# Michael Argov artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/michael-argov/
Profile generated: 2026-05-24T01:31:48.729Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1920-09-01
- Nationality: Israeli
- Common media: painting, printmaking

## About Michael Argov

Michael Argov (1920–1982) was an Israeli painter and printmaker born in Vienna. His Jewish family fled to Palestine in 1933 following the Nazi rise to power. He studied at the Avni Institute in Tel Aviv from 1942 to 1947 under Avigdor Stematsky and Yehezkel Streichman, two central figures in Israeli modernist painting. Argov then attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris between 1947 and 1950, briefly returning to Palestine during the 1948 War of Independence. Through the 1950s he maintained a dual presence in Tel Aviv and Paris, exhibiting in both cities. His work reflects a blend of Israeli modernism and European postwar painting traditions. Argov spent his later career in Israel and died in Tel Aviv in 1982.

## Common works and media

Argov worked primarily in oil on canvas and on paper. His output includes figurative and abstract compositions, cityscape and landscape subjects, and a smaller number of prints. Works range from smaller studies on paper to larger gallery-scale canvases. Collectors are most likely to encounter his paintings at Israeli and international modern-art auctions.

## Market and appraisal context

Michael Argov's work appears regularly at auction, with over 280 recorded lots in international sale databases. Oil paintings from his Paris period tend to attract the strongest collector interest, though his prints and works on paper also circulate. Valuation is influenced by medium, date, provenance, exhibition history, and condition. Works with documented gallery provenance from his 1950s Paris exhibitions or Tel Aviv solo shows may carry a premium. Collectors should verify attribution and condition before purchase, as with any mid-century modern work.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured identity research from authority files and art-history databases with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. The Michael Argov page draws on RKD, VIAF, Getty ULAN, Library of Congress, and Wikidata authority records, supplemented by the Appraisily/Invaluable auction index.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/95611
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/79416053/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6886250
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500041242
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr93040354