# Juan Gris artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/juan-gris/
Profile generated: 2026-05-05T04:05:34.967Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1887-03-23
- Death date: 1927-05-11
- Nationality: Spanish
- Movements: Cubism
- Common media: oil painting, collage, lithography, gouache, sculpture, engraving, illustration

## About Juan Gris

Juan Gris (1887–1927), born José Victoriano González-Pérez in Madrid, was a Spanish painter and one of the leading figures of Cubism. He moved to Paris in 1906 and became deeply embedded in the avant-garde circle alongside Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Unlike his contemporaries, Gris approached Cubism with a systematic, almost architectural precision, constructing compositions from carefully balanced geometric forms and bold color. His work evolved from Analytic Cubism into a distinctive personal style of Synthetic Cubism characterized by clarity, structural rigor, and a refined palette. Gris also produced collages, sculptures, lithographs, and stage designs. His career was cut short by his death at age forty in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, leaving a concentrated but influential body of work that major institutions including MoMA, the Tate, and the Musée national d'art moderne (Centre Pompidou) hold in their collections. Collectors encounter his work at the highest tiers of the Impressionist and Modern Art market.

## Common works and media

Juan Gris is most widely recognized for Cubist still-life paintings depicting bottles, glasses, newspapers, fruit bowls, and musical instruments arranged in fractured geometric planes. He also produced significant collage works incorporating printed paper and everyday materials, gouaches on paper, lithographic prints, book illustrations, and a small number of sculptures. Theater and ballet stage designs represent a specialized but notable part of his output. Drawings in pencil, ink, and charcoal appear in museum and private collections. The RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History documents his activity across painting, sculpture, lithography, collage, engraving, illustration, and gouache.

## Market and appraisal context

Juan Gris commands one of the strongest positions in the Impressionist and Modern Art market within the Cubist category. Appraisily's auction-record index traces 372 lots dating from 1992 through March 2026, with 230 carrying realized prices. The price distribution is exceptionally wide: prints and posters trade as low as $10–$200, while oil paintings from Gris's mature Synthetic Cubist period reach into the millions. The recorded maximum is $31.8 million. Christie's and Sotheby's dominate the high end: a Christie's Paris sale in November 2024 realized $1,477,800 for the gouache 'Verre, journal et feuillage,' and a November 2025 Christie's lot for the oil 'Femme drapée' achieved $203,200. Sotheby's sold the oil 'Compotier et livre' for £244,000 in June 2025. Mid-tier auction houses such as Forum Auctions, Kaminski Auctions, and New Orleans Auction Galleries handle works in the $1,500–$26,000 range, mostly works on paper and prints. At the accessible end, RoGallery, DUMBO Auctions, and Auktionshaus Schwab handle lithographs, posters, and decorative items under $1,000. Liquidity has moderated: 12 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 25 in the preceding period, suggesting a slight contraction in offering volume that may reflect market selectivity rather than declining demand.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Juan Gris commands one of the strongest positions in the Impressionist and Modern Art market within the Cubist category. Appraisily's auction-record index traces 372 lots dating from 1992 through March 2026, with 230 carrying realized prices. The price distribution is exceptionally wide: prints and posters trade as low as $10–$200, while oil paintings from Gris's mature Synthetic Cubist period reach into the millions. The recorded maximum is $31.8 million. Christie's and Sotheby's dominate the high end: a Christie's Paris sale in November 2024 realized $1,477,800 for the gouache 'Verre, journal et feuillage,' and a November 2025 Christie's lot for the oil 'Femme drapée' achieved $203,200. Sotheby's sold the oil 'Compotier et livre' for £244,000 in June 2025. Mid-tier auction houses such as Forum Auctions, Kaminski Auctions, and New Orleans Auction Galleries handle works in the $1,500–$26,000 range, mostly works on paper and prints. At the accessible end, RoGallery, DUMBO Auctions, and Auktionshaus Schwab handle lithographs, posters, and decorative items under $1,000. Liquidity has moderated: 12 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 25 in the preceding period, suggesting a slight contraction in offering volume that may reflect market selectivity rather than declining demand.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal for a Juan Gris work would cross-reference the item's medium, dimensions, signature, condition, and provenance against the indexed auction record of 372 lots. Oil paintings on canvas from 1915–1927 fall in the top quartile (above $254,500) and require catalogue raisonné verification and detailed condition reports addressing craquelure, retouching, and inpainting. Gouaches and collages occupy a middle band ($13,860–$254,500) where provenance documentation and exhibition history materially affect value. Prints, lithographs, and screenprints trade below $2,000 in most cases and should be evaluated for edition number, plate vs. posthumous printing, paper quality, and image size. Photographs of the signature, reverse, and any labels or stamps are essential. Comparable lots from Christie's and Sotheby's provide the strongest valuation anchors for paintings and major works on paper; mid-tier house results supplement the lower range. Provenance gaps, undated works, or items without catalogue raisonné entries require specialist connoisseurship and should be flagged in the appraisal report.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: oil paintings on canvas achieve the highest results (top quartile above $254,500); gouaches and collages occupy the middle range; lithographs, screenprints, and posters typically trade below $2,000
- Period and style: works from Gris's mature Synthetic Cubist phase (1915–1927) are most sought after; earlier Analytic Cubist works and later paintings alike benefit from his short career and limited output
- Provenance: documented ownership through named collections, gallery labels (e.g., Galerie Louise Leiris), or estate stamps significantly increases value and buyer confidence
- Authenticity: catalogue raisonné entry is the primary authentication standard; unsigned or undocumented works require expert connoisseurship and should be treated cautiously
- Condition: works dating from 1906–1927 may exhibit craquelure, paper acidity, foxing, or prior restoration; condition reports are critical, especially for works on paper and collages with adhered elements
- Rarity: Gris died at 40, producing a finite body of work; authenticated oil paintings appear infrequently at auction, supporting strong per-lot competition at the top end
- Edition details: for prints and lithographs, edition size, plate marks, and whether the impression is lifetime or posthumous materially affect value
- Auction venue: Christie's and Sotheby's results set the high-end benchmark; mid-tier and regional houses tend to achieve lower prices for comparable media

