# Modest Cuixart artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/modest-cuixart/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T02:27:24.311Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1925-11-02
- Death date: 2007-10-31
- Nationality: Spanish
- Movements: Dau al Set (post-war Catalan avant-garde group, 1948), Surrealism, Dada
- Common media: painting, printmaking (engraving), scenography

## About Modest Cuixart

Modest Cuixart i Tàpies (1925–2007) was a Catalan painter, printmaker, and scenographer and a central figure in Spain's post-war avant-garde. In 1948 he co-founded Dau al Set, the influential surrealist and dada review, alongside his cousin Antoni Tàpies, Joan Ponç, Joan Brossa, and Joan-Josep Tharrats. The group became a catalyst for modern art in Catalonia and positioned Cuixart among the most significant Spanish artists of the second half of the twentieth century. His practice spanned painting, engraving, and stage design, and his work is held in major institutional collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate in London. During the Franco era he used the Spanish form of his name (Modesto); he later reverted to the Catalan Modest.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Cuixart's oil on canvas paintings, often featuring abstract or surrealist compositions. He also produced a significant body of prints and engravings, stage and set designs, and mixed-media works on paper. Subjects range from biomorphic and gestural abstraction to figurative and symbolist imagery influenced by the Dau al Set circle. Signed and numbered graphic editions appear at auction alongside unique paintings.

## Market and appraisal context

Cuixart's work appears regularly in Post-War and Contemporary Art sales at international and Spanish auction houses. Oil paintings from his Dau al Set period and subsequent abstract phases tend to attract the strongest interest, while prints and works on paper provide a more accessible entry point for collectors. As with many post-war European artists, provenance, exhibition history, medium, date, condition, and documented attribution are key factors in appraisal. Comparable public auction records should be reviewed for any individual work, as results vary considerably across medium and period.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines published identity research from museum collections, library authority files, and biographical databases with available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. Artist facts are sourced from institutions including MoMA, Tate, RKD, and VIAF. Market observations reference general auction categories and valuation factors; specific price guidance requires individual appraisal.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q551902
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modest_Cuixart
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/96599728/
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/19354
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/1326
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/modestos-cuixart-965
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79120218
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500124388