# Julian Opie artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/julian-opie/
Profile generated: 2026-04-30T00:57:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: British
- Movements: New British Sculpture
- Common media: sculpture, painting, printmaking, film and digital media, multiples and editions

## About Julian Opie

Julian Opie (born 1958) is a British visual artist recognized for his distinctive, reductive style that translates figures, portraits, and landscapes into pared-down graphic forms. Associated with the New British Sculpture movement, Opie works across painting, sculpture, printmaking, film, and digital media. His portraits and walking figures—rendered in bold outlines and flat color—have become widely identifiable, appearing in public commissions, album covers, and gallery exhibitions worldwide. Major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London hold his work in their collections. Opie maintains an active studio practice, with recent paintings employing auto paint on aluminium surfaces. His official site documents ongoing production across painting, sculpture, film, multiples, and editions.

## Common works and media

Common works by Julian Opie include portrait paintings (often executed in auto paint on aluminium or vinyl), figurative sculptures in bronze, Corten steel, or painted aluminium, LED and lenticular panel works, screenprints and digital prints in numbered editions, and multi-panel figure compositions. His subjects center on stylized portraits, walking figures, and simplified landscapes. Collectors may also encounter public-edition multiples and smaller-format works produced through his studio.

## Market and appraisal context

Julian Opie maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 1,283 auction lots tracked since 2003, of which 954 carry recorded prices. His work trades regularly at top-tier houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams, as well as specialist and regional firms such as Forum Auctions, Tate Ward, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, and Roseberys. Liquidity is strengthening: 135 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 119 in the prior period. The price distribution is wide and stratified by medium. At the lower end, exhibition invitations and small-format prints realise under £300. Mid-range editioned screenprints, inkjet panels, and sculptural multiples trade between roughly £500 and £6,000. Lenticular and LED works at major houses can reach significantly higher figures—Christie's Hong Kong recorded a lenticular inkjet at HKD 50,800 in November 2025. The recorded maximum of approximately £28,000,000 likely represents a unique large-scale sculpture or commission and is a strong outlier; the p75 price of £12,500 is a more representative upper bound for typical auction encounters. The bulk of priced lots cluster between £900 (p25) and £12,500 (p75), with a median near £3,000, reflecting a market dominated by editioned prints and multiples rather than unique paintings or major sculptures.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Julian Opie maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 1,283 auction lots tracked since 2003, of which 954 carry recorded prices. His work trades regularly at top-tier houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams, as well as specialist and regional firms such as Forum Auctions, Tate Ward, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, and Roseberys. Liquidity is strengthening: 135 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window versus 119 in the prior period. The price distribution is wide and stratified by medium. At the lower end, exhibition invitations and small-format prints realise under £300. Mid-range editioned screenprints, inkjet panels, and sculptural multiples trade between roughly £500 and £6,000. Lenticular and LED works at major houses can reach significantly higher figures—Christie's Hong Kong recorded a lenticular inkjet at HKD 50,800 in November 2025. The recorded maximum of approximately £28,000,000 likely represents a unique large-scale sculpture or commission and is a strong outlier; the p75 price of £12,500 is a more representative upper bound for typical auction encounters. The bulk of priced lots cluster between £900 (p25) and £12,500 (p75), with a median near £3,000, reflecting a market dominated by editioned prints and multiples rather than unique paintings or major sculptures.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 1,283 auction records to establish comparable-sale ranges filtered by medium, dimensions, edition size and number, date of execution, and condition. For an appraisal submission, the collector should provide clear photographs (front, back, signature, edition number, any damage), exact dimensions, the specific medium and support (e.g., inkjet on lenticular acrylic, auto paint on aluminium, screenprint on paper, marble sculptural multiple), the edition size and position within the edition, gallery or publisher labels (Cristea Roberts Gallery and Lisson Gallery appear frequently in provenance), and any exhibition or publication history. The wide price dispersion means that without these details, a broad range is the only responsible estimate. Unique paintings and large sculptures occupy a different price tier than editioned prints and multiples, and the two should not be compared directly. Attributed or plate-signed works (as seen in some recent lots) carry substantially less weight than hand-signed, numbered edition pieces.

