# Kurt Seligmann artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/kurt-seligmann/
Profile generated: 2026-05-29T18:12:17.865Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1900-07-20
- Death date: 1962-01-02
- Nationality: Swiss, American
- Movements: Surrealism
- Common media: Oil painting, Engraving, Printmaking, Illustration

## About Kurt Seligmann

Kurt Seligmann (1900–1962) was a Swiss-born painter, engraver, and illustrator who became one of the most distinctive voices of the Surrealist movement. Born in Basel, Switzerland, Seligmann trained in Geneva and Paris before joining the circle of André Breton and the Paris Surrealists in the 1930s. His work is known for its fantastic imagery — medieval troubadours, armored knights, and spectral figures enacting macabre rituals — rooted in the carnival traditions of his native Basel. After emigrating to the United States around 1940, Seligmann played a pivotal role in introducing Surrealism to the American art world. He settled in Sugar Loaf, New York, where he lived and worked until his death in 1962. His paintings, prints, and illustrated books are held in major museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

## Common works and media

Seligmann is most frequently encountered in appraisal contexts as oil on canvas or panel paintings featuring Surrealist and fantastical subject matter — armored figures, ritualistic tableaux, and spectral processions. His engraved prints, often on copper plate, are relatively common in print sales and can vary in edition size and impression quality. Illustrated books with original plates, drawings in ink or gouache, and occasional poster designs also appear at auction. Collectors may also encounter later works from his New York period, which sometimes show a shift toward more abstract or mythological themes.

## Market and appraisal context

Kurt Seligmann's work appears at auction with moderate regularity across paintings, prints, and works on paper. Oil paintings from his mature Surrealist period of the 1930s and 1940s tend to attract the strongest interest. Engravings and illustrated books — including his influential occult study 'The Mirror of Magic' — also surface in sales. Condition, provenance, and confirmation of period are key factors in any appraisal. Exhibition history or inclusion in institutional collections adds measurable weight. Compared to better-known Surrealist peers, Seligmann's auction market is more specialized, and collectors should rely on comparable sale records and expert attribution when assessing value.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines research from museum collections, library authority files, and biographical databases with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN, VIAF, Wikidata, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Museum of Modern Art collection records.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/71883
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/5337
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/76330849/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500022797
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q450110
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Seligmann
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50006527