### Collector notes



### Market caveats

- The Appraisily auction-record index captures 372 lots but may not include every private sale or gallery transaction; actual market activity may be broader than the indexed record.
- Price dispersion is extreme ($10 to $31.8 million), reflecting the wide range of media from decorative posters to museum-quality oil paintings; median and quartile figures should not be applied to individual works without medium-specific analysis.
- Recent offering volume (12 lots in the trailing 12 months) is modest; single-lot results can disproportionately skew short-period averages.
- Attribution of unsigned works, works with incomplete provenance, or works not listed in the catalogue raisonné requires specialist examination and carries elevated risk.
- Some lots in the recent record are decorative or derivative items (e.g., 'Viola Wool Rug for Ege Axminster after Juan Gris') rather than original works; these are not directly comparable to paintings or prints.
- Currency conversion between USD, GBP, and EUR results is not applied in the source data; cross-currency comparisons should account for exchange rates at the time of sale.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/juan-gris/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Antique Arena Inc: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-cubist-spanish-violin-color-lithograph-by-juan-gris-12-c-20b415d87b
- Invaluable / Hammersite: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-juan-gris-1887-1927-cubist-still-life-101-c-0adbf7fc82
- Invaluable / Jeschke Jádi Auctions Berlin GmbH: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-juan-gris-12-arbeiten-in-au-soleil-du-plafond-1955-je-farblithographie-265-c-ae1585123c
- Invaluable / Hill Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-viola-wool-rug-for-ege-axminster-after-juan-gris-402-c-4a819874eb
- Invaluable / RoGallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-juan-gris-still-life-with-a-lemon-screenprint-1124-c-cde4cb2b0e
- Invaluable / Clarke Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-juan-gris-spanish-1887-1927-98-c-22c4e9e806
- Invaluable / New Orleans Auction Galleries: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-juan-gris-spanish-french-1887-1927-nature-morte-500-c-b434c7daf0

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines research from museum collections (MoMA, Tate), library authority records (Getty ULAN, VIAF, Library of Congress, RKD), and Wikidata to establish Juan Gris's identity, career, and artistic significance. Auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots from major auction houses supplement this profile when available.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/33914
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q151152
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Gris
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500015362
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/49245334/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79139620
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2349
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/juan-gris-1221