# Muirhead Bone artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/muirhead-bone/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T19:36:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1876-03-23
- Death date: 1953-10-21
- Nationality: Scottish, British
- Movements: British war art
- Common media: etching, drypoint, drawing, oil painting, lithography

## About Muirhead Bone

Sir Muirhead Bone (1876–1953) was a Scottish etcher, draftsman, and painter recognised for his meticulous architectural subjects and his influential role as a British war artist. Born in Glasgow and trained as an architect before turning to printmaking, Bone developed a reputation for large-scale, finely detailed etchings of urban construction sites, railway yards, and European cityscapes. His Amsterdam views from around 1913–1914 are particularly admired. During the First World War he was appointed Britain's first official war artist, producing panoramic drawings of the Western Front and naval operations that were widely exhibited and reproduced. Knighted in 1937, Bone is represented in the collections of the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Rijksmuseum print cabinet. Collectors most often encounter his work through etchings and drypoints, though he also produced oil paintings, watercolours, and lithographs throughout a career spanning both world wars.

## Common works and media

Collectors are most likely to encounter Bone's etchings and drypoints, especially architectural views of London, Glasgow, Amsterdam, and other European cities, as well as wartime subjects depicting trenches, naval yards, and construction sites. He also produced lithographs, watercolours, and oil paintings, though these appear less frequently on the market. Many prints were issued in signed, limited editions for print dealers and portfolio subscribers.

## Market and appraisal context

Muirhead Bone has a well-established and liquid auction market spanning over two decades, with 222 total lots recorded and 152 priced results dating from November 2002 through January 2026. His work appears at a broad range of auction houses, from major international firms (Christie's, Bonhams, Swann Auction Galleries) to regional specialists (Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Mallams, John Moran Auctioneers, Chiswick Auctions, Burstow & Hewett, Peterborough Auctions). The price distribution is wide but bottom-heavy: the median realised price is approximately $200, with an interquartile range of $110–$400. The majority of lots are etchings, drypoints, and lithographs in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars. Exceptional works command substantially more — the top result in the recent sample is £9,525 at Christie's (September 2025) for 'The Great Gantry, Charing Cross Station,' followed by $1,270 at Swann Auction Galleries for 'Manhattan Excavation' (drypoint, 1928) and £1,000 at Bonhams for 'The Bridge of a Merchant Ship at Sea.' Market liquidity is steady: 14 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period versus 16 in the prior 12 months, indicating stable collector interest without oversaturation.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Muirhead Bone has a well-established and liquid auction market spanning over two decades, with 222 total lots recorded and 152 priced results dating from November 2002 through January 2026. His work appears at a broad range of auction houses, from major international firms (Christie's, Bonhams, Swann Auction Galleries) to regional specialists (Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Mallams, John Moran Auctioneers, Chiswick Auctions, Burstow & Hewett, Peterborough Auctions). The price distribution is wide but bottom-heavy: the median realised price is approximately $200, with an interquartile range of $110–$400. The majority of lots are etchings, drypoints, and lithographs in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars. Exceptional works command substantially more — the top result in the recent sample is £9,525 at Christie's (September 2025) for 'The Great Gantry, Charing Cross Station,' followed by $1,270 at Swann Auction Galleries for 'Manhattan Excavation' (drypoint, 1928) and £1,000 at Bonhams for 'The Bridge of a Merchant Ship at Sea.' Market liquidity is steady: 14 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period versus 16 in the prior 12 months, indicating stable collector interest without oversaturation.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal for a Muirhead Bone work would combine the 222-lot auction record base with close examination of the specific piece's medium, dimensions, signature, edition numbering, plate condition, paper quality, and provenance. Prints dominate the market (etchings, drypoints, lithographs), so establishing edition size, proof status, and impression quality is essential for accurate valuation. Paintings and watercolours are scarcer and may require broader comparable searching. The dramatic price spread ($12–$9,525) means surface-level averages are misleading; an appraisal must weigh subject matter (architectural views and wartime subjects carry premiums), scale, date of execution, and condition to place the work within the correct tier of the observed range. The Christie's and Bonhams results confirm that museum-quality or historically significant works by Bone are recognised at the highest tier of the British print market.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: etchings and drypoints are most common and typically sell in the $100–$400 range; oil paintings and major watercolours are far rarer and can reach thousands at major houses
- Subject: architectural views (Charing Cross, Manhattan, Amsterdam, Glasgow) and wartime/industrial subjects consistently attract the strongest prices
- Edition and proof status: many Bone prints were published in signed, limited editions; early proofs, artist's proofs, and signed impressions carry premiums over unsigned or later-state impressions
- Condition: plate tone, margin width, paper quality, foxing, and mounting are critical for print valuation — condition issues can halve a print's value relative to a crisp impression
- Scale: Bone's large-format architectural etchings and drypoints command more than smaller works on similar subjects
- Provenance: works with documented exhibition history, gallery labels, or literary references (e.g. catalogue raisonné entries) attract stronger results
- Market venue: works at Christie's, Bonhams, and Swann tend to realise higher prices than at regional houses, reflecting buyer confidence and specialist cataloguing

