# Noel Rockmore artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/noel-rockmore/
Profile generated: 2026-05-05T03:43:27.735Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1928-12-15
- Death date: 1995-02-19
- Nationality: American
- Common media: oil painting, drawing, sculpture

## About Noel Rockmore

Noel Rockmore (1928–1995), born Noel Montgomery Davis in New York City, was an American painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. The son of noted illustrators Gladys Rockmore Davis and Floyd Davis, he grew up immersed in the art world and adopted the surname Rockmore early in his career. He is best known for his portraits, particularly the celebrated series depicting jazz musicians at New Orleans' Preservation Hall during the 1960s. Rockmore claimed a lifetime output exceeding 15,000 works spanning oil paintings, drawings, and sculpture. His early rise to prominence in the New York art scene, followed by his deep engagement with New Orleans musical culture, gives his work a distinctive cross-current of mid-century American portraiture and vernacular music history. Collectors most frequently encounter his portraits, figure studies, and jazz-themed compositions at auction.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers may encounter Rockmore oil-on-canvas or board portraits, charcoal or ink figure drawings, and small-scale sculptures. The Preservation Hall jazz-musician series is the most widely recognized body of work. Other common subjects include portrait commissions, genre scenes, and figurative compositions. Works range from small studies on paper to larger exhibition-scale canvases.

## Market and appraisal context

Noel Rockmore's work trades in an active, regionally concentrated secondary market centered on New Orleans auction houses. Appraisily auction records index 501 lots with 383 carrying realized prices, spanning sales from June 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide but accessible: realized prices range from $10 (small prints and pen-and-ink drawings) to $22,800, with a median of $768 and an interquartile spread of $366–$1,708. The market is liquid and accelerating—27 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window compared to 13 in the prior 12 months, roughly doubling turnover. The dominant venues are Neal Auction Company, New Orleans Auction Galleries, and Crescent City Auction Gallery, with additional appearances at St Charles Gallery, Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Toomey & Co., and regional houses such as EJ'S Auction & Appraisal and Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches. Swann Auction Galleries in New York has also offered Rockmore work, indicating some national reach beyond the Gulf South. Oil paintings—especially Preservation Hall jazz-musician subjects—command the strongest prices: a Neal Auction offering of "Billie and DeDe Pierce of Preservation Hall" (oil on masonite) realized $4,687 in January 2026, and Swann sold "Jury No. 1" (1981) for $3,810 in September 2025. Works on paper, prints, and small pen-and-ink drawings typically trade below $500. Mixed-media and collage-on-canvas compositions have realized in the $487–$1,062 range.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Noel Rockmore's work trades in an active, regionally concentrated secondary market centered on New Orleans auction houses. Appraisily auction records index 501 lots with 383 carrying realized prices, spanning sales from June 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide but accessible: realized prices range from $10 (small prints and pen-and-ink drawings) to $22,800, with a median of $768 and an interquartile spread of $366–$1,708. The market is liquid and accelerating—27 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window compared to 13 in the prior 12 months, roughly doubling turnover. The dominant venues are Neal Auction Company, New Orleans Auction Galleries, and Crescent City Auction Gallery, with additional appearances at St Charles Gallery, Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Toomey & Co., and regional houses such as EJ'S Auction & Appraisal and Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches. Swann Auction Galleries in New York has also offered Rockmore work, indicating some national reach beyond the Gulf South. Oil paintings—especially Preservation Hall jazz-musician subjects—command the strongest prices: a Neal Auction offering of "Billie and DeDe Pierce of Preservation Hall" (oil on masonite) realized $4,687 in January 2026, and Swann sold "Jury No. 1" (1981) for $3,810 in September 2025. Works on paper, prints, and small pen-and-ink drawings typically trade below $500. Mixed-media and collage-on-canvas compositions have realized in the $487–$1,062 range.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these auction records as comparable-sale evidence alongside submitted photographs, measured dimensions, identified medium, signature inspection, condition reports, and documented provenance. Because Rockmore was prolific (15,000+ claimed works) and no published catalogue raisonné exists, each appraisal should: (1) confirm attribution through signature comparison, provenance chain, and where possible expert consultation; (2) match the subject, medium, period, and scale of the appraised work against the closest comparable lots in this record set; (3) account for the wide quality variance—Preservation Hall portraits and larger exhibition-scale oils trade well above median, while small works on paper and prints trade near the lower quartile; (4) factor in condition ( Rockmore used masonite, collage, and mixed-media supports that may present conservation concerns); and (5) consider recent market momentum, with lot volume approximately doubling year-over-year. Edition details are not a factor for unique works but would apply if prints are identified.

