# Justin McCarthy artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/justin-mccarthy/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T22:16:25.428Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Movements: Naive art
- Common media: Painting, Drawing

## About Justin McCarthy

Justin McCarthy (1891–1977) was a self-taught American painter associated in authority records with naive art. Published descriptions identify both paintings and drawings within his output. Titles indexed through VIAF indicate a broad figurative world that included Christian narratives, animals, fashion, family groups, cavalry, and popular entertainment such as the Ice Capades. This range helps explain why collectors may encounter his work in painting and works-on-paper categories rather than under one narrowly defined subject. Collection information summarized in the available source pack connects McCarthy with institutions including the American Folk Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. Because several other historical figures share his name, dependable identification should use his life dates and authority identifiers: Wikidata Q18153791, VIAF 13740964, and Getty ULAN 500126038.

## Common works and media

Collectors may encounter paintings and drawings attributed to McCarthy. Indexed titles point to figurative and narrative works involving biblical episodes, animals, fashion, families, military or equestrian activity, and popular entertainment. The source pack does not establish common editioned prints, sculptures, ceramics, or posters.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisal of a work attributed to Justin McCarthy should begin with identity resolution because the name belongs to several unrelated historical people. Once the artist is securely matched, comparisons should distinguish paintings from drawings and account for the depicted subject. The available authority index records religious scenes, animals, fashion figures, family groups, cavalry, and entertainment imagery, so a broadly similar title alone is not enough to establish a useful comparison. Appraisily's input associates 698 auction records with the name, but the collected source pack does not provide lot-level descriptions, sale dates, realized prices, condition information, or provenance. Any valuation therefore requires review of the underlying records and comparison with genuinely like-for-like works.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Justin McCarthy, the current public source pack supports identity and work-context data more strongly than lot-level market conclusions.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18153791
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500126038
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/13740964/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85104974
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_McCarthy_(artist)
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/justin-mccarthy/