# Martin Sharp artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/martin-sharp/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T01:32:23.273Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1942-01-21
- Death date: 2013-12-01
- Nationality: Australian
- Movements: Psychedelic art, Pop art
- Common media: painting, collage, screen printing, cartooning, graphic design, film

## About Martin Sharp

Martin Sharp (1942–2013) was an Australian artist, cartoonist, songwriter, and filmmaker whose visually explosive work helped define the psychedelic and pop art aesthetics of the 1960s counterculture. Born Martin Ritchie Sharp in suburban Sydney, he co-founded the groundbreaking underground magazine Oz—first in Australia and later in London—where his role as art director brought his kaleidoscopic poster designs and collages to an international audience. Sharp's creative output extended well beyond publishing: he produced album-cover art, paintings, screen prints, and film projects, collaborating with prominent musicians and cultural figures of the era. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his influence on graphic and psychedelic art is widely recognized. After decades split between London and Sydney, Sharp returned permanently to Australia, where he continued making art until his death in 2013. Collectors today encounter his work across a broad spectrum of media, from original paintings to iconic concert posters.

## Common works and media

Martin Sharp's output spans oil and acrylic paintings, collage, pen-and-ink cartoons, screen-printed posters, lithographs, mixed-media works, and short films. The most commonly encountered works at auction are screen-printed concert and cultural-event posters from the 1960s and 1970s, often featuring vivid psychedelic imagery, pop-culture portraiture, and surrealist compositions. Original collages, paintings on board or canvas, and preparatory drawings also appear, along with printed ephemera connected to Oz magazine and music-industry commissions.

## Market and appraisal context

Martin Sharp's secondary market is well established, with 444 recorded auction lots—326 with realized prices—spanning from late 2000 through early 2026. The market is anchored in Australia, with the majority of activity flowing through Sydney- and Melbourne-area houses such as Lawsons, Leonard Joel, Raffan Kelaher & Thomas, and Shapiro Auctioneers. International presence is confirmed by Christie's, Swann Auction Galleries (New York), Sworders (UK), and Bamfords (UK), giving the market geographic breadth beyond Australia. Pricing is strongly tiered: screen prints and posters typically realize between AUD 200 and AUD 1,200, with editioned works from the Nimrod series and Oz-era posters forming the most liquid segment. Original paintings and lightbox constructions command significantly more—recent lightbox works realized AUD 3,400 and AUD 7,000 at Yarra Valley Auctions (September 2024), and the all-time high of AUD 288,000 indicates a top tier for major original works. The interquartile range of AUD 325–1,200 captures the accessible middle market. Liquidity is steady, with 10 lots recorded in each of the last two 12-month windows, suggesting consistent collector demand rather than speculative spikes.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Martin Sharp's secondary market is well established, with 444 recorded auction lots—326 with realized prices—spanning from late 2000 through early 2026. The market is anchored in Australia, with the majority of activity flowing through Sydney- and Melbourne-area houses such as Lawsons, Leonard Joel, Raffan Kelaher & Thomas, and Shapiro Auctioneers. International presence is confirmed by Christie's, Swann Auction Galleries (New York), Sworders (UK), and Bamfords (UK), giving the market geographic breadth beyond Australia. Pricing is strongly tiered: screen prints and posters typically realize between AUD 200 and AUD 1,200, with editioned works from the Nimrod series and Oz-era posters forming the most liquid segment. Original paintings and lightbox constructions command significantly more—recent lightbox works realized AUD 3,400 and AUD 7,000 at Yarra Valley Auctions (September 2024), and the all-time high of AUD 288,000 indicates a top tier for major original works. The interquartile range of AUD 325–1,200 captures the accessible middle market. Liquidity is steady, with 10 lots recorded in each of the last two 12-month windows, suggesting consistent collector demand rather than speculative spikes.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 326 priced auction records as comparable-lot evidence alongside photographs of the work, measured dimensions, identified medium, signature or edition markings, condition report, and any available provenance documentation. For screen prints, the edition number and total edition size are critical value drivers—recent data shows identical Nimrod screenprints (ed. 741/1000) realizing AUD 360 at Leonard Joel while the full seven-print Nimrod suite reached AUD 2,600 at Raffan Kelaher & Thomas. For original paintings and constructions, the AUD 3,400–7,000 lightbox results and the AUD 288,000 ceiling provide bracketing anchors. The assessor would weight Australian-sold comparables most heavily for AUD-denominated valuations, adjust for currency and date for GBP or USD results, and apply condition and provenance premiums or discounts accordingly.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- The most accessible entry point is individual screen prints and posters, with the interquartile range between AUD 325 and AUD 1,200; these appear frequently at Australian regional and metropolitan auction houses.
- Lightbox constructions by Sharp are uncommon at auction and can reach AUD 3,400–7,000; collectors seeking these should monitor Yarra Valley Auctions and similar Victorian houses where they have appeared.
- Music-related works—particularly the Bob Dylan and Donovan posters—are traded in the UK as well as Australia, with results in the GBP 280–300 range for individual commercial posters.
- The Nimrod series is the most frequently encountered body of work; individual prints from the edition of 1,000 trade at AUD 200–360, making it one of the most liquid segments.
- Collectors should verify edition numbers against known series totals, as some Nimrod prints have been repeatedly offered (e.g., ed. 741/1000 appeared at both Leonard Joel and Raffan Kelaher & Thomas in 2024).
- The presence of Christie's among observed houses signals that significant Sharp works can appear at top-tier international sales, though the bulk of volume is mid-tier Australian auction rooms.

### Market caveats

- Prices are denominated in AUD, GBP, and USD across the record set; currency conversion is required for cross-comparison and Appraisily does not normalize prices to a single currency.
- Of 444 recorded lots, 118 (27%) lack a realized price, which may represent unsold lots, withdrawn works, or data gaps; the price distribution is based on the 326 priced lots only.
- The AUD 288,000 maximum is an outlier well above the p75 price of AUD 1,200 and should not be treated as representative of the typical market.
- Sharp's graphic style has been widely reproduced in books, magazines, and unauthorized prints; authentication of unsigned or undocumented works may require specialist review beyond the scope of auction-record data.
- One recent lot title lists a birth year of 1924, conflicting with the established 1942 date; this is a cataloguing error but illustrates the need for buyers to verify attributions independently.
- The auction record data covers November 2000 through January 2026; earlier sales history and private-sale data are not represented.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/martin-sharp/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-martin-sharp-1942-2013-77-c-f2142fa8ad
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-martin-sharp-max-the-birdman-ernst-lithographic-poster-292-c-f34432095b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-martin-sharp-b-1942-bob-dylan-blowin-in-the-mind-mister-tambourine-man-british-commercial-poster-75-5cm-x-50-5cm-3290-c-72648459bd
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-martin-sharp-nimrod-screenprint-741-1000-signed-and-editioned-lower-right-89-5-x-45cm-frame-size-93-x-49cm-4062-c-c1246ff925

## 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.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nb99074674
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/46319
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/38872614/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3295631
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/329489
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sharp