# Kimber Smith artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/kimber-smith/
Profile generated: 2026-05-06T21:33:19.918Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Death date: 1981-04-21
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Postwar abstraction
- Common media: Painting, Watercolor, Printmaking (lithograph)

## About Kimber Smith

Kimber Smith (1922–1981) was an American painter and watercolorist associated with postwar abstraction. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he studied at the Art Students League of New York beginning in 1945 and spent formative years working in New York, Paris (1954–1959), and Bern, Switzerland. His time in Paris placed him within the international abstract currents of the 1950s. Smith contributed multiple plates to the landmark artist-book 1¢ Life (1964), a collaboration organized by Sam Francis and Walasse Ting that brought together dozens of painters from the era's vanguard. The Museum of Modern Art in New York holds eight of his works in its permanent collection, including pieces from that portfolio. He died in East Hampton, New York, in 1981.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most often encounter Kimber Smith's work as abstract oil paintings on canvas, watercolors on paper, and lithographic prints. His contributions to the 1¢ Life portfolio are well-represented in museum collections and appear periodically on the market. His subjects are consistently non-representational, focusing on abstract composition. Works range from small-format works on paper to larger canvases.

## Market and appraisal context

Kimber Smith's auction market spans over three decades, with 103 recorded lots and 52 priced results dating from June 1994 through May 2026. Price dispersion is wide: realised prices range from CAD 75 (small works on paper at regional Canadian houses) to USD 115,000 at the top end, with a median of approximately USD 1,900 and a 75th percentile near USD 9,500. Activity has increased recently, with 23 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 16 in the prior period, suggesting growing but still modest liquidity. Works appear primarily at mid-tier European houses (Germann Auction House, Artcurial, Jeschke Jádi, Koller) and smaller North American venues (Yair Art Gallery, Saskatchewan Network for Art Collecting), with occasional appearances at Christie's. The strongest recent result was €9,500 at Artcurial in December 2025. Prints from the 1¢ Life portfolio (1964) appear frequently, often without recorded prices, forming a recognizable but lower-value segment. Oil paintings and larger canvases command the upper end of the range.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Kimber Smith's auction market spans over three decades, with 103 recorded lots and 52 priced results dating from June 1994 through May 2026. Price dispersion is wide: realised prices range from CAD 75 (small works on paper at regional Canadian houses) to USD 115,000 at the top end, with a median of approximately USD 1,900 and a 75th percentile near USD 9,500. Activity has increased recently, with 23 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 16 in the prior period, suggesting growing but still modest liquidity. Works appear primarily at mid-tier European houses (Germann Auction House, Artcurial, Jeschke Jádi, Koller) and smaller North American venues (Yair Art Gallery, Saskatchewan Network for Art Collecting), with occasional appearances at Christie's. The strongest recent result was €9,500 at Artcurial in December 2025. Prints from the 1¢ Life portfolio (1964) appear frequently, often without recorded prices, forming a recognizable but lower-value segment. Oil paintings and larger canvases command the upper end of the range.

### Appraisal notes

An appraisal of a Kimber Smith work should compare the piece against the documented price distribution, weighting medium, dimensions, date, and condition. Oil paintings on canvas from his mature period (1960s–1970s) tend to cluster above the median, while prints and works on paper more often fall in the lower quartile. The Appraisily auction record index provides 103 comparable lots, of which 52 have realised prices across multiple currencies (USD, EUR, CHF, CAD). Appraisers should request clear photographs showing signature and surface condition, confirm dimensions, and verify provenance. Because no published catalogue raisonné exists, attribution for unsigned or unstudied works may require a specialist connoisseurship opinion. Edition details are critical for prints, especially those from the 1¢ Life portfolio where multiple lithographs by Smith are documented. Currency conversion and house-specific buyer's premiums should be factored when using international comparables.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes



### Market caveats

- No published catalogue raisonné or artist-estate website was found; attribution relies on specialist connoisseurship and provenance research.
- Price data is multi-currency (USD, EUR, CHF, CAD) and spans 30+ years; nominal comparisons require currency and inflation adjustment.
- Approximately half of recorded lots (51 of 103) have no price realised, which may indicate unsold lots or unreported results and limits the reliability of liquidity assessments.
- The recorded maximum price of USD 115,000 is an outlier well above the 75th percentile of USD 9,500; appraisals should not anchor to this result without confirming comparable specifics.
- Auction-house representation is weighted toward mid-tier European and regional North American venues, which may affect price levels relative to major international houses.
- Observed categories are inferred from documented mediums and lot titles; the source pack does not include standardized auction category classifications.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/kimber-smith/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-2-farblithographien-aus-1-cent-life-1964-je-auf-1-blatt-leichter-velinkarton-neben-628-c-cee4c338e3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-2-farblithographien-aus-1-cent-life-1964-je-auf-1-blatt-leichtem-velinkarton-neben-627-c-b9341d2885
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-american-1922-1981-137-c-a9ef47f96d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-boston-1981-southampton-1518-c-925db5e999
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-black-and-grey-290-c-ee71af85e4
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-grey-and-orange-289-c-a2606d962e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-concentric-rectangles-288-c-0469ff6a77
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-untitled-with-green-square-287-c-5fcfbf95b4
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-american-1922-1981-67-c-d4b2199aa9
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-360-c-0eb8357654
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-4-squares-iv-788-c-69aa5d79da
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-untitled-343-c-fc373f4a5c
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-le-khedive-39-c-9eb0581155
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-untitled-122-c-273331582b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-american-1922-1981-578-c-7b3286be00
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-black-and-grey-229-c-e5d48be8b6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-grey-and-orange-228-c-c3f4e69a7a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-concentric-rectangles-227-c-1374194b5d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-untitled-with-green-square-226-c-41a4628b73
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-american-1922-1981-120-c-e5d4c61877
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-2-arbeiten-aus-1-cent-life-1964-je-lithographie-in-farbe-a-521-c-cca483bb6f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-566-c-28640a092a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-1922-1981-usa-10-c-0a0490daad
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kimber-smith-ohne-titel-388-c-98e40e6a67

## Appraisily data basis

This artist page draws on identity and biographical data from Wikidata, the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Museum of Modern Art collection records. Market context is informed by the artist's documented career and available auction records when present.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21809611
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500013889
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/72218916/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr95040086
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5487
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/73468