# Louis Faurer artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/louis-faurer/
Profile generated: 2026-05-16T20:30:39.628Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1916-08-28
- Death date: 2001-03-02
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Street photography, Fashion photography
- Common media: Gelatin silver prints

## About Louis Faurer

Louis Faurer (1916–2001) was an American photographer celebrated for his sensitive, candid portrayals of urban life, particularly on the streets of New York City and Philadelphia. Though he never gained the widespread fame of peers like Robert Frank or William Eggleston, Faurer's work earned deep admiration within the photography world. Edward Steichen selected his photographs for two landmark Museum of Modern Art exhibitions: In and Out of Focus (1948) and The Family of Man (1955). Trained under the influential art director Alexey Brodovitch, Faurer also worked as a fashion photographer for Life and Harper's Bazaar. He later taught at Yale University and the University of Virginia. A sojourn in Great Britain and Paris between 1969 and 1974 broadened his subject matter before he returned to New York.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Faurer's gelatin silver prints depicting New York City street life — pedestrians, neon signs, reflections in shop windows, and candid portraits of passersby. His fashion photography for editorial clients including Life and Harper's Bazaar also circulates in the auction market. Works range from small-format contact prints to larger exhibition-size prints. Later portfolios and posthumous prints from his negatives exist and should be distinguished from vintage prints made by Faurer himself.

## Market and appraisal context

Louis Faurer's photographs appear at auction under the Photographs category. Key factors affecting appraisal include whether a print is vintage (made close to the date of the negative) or a later printing, its size, condition, provenance, and any documented exhibition history. His New York street scenes and fashion-related work tend to attract the strongest collector interest. Because Faurer's public profile remained modest compared to contemporaries such as Robert Frank, his auction prices are generally more accessible, though institutional acquisitions and critical reassessment have contributed to steady collector attention over time.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independently researched artist identity data with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots from the Invaluable database when those records are available. The Louis Faurer page draws on authority files from Getty ULAN, VIAF, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Library of Congress, alongside the 343 auction results linked to this artist in the Appraisily dataset.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/225057
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q326011
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/95820016/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500022535
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Faurer
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82270568