# Kenny Scharf artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/kenny-scharf/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T10:52:18.426Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1958-11-23
- Nationality: American
- Movements: East Village art scene (1980s), Neo-Pop / Street Art
- Common media: Painting, Sculpture, Prints and screenprints, Murals and street art, Installation art (Cosmic Cavern environments), Collage, Video and performance art, Customized objects and fashion

## About Kenny Scharf

Kenny Scharf (born 1958, Hollywood, California) is an American painter, sculptor, and installation artist who rose to prominence as a central figure in New York City's East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. After earning a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in 1980, Scharf developed a cross-disciplinary practice encompassing painting, sculpture, murals, collage, video, performance, and street art. His work draws heavily on the visual language of mid-century television and consumer culture — animated characters such as the Flintstones and the Jetsons appear alongside futuristic, cosmic imagery and satirical portraits of suburban life. Scharf is also known for immersive environments like his long-running Cosmic Cavern installations and for public mural projects worldwide. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and has been exhibited internationally.

## Common works and media

Scharf's auction and appraisal profile includes acrylic and oil paintings on canvas, fiberglass and mixed-media sculptures, limited-edition screenprints, murals, collage works, and customized three-dimensional objects (including his KARBOMBZ car sculptures and Lixo recycled-material series). Recurring subjects include cartoon-inspired characters, cosmic and outer-space motifs, brightly colored abstracted figures, and pop-culture references. Collectors may also encounter posters, exhibition prints, and collaborative product editions.

## Market and appraisal context

Kenny Scharf maintains a deep and active secondary market, with 694 auction lots recorded in the Appraisily index dating from February 2002 through May 2026. His work trades across a wide price spectrum: from $51 at the low end for signed serigraphs and small editions, through a median of $3,750, up to $945,000 for major unique paintings. The interquartile range ($750–$26,000) reflects a market where editioned prints and multiples sit in the low hundreds to low thousands, while unique paintings and sculptures from key periods—particularly 1980s East Village-era works—command five and six figures. Recent 12-month auction volume (51 priced lots) is down from the prior 12 months (97 lots), which may indicate normal market cycling or a modest cooling in the prints-and-multiples tier. Major houses handling Scharf include Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams, alongside specialist and regional houses such as RoGallery, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Wright, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, and Joshua Kodner. Recent standout results include a 1983 painting titled Boy selling for £25,000 at Bonhams (March 2026) and the 1989 painting Frosty Mint realizing €25,400 at Christie's (April 2026), both confirming that significant early-period canvases remain in strong demand.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Kenny Scharf maintains a deep and active secondary market, with 694 auction lots recorded in the Appraisily index dating from February 2002 through May 2026. His work trades across a wide price spectrum: from $51 at the low end for signed serigraphs and small editions, through a median of $3,750, up to $945,000 for major unique paintings. The interquartile range ($750–$26,000) reflects a market where editioned prints and multiples sit in the low hundreds to low thousands, while unique paintings and sculptures from key periods—particularly 1980s East Village-era works—command five and six figures. Recent 12-month auction volume (51 priced lots) is down from the prior 12 months (97 lots), which may indicate normal market cycling or a modest cooling in the prints-and-multiples tier. Major houses handling Scharf include Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams, alongside specialist and regional houses such as RoGallery, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Wright, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, and Joshua Kodner. Recent standout results include a 1983 painting titled Boy selling for £25,000 at Bonhams (March 2026) and the 1989 painting Frosty Mint realizing €25,400 at Christie's (April 2026), both confirming that significant early-period canvases remain in strong demand.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these auction records as comparable-market evidence alongside the specific work's photographs, dimensions, medium, signature, condition report, provenance documentation, and edition details (where applicable). For paintings and unique sculptures, the p75 and max benchmarks from the Appraisily index provide a reference frame, but final value depends heavily on date of execution, period significance, scale, subject matter, exhibition history, and condition. For prints and multiples, edition size, numbering, signature presence, and paper condition are critical: the data show that signed limited-edition serigraphs and screenprints cluster between $50 and $1,500, while unique works in the same period regularly exceed $5,000. A Pace Face one-of-a-kind work recently realized $6,500 at Lion and Unicorn (April 2026), illustrating the premium for unique painted objects even at smaller scale. Provenance linking to the East Village era, known exhibitions, or direct artist provenance adds measurable value.

