# Marguerite Kirmse artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/marguerite-kirmse/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T17:46:09.120Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1885-12-14
- Death date: 1954-12-10
- Nationality: British, American
- Common media: Etching, Drawing

## About Marguerite Kirmse

Marguerite Louisa Kirmse (1885–1954) was a British-born artist who emigrated to the United States and became one of the most recognized illustrators and etchers of dogs in the early twentieth century. Born in Bournemouth, England, she relocated to America and eventually settled near Bridgewater, Connecticut, after marrying George W. Cole in 1924. Kirmse devoted her career to depicting dogs with remarkable anatomical precision and personality, working primarily in drawing and etching. Her output extended to illustrated children's books and pictorial works centered on canine subjects, earning her a lasting reputation among collectors of animal art and sporting prints. She is represented in major library authority files including the Library of Congress and VIAF.

## Common works and media

Kirmse is best known for etchings and drawings of dogs, including breed-specific portraits, hunting dogs, and companion animals. She produced both standalone prints and illustrations for published books, notably dog-story anthologies. Original drawings, etched plates, and signed prints are the formats most likely to be encountered at auction or in appraisal contexts.

## Market and appraisal context

Marguerite Kirmse has a deep and active secondary market, with 787 recorded auction lots and 511 priced results spanning over three decades (1994–2026). Her work sells primarily through regional and national auction houses including Bonhams, Skinner, Copley Fine Art Auctions, Guyette & Deeter, Eldred's, and Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, with frequent appearances at Taylor & Harris and Winter Associates. The price distribution is moderately dispersed: the interquartile range runs from $200 to $575 with a median of $325, indicating that most individual works trade in the low-to-mid hundreds. Standout results reach $1,000–$6,000 for signed Derrydale Press aquatints, multi-etching groups, and well-attributed hand-colored prints. Liquidity is healthy—21 lots appeared in the trailing twelve months against 38 in the prior period, suggesting a modest softening in volume but continued steady turnover. Canine subjects (Scottish Terriers, hounds, terriers) dominate the market and command stronger prices than her less common animal subjects such as lions, swans, and birds.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Marguerite Kirmse has a deep and active secondary market, with 787 recorded auction lots and 511 priced results spanning over three decades (1994–2026). Her work sells primarily through regional and national auction houses including Bonhams, Skinner, Copley Fine Art Auctions, Guyette & Deeter, Eldred's, and Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, with frequent appearances at Taylor & Harris and Winter Associates. The price distribution is moderately dispersed: the interquartile range runs from $200 to $575 with a median of $325, indicating that most individual works trade in the low-to-mid hundreds. Standout results reach $1,000–$6,000 for signed Derrydale Press aquatints, multi-etching groups, and well-attributed hand-colored prints. Liquidity is healthy—21 lots appeared in the trailing twelve months against 38 in the prior period, suggesting a modest softening in volume but continued steady turnover. Canine subjects (Scottish Terriers, hounds, terriers) dominate the market and command stronger prices than her less common animal subjects such as lions, swans, and birds.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use the 787-lot auction record as a comparable-sales baseline for any Kirmse work submitted for appraisal. The appraiser would compare the submitted piece against recent lots of the same medium (etching, aquatint, pastel, watercolor, drawing), subject (dog breed, lion, bird), edition status (numbered, pencil-signed, Derrydale Press imprint), and format (standalone print versus book illustration). Key adjustments would account for condition (foxing, fading, plate tone), provenance documentation, signature authentication (pencil-signed versus plate-signed), edition size, and whether the work is framed or loose. The wide price range ($20–$6,000) means that accurate medium identification and edition verification are critical—hand-colored aquatints from recognized publishers like Derrydale Press sit at the top of the range, while unsigned or group-lot etchings trade at the low end.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: hand-colored aquatints and signed etchings command significantly more than unsigned prints or group lots; pastels and watercolors trade in a middle band
- Subject: dog breeds (especially Scottish Terriers, hounds, setters) are the strongest category; non-canine subjects (lions, swans, birds, sea urchins) appear less frequently and at lower price points
- Edition and publisher: works published by the Derrydale Press with documented edition numbers are premium lots; unnumbered or plate-signed-only prints trade lower
- Signature: pencil-signed works at lower right are the standard for authenticated etchings; absence of a pencil signature reduces value
- Condition: works on paper are vulnerable to foxing, toning, and light damage; condition reports significantly affect appraised value
- Format: standalone framed prints versus book-plate illustrations; book illustrations and anthologies carry separate collectible-book value
- Group lots: many recent results are for pairs or groups of etchings sold together, which compresses per-print pricing
- Provenance: gallery labels (e.g., Carson Pirie Scott & Co.) and publisher imprints add attribution confidence

### Collector notes

- Kirmse etchings of Scottish Terriers and hounds are the most liquid segment—expect 2–4 lots per month at regional auction houses.
- Hand-colored aquatints from the Derrydale Press (e.g., "The Hound", 1933) represent the top of the market at $800–$1,000+ and are worth seeking out with original documentation.
- Pastels of lions and swans appear repeatedly at Taylor & Harris but often sell below estimate or pass unsold—bid cautiously on non-canine subjects.
- Group lots of two to four etchings frequently sell in the $450–$700 range, making per-print cost attractive for building a collection.
- Signed prints with gallery or publisher provenance (Derrydale Press, Carson Pirie Scott labels) carry a premium and are easier to authenticate for resale.
- The recent softening in lot count (21 vs. 38) may present buying opportunities but could also reflect reduced consignment supply rather than demand weakness.

### Market caveats

- Of 787 total lots, only 511 have recorded prices; unsold lots and pass-through listings are excluded from the price distribution, which may inflate the median.
- Several recent lots at Taylor & Harris have null price-realised values, indicating they may have been passed or bought-in; these are excluded from price statistics.
- The max price of $6,000 represents a historical outlier; the vast majority of individual lots trade below $1,000.
- No museum collection records or catalogue raisonné were available in the source pack, so a complete body of work cannot be confirmed and attribution relies on signature and provenance alone.
- The source pack does not include private-sale or dealer prices, which may differ from auction realizations.
- Many recent lots are group sales (two or more etchings sold together), so the per-work value is lower than the headline lot price suggests.

### Market evidence sources

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- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-1885-1954-colored-etching-276-c-07b4b8998a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-american-1885-1954-the-hound-1933-hand-colored-aquatint-on-paper-pencil-signed-at-lower-right-published-by-the-derrydale-press-framed-matted-behind-glass-carson-pirie-scott-co-gallery-35-c-b8a436ba15
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-two-matted-and-framed-etchings-395-c-63042b3be0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-four-scottie-dog-etchings-121-c-d744972a22
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-british-connecticut-1885-1954-one-up-and-two-to-play-sight-h-10-1-2-in-w-7-1-4-in-framed-h-17-3-8-in-w-14-1-4-in-48-c-dde433d94b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-278-c-3454409acc
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-en-1885-1954-sea-urchins-334-c-b944fb29d2
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-marguerite-kirmse-ct-uk-1885-1954-1051-c-d6644ff8d5

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authorities, museum records, and biographical sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93028372
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/106122
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/63216543/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38378445
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_Kirmse