# Leon Gaspard artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/leon-gaspard/
Profile generated: 2026-05-18T21:09:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1882-03-02
- Death date: 1964-02-21
- Nationality: Russian, American
- Movements: Taos Society of Artists milieu
- Common media: oil painting, gouache

## About Leon Gaspard

Leon Schulman Gaspard (1882–1964) was a Russian-born American painter celebrated for vibrant depictions of indigenous cultures, folk traditions, and crowded village life. Born in the Belarus region of the Russian Empire, Gaspard studied painting in Paris during his youth and developed a reputation for richly populated scenes drawn from his extensive travels. After serving in the French Army during World War I, he immigrated to the United States with his wife, Evlyn Gasper, eventually settling in Taos, New Mexico. There he joined the circle of artists associated with the Taos art community while continuing to paint subjects from Russia, Central Asia, and China — regions he revisited on long painting expeditions throughout the 1920s and 1930s. His work bridges Eastern European folk sensibility and Southwestern American landscape tradition, making him a distinctive figure in early twentieth-century American art.

## Common works and media

Gaspard is best known for oil-on-canvas paintings filled with densely grouped figures — village festivals, market scenes, horseback riders, and ceremonial gatherings. Common subjects include Belarusian and Russian town life, Central Asian and Chinese street scenes, and Taos Pueblo and Northern New Mexico landscapes. He also produced gouaches and works on paper. Typical dimensions range from small cabinet paintings to larger exhibition-scale canvases. Many works are signed 'Leon Gaspard' or 'L. Gaspard' in the lower corner.

## Market and appraisal context

Leon Gaspard's work appears regularly at auction, with over 300 recorded lots across major and regional houses. Oil paintings of Taos scenes, Russian village festivals, and Central Asian market gatherings constitute the bulk of offerings. Gouaches and works on paper are less common but do surface periodically. Provenance linking a work to Gaspard's Taos period, documented exhibition history, or established gallery representation can materially affect appraisal value. Earlier works from his Paris or Russia years are comparatively scarce. Collectors should verify attribution carefully, as the artist used several name variants during his career.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Leon Gaspard, identity data is grounded in the RKD, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Library of Congress authority files, with biographical context from Wikipedia and the RKD biographical timeline.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16003683
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/30351
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/67800005/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006633
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Gaspard
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82005719