# Mario Carreño artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/mario-carreno/ Profile generated: 2026-05-07T02:55:00.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1913-06-24 - Death date: 1999-12-20 - Nationality: Cuban, Chilean - Movements: Cuban Modernism - Common media: painting, illustration, poster design ## About Mario Carreño Mario Carreño y Morales (1913–1999) was a Cuban-born painter, illustrator, and designer who became one of the prominent modernist figures in Caribbean art before adopting Chilean citizenship in 1969. Born in Havana on June 24, 1913, Carreño trained and worked across Cuba, Europe, and Latin America, developing a style rooted in Cuban modernism. His practice spanned easel painting, graphic illustration, and poster design, reflecting the cross-currents between fine art and applied design in mid-century Latin America. He is recognized in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which holds examples of his work. Carreño spent his later decades in Chile, where he continued to paint until his death on December 20, 1999. Collectors encounter his work primarily in Latin American art sales and museum exhibitions devoted to modern Cuban and Chilean painting. ## Common works and media Carreño is best known for paintings in oil on canvas, including figurative compositions and abstractions associated with Cuban modernism. He also produced works on paper — drawings and illustrations — as well as poster designs. Collectors may encounter easel paintings from his Havana period, later Chilean-era canvases, and graphic works that reflect his parallel career as an illustrator and designer. ## Market and appraisal context Mario Carreño has a well-established auction footprint spanning 200 recorded lots from June 1999 through April 2026, with 119 carrying realized prices. His work appears regularly at top-tier houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Phillips — alongside regional specialists such as Setdart, Magna Art Auctions, Templum Fine Art, and Arte Subastas Bilbao. The price distribution is wide: the recorded minimum is $40 and the maximum is $2,616,000, with a median of $39,000 and a 75th percentile of $92,500. Oil paintings on canvas at major houses consistently realize between $24,000 and $57,000 (e.g., Sotheby's sold Plaque for $50,400 in November 2024 and Paraíso perdido for $57,150 in May 2024; Christie's sold an untitled oil for $27,940 in December 2025). Works on paper and gouache compositions trade lower, typically in the hundreds to low five figures. Recent 12-month lot count (9) is down from the prior 12-month period (12), suggesting moderate but slightly softening liquidity. The collector base spans Latin American art specialists, Cuban modernism buyers, and Chilean national art collectors. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Mario Carreño has a well-established auction footprint spanning 200 recorded lots from June 1999 through April 2026, with 119 carrying realized prices. His work appears regularly at top-tier houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Phillips — alongside regional specialists such as Setdart, Magna Art Auctions, Templum Fine Art, and Arte Subastas Bilbao. The price distribution is wide: the recorded minimum is $40 and the maximum is $2,616,000, with a median of $39,000 and a 75th percentile of $92,500. Oil paintings on canvas at major houses consistently realize between $24,000 and $57,000 (e.g., Sotheby's sold Plaque for $50,400 in November 2024 and Paraíso perdido for $57,150 in May 2024; Christie's sold an untitled oil for $27,940 in December 2025). Works on paper and gouache compositions trade lower, typically in the hundreds to low five figures. Recent 12-month lot count (9) is down from the prior 12-month period (12), suggesting moderate but slightly softening liquidity. The collector base spans Latin American art specialists, Cuban modernism buyers, and Chilean national art collectors. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily would use these 200 auction records as a comparable-sales baseline, filtered by medium, dimensions, period, and condition. For a painting attributed to Carreño, the appraiser would first confirm attribution (no catalogue raisonné exists, so expert review and certificate of authenticity are critical), document medium and support (oil on canvas versus gouache on paper versus poster), record dimensions and signature details, and assess condition. Comparable lots would be drawn from the same medium tier and stylistic period — for example, an untitled 1957 gouache on cardboard realized €13,000 at Setdart (September 2025), while oils at Christie's and Sotheby's in 2024–2025 realized $24,000–$57,000. Sculpture editions (e.g., Ajedrez, conceived 1974, cast 2002 in an edition of 18) form a separate comparable tier. Provenance from a major house (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams) strengthens confidence; unattributed or minor-house lots should be weighted lower. The wide price spread ($40–$2,616,000) means that size, period, quality, and provenance are decisive — a formal appraisal should not rely on median price alone. ### Valuation factors - Medium and support: oil on canvas commands the strongest results; gouache and works on paper trade significantly lower; posters and prints at the bottom of the range - Stylistic period and date of execution: Havana-period works and mature Cuban modernist canvases are more sought after than later Chilean-era pieces - Size and scale: larger canvases generally realize higher prices than small-format works - Provenance and exhibition history: prior sale through a major house (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Phillips) adds measurable premium - Attribution and authenticity: no catalogue raisonné exists; a certificate of authenticity from a recognized expert or auction house is essential for valuation - Condition and conservation state: condition reports from major houses are available for some lots and materially affect value - Edition and casting details: for sculptural works (e.g., Ajedrez), edition number, foundry, and date of casting affect value - Sale venue: results at top-tier houses cluster higher than regional or general-antique auctions ### Collector notes - Carreño's market is bifurcated: major oils at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams trade in the $24,000–$57,000 band with occasional breakout results, while works on paper and minor pieces at regional houses can sell below $500. The $2,616,000 maximum indicates significant upside for museum-quality paintings with strong provenance. Buyers should verify attribution carefully — there is no catalogue raisonné, and some auction lots are misattributed (e.g., furniture listings referencing 'Mario' are unrelated). Recent annual volume (9–12 lots) provides reasonable but not abundant liquidity; sellers of major works should expect longer marketing periods. Works with certificates of authenticity, exhibition history, or prior major-house provenance will command stronger results. The dual Cuban-Chilean identity means buyers should monitor both Latin American art sales (New York, London) and Chilean art categories. ### Market caveats - No catalogue raisonné exists for Carreño; attribution cannot be confirmed against a published complete-works reference and must rely on expert opinion and certificates of authenticity. - The $2,616,000 maximum price is an outlier that may reflect a large-scale or historically significant work; median and interquartile range ($11,875–$92,500) are more representative for typical lots. - Some recent lots in the record are misattributions — furniture described as 'designed by Mario' is unrelated to Mario Carreño the painter and should be excluded from fine-art comparables. - The price dataset mixes currencies (USD and EUR); currency conversion should be applied when using cross-currency comparables. - Several recent lots lack realized prices (listed as null), which may indicate unsold lots or withdrawn works; these should not be treated as indicative of market value. - Recent 12-month volume (9 lots) is lower than the prior 12-month period (12 lots), which may reflect market softening or simply limited consignments. ### Market evidence sources - Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/mario-carreno/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-a-pair-of-amalfi-painted-iron-and-brass-adjustable-arm-chairs-with-ottomans-designed-by-mario-3165-c-2575cf1419 - Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-mario-carreno-havana-cuba-1913-santiago-de-chile-1999-untitled-1957-gouache-on-hard-cardboard-signed-and-dated-certificate-of-authenticity-attached-2-c-65b4e4bbea - Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-a-pair-of-amalfi-painted-iron-and-brass-adjustable-arm-chairs-with-ottomans-designed-by-mario-1020-c-bef0fe6342 - Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-mario-carreno-1913-1999-paisaje-surrealista-25-5-16-x-31-5-16-in-64-3-x-79-6-cm-painted-in-1970-28-c-9904a529ba ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum records, library authority files, and scholarly sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Mario Carreño, this page draws on authority data from the Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the Museum of Modern Art collection record. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n94037307 - RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/15585 - The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/988 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/87034351/ - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3293392 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Carre%C3%B1o_Morales