# Joseph Tilson artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/joseph-tilson/ Profile generated: 2026-05-02T01:56:33.189Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1928-08-24 - Death date: 2023-11-09 - Nationality: British - Movements: Pop Art - Common media: painting, sculpture, printmaking, constructions and reliefs ## About Joseph Tilson Joe Tilson (born Joseph Charles Tilson, 1928–2023) was a British painter, sculptor, and printmaker recognized as a significant figure in the British Pop Art movement of the 1960s. Born in London on 24 August 1928, he served in the Royal Air Force from 1946 to 1949 before training at St. Martin's School of Art and the Royal College of Art. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Tilson produced paintings, prints, and constructed reliefs across several distinct phases, including his Pop Art period, the Alchera series, and later works informed by classical and Mediterranean themes. He held teaching posts at the Slade School of Fine Art, the School of Visual Arts in New York, and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London. ## Common works and media Tilson's output includes screenprints, lithographs, etchings, woodcuts, paintings in oil and acrylic, painted wooden constructions and reliefs, collage, and mixed-media works. Recurring motifs across his career include geometric and alphabetical elements, numerical sequences, and references to classical antiquity. His screenprint editions from the 1960s and 1970s are among the most frequently traded works at auction. ## Market and appraisal context Joe Tilson's work trades at a broad range of international auction houses, with 22 recorded lots spanning 2007 to mid-2025 across Christie's, Sotheby's, and regional European houses including Capitolium Art, Stockholms Auktionsverket, Arte Investimenti, Gonnelli Casa d'Aste, Itineris, Lehner Kunstauktionen, Strauss & Co, and Venice Auctions. Of 22 lots, 15 carried a realised price. Recorded prices range from €220 (Gonnelli, 2023, later reproductive work) to £24,500 GBP (Christie's, 2007, unique work titled 'Conquer'), with a median near €1,989. The strongest results cluster at Christie's for unique paintings, sculptures, and early constructions, while prints and later works at regional houses realise materially less. Price dispersion is high: the interquartile range (€950–€22,800 equivalent) reflects the wide gap between early Pop Art constructions and later reproductive editions. Liquidity is thin — only one lot appeared in the most recent 12 months (Sotheby's, June 2025, no price yet recorded), down from two the prior year. The record includes multiple currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, ZAR, SEK), making direct comparison difficult without conversion. The artist's death in November 2023 has not yet produced a sustained increase in auction volume. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Joe Tilson's work trades at a broad range of international auction houses, with 22 recorded lots spanning 2007 to mid-2025 across Christie's, Sotheby's, and regional European houses including Capitolium Art, Stockholms Auktionsverket, Arte Investimenti, Gonnelli Casa d'Aste, Itineris, Lehner Kunstauktionen, Strauss & Co, and Venice Auctions. Of 22 lots, 15 carried a realised price. Recorded prices range from €220 (Gonnelli, 2023, later reproductive work) to £24,500 GBP (Christie's, 2007, unique work titled 'Conquer'), with a median near €1,989. The strongest results cluster at Christie's for unique paintings, sculptures, and early constructions, while prints and later works at regional houses realise materially less. Price dispersion is high: the interquartile range (€950–€22,800 equivalent) reflects the wide gap between early Pop Art constructions and later reproductive editions. Liquidity is thin — only one lot appeared in the most recent 12 months (Sotheby's, June 2025, no price yet recorded), down from two the prior year. The record includes multiple currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, ZAR, SEK), making direct comparison difficult without conversion. The artist's death in November 2023 has not yet produced a sustained increase in auction volume. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily uses these auction records as one input alongside collector-submitted photographs, measured dimensions, medium identification, signature verification, condition reports, documented provenance, and edition details for prints (size, number, and total run). Comparable lots are selected by matching period, medium, and dimensions; the wide price dispersion in Tilson's record means that choosing appropriate comparables is critical — a 1960s Pop Art screenprint should not be benchmarked against a 1990s reproductive print. For wooden constructions and mixed-media reliefs, condition is a material value driver: environmental damage, delamination, or fading can significantly reduce realised price. Appraisals should specify the currency and date of any comparable sale used and note whether the lot was sold at a major house (Christie's, Sotheby's) or a regional venue, as buyer premiums and market depth differ. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes ### Market caveats - Auction prices span five currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, ZAR, SEK); direct price comparison requires currency conversion and does not account for buyer's premium differences across houses. - Two 'Demeter' lots (IDs 7682960 and 7606932) share identical prices, dates, and currency — these may be a duplicate entry in the source data rather than two independent sales. - Seven of 22 recorded lots have no price realised (null), which may indicate unsold lots, withdrawn works, or data gaps. The price distribution is calculated only on the 15 priced lots. - The record contains no lot dimensions, edition numbers, or medium classifications at the individual lot level, limiting the precision of comparable selection. - Only one lot appeared in the most recent 12-month window, and its price was not yet recorded at the time of collection. Thin recent volume reduces the reliability of the distribution as a current-market indicator. - Tilson's death in November 2023 is recent; estate-related supply or renewed market interest may alter trading patterns but is not yet visible in the data. ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/joseph-tilson/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library, and authority sources with public auction records, auction-house catalogue notes, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when available. For Joe Tilson, biographical data is drawn from the Library of Congress, VIAF, RKD, Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, and the artist's official website. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80008027 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5200029/ - RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/77520 - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1363990 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Tilson - Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joe-tilson-2043 - The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5879 - Joseph Tilson: http://www.joetilson.com/ - Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500026599