### Valuation factors

- Medium and support: unique paintings (auto paint on aluminium or vinyl), sculptures (bronze, Corten steel, painted aluminium, marble), LED installations, lenticular panels, screenprints, and inkjet prints each occupy distinct price tiers
- Edition size and number: smaller editions command higher prices; large or open editions trade significantly lower
- Publisher and gallery provenance: works published by Cristea Roberts Gallery or Lisson Gallery carry recognisable provenance markers
- Scale and format: multi-panel and large-format works sell at premiums over small-format or miniature editions
- Date of execution: works from signature series (e.g., Walking figures, Shahnoza, undressing figures) are more sought after than later exhibition ephemera
- Hand-signature versus plate signature: hand-signed and numbered works are valued above plate-signed or attributed pieces
- Condition: lenticular panels, LED components, and aluminium surfaces are susceptible to handling damage that materially affects value
- Exhibition and publication history: documented exhibition history or catalogue raisonné references strengthen provenance

### Collector notes

- Julian Opie's secondary market is active and accessible. Editioned prints and multiples appear frequently at regional and mid-tier auction houses, making entry points available below £1,000 for smaller works. Collectors seeking investment-grade pieces should prioritise hand-signed and numbered editions from recognised publishers, unique paintings, or sculptural multiples in marble or bronze. Be cautious with works catalogued as 'attributed to' or plate-signed exhibition invitations—these trade at a fraction of studio-verified edition prices. Provenance from Lisson Gallery or Cristea Roberts Gallery is a positive signal. The rising lot count (135 in the latest 12 months versus 119 the year before) suggests healthy and growing demand. Always verify edition numbers and compare against the recorded lot history before bidding, as Opie's large output means works with similar titles can have very different market values depending on medium and edition.

### Market caveats

- The recorded maximum price of approximately £28,000,000 is a strong outlier; the vast majority of Opie lots trade well below £20,000.
- Price distribution figures (min, p25, median, p75, max) aggregate across currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, HKD) without conversion, so cross-currency comparisons require adjustment.
- Several recent lots are catalogued as 'attributed to' Julian Opie rather than confirmed studio works; these should be distinguished from authenticated pieces in any valuation.
- Exhibition invitations and ephemera (e.g., hinged metal invitations for 'Walking in Milan') are collectible but occupy a different market segment than studio-produced editions.
- Auction results reflect hammer prices plus buyer's premium in some cases and hammer-only in others; actual transaction costs may be 15–25% above the recorded figure.
- Some lots in the recent set did not meet reserve (priceRealised is null), indicating that not all consigned works find buyers at estimate.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/julian-opie/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-british-1958-this-is-shahnoza-2-2006-156-c-6f1c57d8e8
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-british-1958-woman-taking-off-man-s-shirt-5-2003-74-c-6ea302a982
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-attributed-to-print-standing-nude-with-jacket-70-c-f70bc1c9c3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-london-1958-silver-man-2024-hinged-metal-invitation-signed-in-plate-unknown-edition-made-on-the-occasion-of-the-exhibition-walking-in-milan-3-07-2024-at-portrait-milano-hotel-352-c-a336e15a5f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-london-1958-golden-woman-2024-hinged-metal-invitation-signed-in-plate-unknown-edition-made-on-the-occasion-of-the-exhibition-walking-in-milan-3-07-2024-at-portrait-milano-hotel-221-c-0fb31c54fb
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-british-1958-suzanne-walking-back-2006-75-c-1447758c62
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-british-b-1958-woman-taking-off-man-s-shirt-edition-5-lithograph-in-color-published-for-courtesy-lisson-gallery-london-2003-frame-41-1-4-x-25-1-4-in-104-8-x-64-1-cm-204-c-b743949634
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-julian-opie-british-born-1958-remember-her-this-way-lying-sculptural-multiple-2001-marble-object-composed-of-three-blocks-each-etched-in-black-ink-on-both-sides-one-block-signed-and-numbered-12-25-in-black-ink-on-the-underside-executed-b-110-c-96c4f61ce1

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and official sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. The identity profile for this artist is grounded in records from MoMA, Tate, the Library of Congress, VIAF, RKD, and the artist's official site.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q451564
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Opie
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/96039587/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88074460
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/8126
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/julian-opie-1721
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/60857
- Julian Opie: https://www.julianopie.com/