# Kara Walker artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/kara-walker/
Profile generated: 2026-05-14T20:26:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Movements: Contemporary art
- Common media: cut-paper silhouettes, printmaking, sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, film and video, serigraphy

## About Kara Walker

Kara Walker (born 1969) is an American contemporary artist whose work across cut-paper silhouettes, painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, and film confronts the intertwined histories of race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in the United States. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes that reexamine romanticized narratives of the antebellum South, using the genteel Victorian-era medium to expose brutal undercurrents of slavery and power. Walker earned her BFA in 1991 and MFA in 1994, and her work quickly gained institutional recognition. She is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Tate, and other major museums worldwide, and is widely regarded as one of the most prominent Black American artists working today.

## Common works and media

Collectors may encounter Walker's work in several forms: large-scale cut-paper silhouette installations and wall works, screenprints and lithographic editions, works on paper including ink and gouache drawings, sculptural objects and installations, artist books, and video or film-based pieces. Her editioned prints — particularly screenprints — appear with some regularity in the print-and-multiples market. Unique silhouette cut-outs and major installation works are less frequently available and typically appear in contemporary art evening or day sales.

## Market and appraisal context

Kara Walker's work appears at auction across contemporary art, prints and multiples, works on paper, and sculpture categories. Large-scale unique silhouette installations and sculptural works are the rarest and most sought after, while editioned prints and screenprints provide more accessible entry points for collectors. Provenance tied to major museum exhibitions or institutional collections strengthens value considerably, as Walker is held by MoMA, Tate, and numerous other public institutions. Attribution is generally straightforward for authenticated works, but collectors should verify edition numbers, condition, and exhibition history. Because Walker is an actively producing artist with ongoing gallery representation, market conditions should be assessed against current auction records and comparable sales.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library-authority, and public-entity sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Kara Walker, institutional and authority sources are strong; specific auction-price comparables should be reviewed in live sale databases for current appraisal guidance.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q444277
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500123343
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/77127744/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98033590
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/7679
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/kara-walker-2674
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/239757
- Kara Walker: http://www.karawalkerstudio.com