# Paul Starrett Sample artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/paul-starrett-sample/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T21:20:51.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1896-09-14
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Social Realism, American Regionalism
- Common media: oil painting, mural

## About Paul Starrett Sample

Paul Starrett Sample (1896–1974) was an American painter and muralist born in Louisville, Kentucky, best known for depicting life in New England during the early and mid-twentieth century. His work blends elements of Social Realism and American Regionalism, capturing rural and small-town scenes with a grounded, narrative quality. Active during the Depression era and beyond, Sample produced landscapes, winter scenes, and figurative compositions that reflect the social and environmental character of the northeastern United States. He is listed in major reference works including Bénézit's critical dictionary and Falk's Who Was Who in American Art, and his identity is well established across library authority files including the Getty Union List of Artist Names and VIAF.

## Common works and media

Sample's most commonly encountered works are oil landscape paintings of New England rural and winter scenes. He also produced murals and mural studies, consistent with his description as a muralist in authority records. Works on paper including drawings may also appear. Collectors should expect oil on canvas or board as the primary medium, with subjects centering on regional American landscapes and figurative compositions reflecting mid-century Social Realist and Regionalist sensibilities.

## Market and appraisal context

Paul Starrett Sample's work appears at auction primarily as oil-on-canvas landscape paintings and, less frequently, mural studies or works on paper. Collectors most often encounter his New England and winter landscape subjects. Because his auction history is less extensively documented than that of major Regionalist figures, provenance, condition, date of execution, and exhibition history are important factors when evaluating individual works. Attributable works listed in standard references such as Bénézit and Falk provide helpful authentication context for appraisals.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and reference works with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Paul Starrett Sample, identity data is sourced from Getty ULAN, VIAF, Wikidata, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, with biographical references from Bénézit and Falk. Market data reflects auction-house records and Appraisily's Invaluable inventory when present.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7153423
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sample_(artist)
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500028630
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/40189191/
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/69507
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84199849