# Jan Balet artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jan-balet/
Profile generated: 2026-05-14T21:09:53.709Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1913-07-20
- Death date: 2009-01-31
- Nationality: German, American
- Movements: Naive art
- Common media: painting, graphic art, illustration, advertising art

## About Jan Balet

Jan Balet (1913–2009) was a German-American painter, graphic artist, and illustrator associated with the naive art tradition. Born in Bremen, Germany, on July 20, 1913, he developed a distinctive style characterized by simplified forms, bold color, and a folk-like visual vocabulary. Over a long career he worked across fine art, printmaking, and commercial illustration, including advertising design. His work is represented in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his visual output is documented by the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD) in The Hague. Balet spent his later years in Switzerland and died in Estavayer-le-Lac on January 31, 2009. Collectors most often encounter his lithographs, serigraphs, and illustrated book works at auction.

## Common works and media

Collectors are most likely to encounter Balet's work in the form of color lithographs, serigraphs, and other graphic prints, often depicting genre scenes, landscapes, still lifes, and figural subjects in a naive or folk-art idiom. He also produced illustrated books, posters, and advertising art. Original paintings in oil or gouache appear less frequently at auction. Print editions should be examined for numbering, signature, and plate or screen condition.

## Market and appraisal context

Jan Balet's work appears regularly in the secondary market, with over 360 recorded auction lots. His prints and works on paper are the most commonly offered categories, though original paintings surface less frequently and tend to attract stronger interest. Key factors in appraising a Balet work include the specific medium (painting versus print versus illustration), edition size and numbering for prints, condition, subject matter, and provenance. Works with museum exhibition history or published illustration commissions may carry added significance. Because Balet moved across fine art and commercial illustration, distinguishing between these contexts is important for accurate valuation.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines structured artist-identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical databases with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. Sources include the Museum of Modern Art, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/4030
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/62679
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/95803494/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q101900
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500019894
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Balet
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79140974