin/
Profile generated: 2026-04-30T03:16:02.596Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1932-08-06
- Death date: 2017-03-09
- Nationality: British
- Movements: Abstract art
- Common media: oil painting on wooden panel and hardboard, printmaking (lithograph, screenprint, hand-coloured prints), graphic art and design

## About Howard Hodgkin

Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017) was a British painter and printmaker recognized as one of the most distinctive abstract artists of his generation. Born in London on 6 August 1932, Hodgkin developed a visual language built from bold colour, gestural brushwork, and layered surfaces, often executed on wooden panels rather than traditional stretched canvas. Although institutions and critics frequently classify his work as abstract, Hodgkin described his paintings as representations of specific experiences, memories, and emotional states. Active from the early 1950s until his death on 9 March 2017, he produced an extensive body of paintings, prints, and design work. His official catalogue records series including Indian Leaves and Indian Waves, reflecting a sustained engagement with Indian art and culture. Hodgkin received major recognition during his lifetime, including a prominent British art prize in 1985. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Tate, and other leading international museums.

## Common works and media

Howard Hodgkin is best known for oil paintings on wooden panels and hardboard supports, characterized by vivid saturated colour and bold gestural marks. He also produced a significant body of prints, including lithographs and screenprints, many hand-coloured. Notable series include Indian Leaves and Indian Waves, reflecting his engagement with Indian visual culture. Hodgkin's design output includes posters and other commissioned graphic pieces. His prints are catalogued in Howard Hodgkin Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné (London, 2003). Works range from intimate small-scale panels to large paintings spanning several feet.

## Market and appraisal context

Howard Hodgkin maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 1,332 recorded auction lots and 1,006 priced results spanning over three decades (1994–2026). The price distribution is wide: prints and small works typically realise between $400 and $7,500, while the interquartile range sits at $1,500–$6,500 (median $3,200). Large oil paintings on panel command significantly higher prices, with the top recorded result reaching approximately $1.69 million. A recent Christie's London sale of 'Sunset in Naples' (oil on wood, 12¾ × 14 in.) realised £139,700 in March 2026, confirming sustained demand for prime paintings. Market volume is growing, with 105 lots in the most recent 12-month window versus 88 in the prior period. Works appear regularly at Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips, and a broad roster of mid-tier houses including Forum Auctions, Swann Auction Galleries, Dreweatts, and RoGallery, indicating healthy demand at multiple price tiers.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Howard Hodgkin maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 1,332 recorded auction lots and 1,006 priced results spanning over three decades (1994–2026). The price distribution is wide: prints and small works typically realise between $400 and $7,500, while the interquartile range sits at $1,500–$6,500 (median $3,200). Large oil paintings on panel command significantly higher prices, with the top recorded result reaching approximately $1.69 million. A recent Christie's London sale of 'Sunset in Naples' (oil on wood, 12¾ × 14 in.) realised £139,700 in March 2026, confirming sustained demand for prime paintings. Market volume is growing, with 105 lots in the most recent 12-month window versus 88 in the prior period. Works appear regularly at Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips, and a broad roster of mid-tier houses including Forum Auctions, Swann Auction Galleries, Dreweatts, and RoGallery, indicating healthy demand at multiple price tiers.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these auction records as a comparable-sales baseline, cross-referencing the subject work against the catalogue raisonné (Howard Hodgkin Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné, London 2003) for prints and against published painting catalogues for oils on panel. An appraisal would consider: (1) medium and support—oil on panel commands the strongest results, followed by hand-coloured prints, then standard lithographs and screenprints; (2) dimensions—larger works consistently outperform smaller ones within the same medium; (3) date and period—works from the 1970s–1990s appear frequently and have established price histories; (4) edition size and numbering for prints; (5) condition, including any foxing, fading, or damage to hand-coloured areas; (6) provenance and exhibition history; (7) whether the work belongs to a named series such as Indian Leaves, Indian Waves, or In the Museum of Modern Art. Photographs of the work, signature, and any gallery labels would be compared against the auction-record images and catalogue entries to confirm attribution before selecting comparable lots.

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### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/howard-hodgkin/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Christie's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-1932-2017-sunset-in-naples-oil-on-wood12-3-4-x-14-in-32-8-c-707cd81a1b
- Invaluable / Christie's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-1932-2017-in-an-empty-room-image-sheet-1200-x-1490-mm-51-c-7f83d1fa05
- Invaluable / Christie's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-1932-2017-moroccan-door-image-sheet-760-x-1115-mm-50-c-71d02a0ed4
- Invaluable / Auctions at Showplace: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-venice-afternoon-etching-aquatint-98-c-177491997a
- Invaluable / DuMouchelles: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-british-1932-2017-screenprint-in-colors-on-somerset-paper-1995-gossip-h-29-w-40-75-1023-c-8050cd13bc
- Invaluable / Barton's Auction: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-lithograph-312-c-9044079b62
- Invaluable / Barton's Auction: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-lithograph-314-c-b11463eadd
- Invaluable / Fontaine's Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-british-1932-2017-sun-from-more-indian-views-114-c-13234072f6
- Invaluable / Andrew Jones Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-british-1932-2017-in-a-french-restaurant-knoedler-gallery-nyc-1980-screenprint-in-colors-on-heavy-wove-paper-47-1-2-x-57-1-4in-121-x-146cm-445-c-245449abb4
- Invaluable / Andrew Jones Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-british-1932-2017-in-a-french-restaurant-knoedler-gallery-nyc-1980-screenprint-in-colors-on-heavy-wove-paper-47-1-2-x-57-1-4in-121-x-146cm-466-c-15a424eb20
- Invaluable / RoGallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-late-afternoon-in-the-museum-of-art-etching-79-c-cb098bbc8c
- Invaluable / Antiques & Modern Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-howard-hodgkin-sky-s-the-limit-531-c-0195dcdcab
- Invaluable / Lawsons: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-two-books-on-howard-hodgkin-2086-c-caafda104b

## Appraisily data basis

This artist page draws on verified identity records from the Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, alongside museum collection records from the Museum of Modern Art and Tate. Appraisily artist pages combine published research with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82066827
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/29552547/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q950746
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/38674
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2679
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/howard-hodgkin-1295
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hodgkin
- Howard Hodgkin (estate): http://www.howard-hodgkin.com/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500027570