# Ismael de la Serna artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/ismael-de-la-serna/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T20:37:14.665Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1898-06-06
- Death date: 1968-11-30
- Nationality: Spanish
- Movements: School of Paris
- Common media: painting, printmaking and engraving, drawing, illustration, design

## About Ismael de la Serna

Ismael de la Serna (born Ismael González de la Serna in Guadix, Spain; active 1921–1968) was a Spanish painter, printmaker, illustrator, and designer who spent most of his career in Paris. From 1921 he was embedded in the circle of Spanish expatriate artists working in the French capital, forming close associations with Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, the sculptor Pablo Gargallo, and Julio González. His work spans painting, engraving, and drawing, and he is represented in museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Active for nearly five decades, de la Serna contributed to the broader School of Paris environment that connected Spanish modernists with European avant-garde currents. His work appears regularly at auction, with hundreds of recorded lots spanning oils, works on paper, and prints.

## Common works and media

De la Serna's most frequently encountered works at auction include oil paintings on canvas and panel, ink and pencil drawings, and intaglio prints and engravings. His subject matter reflects his Spanish heritage and his decades in Paris. Works are found in a range of sizes from small-scale studies to larger compositions. Prints and multiples may exist in editions, and collectors should verify edition numbers and plate signatures. Illustration and design work also surfaces occasionally in the secondary market.

## Market and appraisal context

Ismael de la Serna's auction record includes paintings, drawings, prints, and engraved works. Factors that affect valuation include the medium, with oils typically achieving stronger results than works on paper or prints; the period of execution, particularly works from his early Paris decades; provenance clarity; condition; and documented attribution. Collectors should be aware that his name appears in auction databases under several variant spellings (González de la Serna, Gonzales de la Serna, Ismael de la Serna), which can fragment price records. No published catalogue raisonné was identified, so independent authentication remains especially important for any attribution claim.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from authority files and museum records with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. For Ismael de la Serna, sources include Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Auction and market data draw from catalogued sale records when available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1146817
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006536
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/31163342/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90698300
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5347
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/47134