### Valuation factors

- Medium and uniqueness: unique paintings and sculptures command significantly more than editioned prints, screenprints, and giclée reproductions
- Date and period: 1980s East Village-era works carry the strongest collector interest, as seen in the £25,000 result for Boy (1983) and the €25,400 result for Frosty Mint (1989)
- Scale: large-scale canvases and installations trade well above small works on paper or printed editions
- Edition details: for prints and multiples, edition size, numbering, and hand-signing directly affect value—unsigned or open-edition prints trade near the bottom of the range
- Subject: works featuring Scharf's signature pop-culture characters (Flintstones, Jetsons, cosmic motifs) are most recognized and sought after
- Provenance: documentation of exhibition history, gallery representation, or direct artist provenance strengthens value
- Condition: mixed-media and installation works may involve non-traditional materials that require specialist condition assessment
- Category confirmation: Scharf's output spans fine art, merchandise, and collaborative products—correct attribution is essential before appraisal

### Collector notes

- Kenny Scharf's market is broad and accessible. Entry-level collectors can acquire signed serigraphs and screenprints for $50–$1,500 through regional auction houses such as Joshua Kodner, Hill Auction Gallery, and Nadeau's. Mid-range buyers will find unique paintings on canvas and one-of-a-kind painted objects (such as the Pace Face series) in the $2,500–$10,000 range. Significant early paintings from the 1980s regularly exceed $25,000 at Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams. The recent decline in 12-month lot volume (from 97 to 51) may present buying opportunities, particularly in the prints tier, but collectors should verify that lower volume reflects availability rather than waning institutional interest—Scharf remains actively exhibited and collected. When acquiring prints, confirm edition number, signature, and condition; unsigned or later-state prints trade well below signed limited editions. For unique works, request full provenance documentation.

### Market caveats

- Auction prices realized reflect hammer or inclusive-premium results as reported by individual houses and may not account for buyer's premiums, unsold lots, or post-sale private treaties.
- The Appraisily index records 694 lots but only 416 carry a realized price; the remaining lots may include unsold, withdrawn, or price-not-yet-reported entries.
- Scharf's diverse output includes fine art, editioned prints, posters, merchandise collaborations, and customized products. Attribution and category must be confirmed before appraisal—merchandise or promotional items should not be valued as fine art.
- Price currency varies by auction house (USD, GBP, EUR, CHF); cross-currency comparisons should use appropriate exchange rates at time of sale.
- Market data should be corroborated with recent public auction records directly from major houses for any formal appraisal.
- The price range ($51–$945,000) spans over two decades and multiple categories; the maximum reflects a specific high-value unique work and is not representative of the typical trading range.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/kenny-scharf/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Christie's: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-ne-en-1958-frosty-mint-signe-et-date-kenny-scharf-1989-292-c-16aa5cfccd
- Invaluable / Bonhams: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-b-1958-boy-painted-in-1983-233-c-1e4e8964b3
- Invaluable / Lion and Unicorn: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-american-b-1958-one-of-a-kind-artwork-pace-face-37-signed-149-c-a0d76e84de
- Invaluable / Lion and Unicorn: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-american-b-1958-lithograph-w-angel-dust-signed-w-coa-155-c-2459108b5b
- Invaluable / Rago Arts and Auction Center: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-blimy-287-c-57dc52bf36
- Invaluable / Wright: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-vring-391-c-e23442bad6
- Invaluable / Joshua Kodner: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-b-1958-signed-serigraph-76-c-3a4b7362ca
- Invaluable / Joshua Kodner: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kenny-scharf-serigraph-lokglob-98-ed-150-143-c-ceb4852adc

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from museum, library-authority, and official sources with available auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Kenny Scharf, identity data is sourced from the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the Museum of Modern Art, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the artist's official site.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88630800
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Scharf
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3195237
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/46345
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/97310
- Kenny Scharf: http://www.kennyscharf.com
- VIAF / OCLC: https://viaf.org/viaf/2779432/