# Karl Schrag artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/karl-schrag/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T13:01:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1912-12-07
- Death date: 1995-01-01
- Nationality: German, American
- Movements: Mid-20th-century American printmaking
- Common media: etching, printmaking, painting, illustration

## About Karl Schrag

Karl Schrag (1912–1995) was a German-born American printmaker, painter, and educator who became one of the leading printmakers in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. Born in Karlsruhe, Germany, Schrag emigrated to the United States and established his career in New York City. He worked across etching, painting, and illustration, with landscape as a recurring subject. The National Gallery of Art has characterized him as among the most important printmakers in America during the 1950s. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and he is documented in major art-historical references including Bénézit, Vollmer, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History. Schrag also taught, influencing a generation of American printmakers.

## Common works and media

Karl Schrag is best known for etchings and other print media, often depicting landscape subjects. Paintings in oil and other media also form part of his body of work, as do illustrations. Prints may exist in numbered editions; plate size, paper type, and condition are distinguishing features. Works are typically signed and may bear edition markings.

## Market and appraisal context

Karl Schrag's prints—particularly etchings—are the works most frequently encountered at auction and in appraisal contexts. Collectors should consider medium, edition size, plate dimensions, paper condition, and provenance when evaluating individual works. His institutional recognition, including holdings at the Museum of Modern Art and acknowledgment by the National Gallery of Art, supports ongoing collector interest. Paintings by Schrag appear less frequently than prints and may carry different valuation considerations. Comparable public auction records should be consulted for current market calibration.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical references with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Karl Schrag, this page draws on authority files from Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and institutional records from the Museum of Modern Art.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/97335
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21880760
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/120694960/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Schrag
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500055512
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr95046051
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5268