### Collector notes

- Muirhead Bone's prints are accessible entry points for collectors of British printmaking, with many fine etchings and drypoints available between $100 and $400 at auction. For collectors seeking value, architectural subjects from Bone's published editions — particularly signed impressions of London, Glasgow, or Amsterdam views — offer a strong combination of artistic quality and market recognition at moderate price points. The 'Manhattan Excavation' drypoint (1928) has appeared multiple times in the recent record, suggesting it is a commonly traded work and a useful benchmark. Buyers should prioritise impressions with full margins, clear signatures, and good plate tone. The highest-value category — major architectural or wartime works — requires careful authentication and is best pursued through specialist print sales at Christie's, Bonhams, or Swann. Collectors holding works attributed to Bone but lacking signatures or catalogue references should seek specialist connoisseurship before sale, as attribution errors are possible with unsigned prints from this period.

### Market caveats

- Price data includes multiple currencies (USD, GBP, AUD, CZK); cross-currency comparisons should account for exchange rates at the time of sale rather than using raw figures directly.
- Some recent lots (e.g. the Einszwei Gallery results priced in CZK) may represent very different value levels once converted; treat non-USD/GBP results with caution when benchmarking.
- Several lots in the recent sample show no price realised (passed or withdrawn), which may indicate reserve prices above market appetite for those particular works.
- The Appraisily auction record index aggregates data from public auction feeds; individual sale results should be verified against the specific auction house catalogue before relying on them for appraisal.
- Attribution of unsigned Bone prints requires specialist knowledge; several lots in the record are titled generically (e.g. 'drypoint,' 'watercolor and charcoal') without confirming medium or signature details.
- The observed auction houses range from major international firms to small regional auctioneers; condition reporting and cataloguing standards vary significantly between tiers.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/muirhead-bone/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-david-muirhead-bone-1876-1953-the-great-gantry-charing-cross-station-p-63-c-93d470a9d4
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-manhattan-excavation-drypoint-1928-33-c-4094eba889
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-british-1876-1953-the-bridge-of-a-merchant-ship-at-sea-together-with-a-black-and-white-photograph-thought-to-show-captain-david-w-bone-on-the-bridge-of-a-ship-2-107-c-4c84f9eb68
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-1876-1953-shipyard-as-seen-from-a-crane-lithograph-signed-in-pencil-lower-right-unframed-47cm-x-36cm-102-c-d269e8c697
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-1876-1953-windy-night-stockholm-1935-1212-c-30a41c0834
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-british-1876-1953-watercolor-and-charcoal-12-c-8e647b9ac3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-muirhead-bone-1876-1953-two-lithographs-423-c-4904b80811
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-david-muirhead-bone-1876-1953-outside-the-bull-ring-ronda-sunday-morning-ink-and-watercolo-432-c-7874288bff
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-war-drawings-by-muirhead-bone-163-c-4bfb8710bf

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from museum and library authority sources with auction records, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Biographical data is cross-referenced against VIAF, Wikidata, RKD, Tate, and MoMA records.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5581681
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/39649884/
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/10300
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-muirhead-bone-778
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/657
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500000110