# José Cruz Herrera artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jose-cruz-herrera/
Profile generated: 2026-05-16T22:23:04.989Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1890-10-01
- Death date: 1972-08-12
- Nationality: Spanish
- Common media: oil painting, illustration

## About José Cruz Herrera

José Cruz Herrera (1890–1972) was a Spanish painter and illustrator born in La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz. He is best known for genre scenes and landscape paintings that draw on his decades of residence in Casablanca, Morocco, where he lived for much of his adult life. Cruz Herrera also worked in Uruguay, Argentina, and France, giving his output a geographic breadth unusual among Spanish painters of his generation. His figurative compositions often depict everyday life, market scenes, and landscapes influenced by North African light and color. A dedicated museum, the Museo Cruz Herrera, houses many of his works in his hometown of La Línea de la Concepción. He is documented in the Bénézit dictionary of artists, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Getty Union List of Artist Names, confirming his standing within twentieth-century Spanish painting.

## Common works and media

Oil paintings on canvas or panel are the most frequently encountered format, ranging from small cabinet-size works to larger exhibition-scale compositions. Common subjects include Moroccan street and market scenes, single or grouped figures in traditional dress, coastal and harbor landscapes, and Spanish regional genre scenes. Illustrations and works on paper also appear, though less often at auction. Collectors should expect unsigned or loosely signed works that require careful attribution, and should note that Cruz Herrera's style evolved over a career spanning more than five decades.

## Market and appraisal context

José Cruz Herrera's works appear regularly at auction, with over 300 recorded lots, predominantly oil paintings of genre subjects and landscapes. Collectors most often encounter Moroccan street scenes, figure compositions, and coastal views. Appraisal value is influenced by the painting's subject, size, condition, provenance clarity, and whether the work can be linked to his long Casablanca period or his earlier Spanish production. Auction results are spread across European and international houses, with no single market dominating. Attribution should be verified against his documented style, as several Spanish genre painters of the era worked in similar palettes and subject matter.

## Appraisily data basis

This artist page is built from identity records held by the Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and Wikidata, supplemented by biographical context from encyclopedia sources. Appraisily artist pages combine this research with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when available.

## Sources

- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/130083
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1709129
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/41051397/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500035859
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93053739
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Cruz_Herrera