### Valuation factors

- Subject: Preservation Hall jazz-musician portraits carry the strongest collector recognition and highest realized prices ($3,810–$4,687 in recent sales)
- Medium and scale: larger oil-on-canvas and oil-on-masonite works outperform works on paper, prints, and pen-and-ink drawings by a wide margin
- Attribution and provenance: no published catalogue raisonné exists; documented provenance and expert authentication materially affect confidence and value
- Condition: mixed-media and collage supports (masonite, collage elements) may present condition issues that affect appraisal value
- Market liquidity: 501 indexed lots with 383 priced results and year-over-year volume growth indicate an active, tradeable market
- Period and style: early New York scenes (e.g., Bethesda Terrace, 1951, realized $1,088) and 1960s–1970s New Orleans subjects are well-represented; later works from the 1980s–1990s appear more variable
- Regional concentration: primary demand is centered in the New Orleans/Gulf South auction market; national exposure through houses like Swann broadens the buyer pool

### Collector notes

- If you are considering buying or selling a Noel Rockmore work, the median auction price is $768 but realized prices span $10 to $22,800, so the specific work matters enormously. Preservation Hall jazz portraits in oil are the most sought-after category and have recently realized between $4,687 and higher at Neal Auction Company. Generic portraits, genre scenes, and works on paper typically trade between $250 and $1,100. Prints and pen-and-ink drawings are common at the low end ($10–$100). The market is active and currently expanding—27 lots in the past 12 months versus 13 in the prior year—so there is reasonable liquidity for sellers. Provenance documentation is important: because Rockmore's output was very large and no catalogue raisonné exists, buyers should verify attribution through signature, gallery records, or expert opinion before committing to higher-value purchases. Works from his 1960s Preservation Hall period or early 1950s New York scenes tend to attract the most competitive bidding.

### Market caveats

- No published catalogue raisonné has been identified; attribution and dating cannot be verified against an authoritative reference and should be corroborated by expert review.
- Rockmore claimed a lifetime output exceeding 15,000 works. The market includes a very wide range of quality, period, and subject, and not all works will carry significant value.
- Price distribution is broad ($10–$22,800). Median and percentile figures are useful for general context but should not be applied to any individual work without comparable-lot analysis.
- The auction record set is concentrated in New Orleans-area houses. Regional bias may not fully reflect national or international demand.
- Some recent lots carried no published realized price (marked null), indicating either buy-ins, withdrawals, or unreported results. The priced-lot count (383 of 501) is the reliable basis for price statistics.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/noel-rockmore/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / New Orleans Auction Galleries: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-1928-1995-the-park-stages-of-life-575-c-731d61c1d8
- Invaluable / New Orleans Auction Galleries: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-the-skyscraper-new-orleans-1970-296-c-773f36d8c1
- Invaluable / Neal Auction Company: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-untitled-women-at-the-wall-oil-on-canvas-357-c-f3c7225676
- Invaluable / New Orleans Auction Galleries: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-bacchus-1987-718-c-a6221d0d5c
- Invaluable / Crescent City Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-portrait-of-a-michael-stark-1970-h-10-7-8-in-w-13-5-8-in-framed-h-16-7-8-in-w-19-5-8-in-506-c-23d24027bf
- Invaluable / Crescent City Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-bethesda-terrace-and-fountain-in-central-park-new-york-1951-h-28-in-w-36-in-framed-h-34-3-4-in-w-43-in-505-c-dca06c38c3
- Invaluable / Crescent City Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-new-orleans-1928-1995-and-jake-calico-four-drawings-1994-largest-h-11-7-8-in-w-18-in-4-pcs-2076-c-6c18b3110b
- Invaluable / New Orleans Auction Galleries: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-noel-rockmore-american-louisiana-1928-1995-beauty-pageant-firing-squad-1980-81-267-c-b6141b1be4

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from authority files and biographical sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Noel Rockmore, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90657070
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/95794623/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500018504
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7047190
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Rockmore