# Peter Doig artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/peter-doig/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T22:47:01.922Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Scottish, British, Canadian
- Movements: Contemporary figurative painting
- Common media: oil painting, watercolor, gouache, etching, drawing

## About Peter Doig

Peter Doig (born 1959, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a painter whose work draws on the landscapes and cultures of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Trinidad. His peripatetic upbringing—moving between Scotland, Trinidad, and Canada as a child—shaped a distinctive visual language in which memory, atmosphere, and autobiographical suggestion merge within figurative landscape compositions. After studying at Central Saint Martins (B.A., 1983) and the Chelsea School of Art (M.A., 1990) in London, he established himself through paintings such as Pink Snow (1991), which layers decorative surface effects over a solitary figure in a snowy Canadian forest. From 2002 to 2021 he lived and worked in Trinidad, a period that shifted his palette and subject matter toward Caribbean light and architecture, as seen in works like Lapeyrouse Wall (2004). He has since returned to London. Major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate, and the Centre Pompidou hold his work, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figurative painters of his generation.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Peter Doig's oil paintings on canvas, which range from intimate scales to large-format compositions. He also works in watercolor, gouache, and etching, and drawings appear periodically at auction. Common subjects include wooded or snowy landscapes with solitary figures, canoes on reflective water, and architectural or wall motifs drawn from Trinidad's built environment. Screen-based visual interference—where surface pattern partially obscures the depicted scene—is a hallmark of his technique across mediums.

## Market and appraisal context

Peter Doig maintains one of the most active and wide-ranging secondary markets among living contemporary painters. Appraisily auction records index 627 lots, of which 463 carry a realized price, spanning from February 2001 through May 2026. The price distribution is exceptionally wide: the median lot sells near $3,250, while the 75th percentile jumps to $50,800, reflecting the steep tiering between prints/works on paper and major oil paintings. The upper bound of $18,085,000 is anchored by large-format canvases sold at Christie's. Recent annual volume is stable at 43 lots in the trailing twelve months versus 46 in the prior period, indicating sustained but not oversupplied liquidity. Ten distinct auction houses appear among the top houses by frequency—Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams, Artcurial, Grisebach, Dreweatts 1759, Forum Auctions, Roseberys, and Auctionata Paddle8 AG—confirming deep cross-regional demand across London, New York, Paris, and Berlin sale rooms. Lower-value lots (posters, giclée prints, small works on paper) trade through regional houses such as Lawsons, Rago, Swann, and Kastern, providing accessible entry points for collectors.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Peter Doig maintains one of the most active and wide-ranging secondary markets among living contemporary painters. Appraisily auction records index 627 lots, of which 463 carry a realized price, spanning from February 2001 through May 2026. The price distribution is exceptionally wide: the median lot sells near $3,250, while the 75th percentile jumps to $50,800, reflecting the steep tiering between prints/works on paper and major oil paintings. The upper bound of $18,085,000 is anchored by large-format canvases sold at Christie's. Recent annual volume is stable at 43 lots in the trailing twelve months versus 46 in the prior period, indicating sustained but not oversupplied liquidity. Ten distinct auction houses appear among the top houses by frequency—Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams, Artcurial, Grisebach, Dreweatts 1759, Forum Auctions, Roseberys, and Auctionata Paddle8 AG—confirming deep cross-regional demand across London, New York, Paris, and Berlin sale rooms. Lower-value lots (posters, giclée prints, small works on paper) trade through regional houses such as Lawsons, Rago, Swann, and Kastern, providing accessible entry points for collectors.

### Appraisal notes

When appraising a Peter Doig work, Appraisily would combine these 627 indexed auction records with the specific work's photographs, exact dimensions, medium, signature or monogram, condition report, edition details (for prints), and documented provenance. The key comparative step is matching the work to the correct tier: large oil paintings on canvas from recognized series (Canadian landscapes, Trinidad scenes) occupy a fundamentally different price bracket than giclée prints, posters, or small works on paper. Comparable lots should be filtered by medium, size bracket, date of execution, and auction house tier. Provenance linking to major museum exhibitions (MoMA, Tate, Centre Pompidou) or prominent collections materially affects appraised value. Edition size and numbering are critical for prints—recent lots show giclée editions of 250 plus 25 artist's proofs trading in the €3,800–€4,200 range. Attribution must be verified carefully, as the LoC authority record references a related name form (Lovelace, Che) that may refer to a distinct Trinidadian artist.

### Valuation factors

- Medium is the strongest price determinant: large oil paintings on canvas trade in the hundreds of thousands to millions; watercolors in the mid-six figures; prints and multiples in the hundreds to low thousands.
- Dimensions matter sharply—large-format canvases (over 70 inches on a side) command premium prices, as demonstrated by Ski Jacket (71 7/8 × 83 7/8 in.) realizing £14.27M and Country Rock (78 ¾ × 118 1/8 in.) at £9.21M.
- Period and subject: paintings from the recognized Canadian landscape series (late 1980s–1990s) and Trinidad period (2002–2021) are the most documented and sought-after.
- Provenance and exhibition history at institutions such as MoMA, Tate, or Centre Pompidou strengthen collector confidence and support higher appraised values.
- Edition details for prints: edition size, numbering, and whether artist's proofs exist directly affect value—editions of 250 trade lower than unique works.
- Condition: as with all contemporary paintings, any restoration, surface issues, or damage can materially reduce value.
- Auction house tier: works sold at Christie's, Sotheby's, or Phillips carry stronger market signals than those sold at regional houses.
- Currency and market: recent sales span GBP, USD, EUR, and AUD; currency conversion and sale location should be considered when selecting comparables.

### Collector notes

- The market offers a broad range of entry points: posters and small prints can be acquired for under $100 (e.g., Superwolves Poster at £70), while major canvases trade in the millions.
- Giclée prints from the 2021 edition (Lost, Road to Zermatt, Couloir) are trading near €3,800–€4,200 at Bonhams, offering a middle tier between posters and unique works.
- Watercolors such as Yara (2004) realized £279,400 at Christie's, positioning them between prints and large oils—suitable for collectors seeking original works at a lower tier than major canvases.
- Smaller oils on panel or plywood—Figures in a Wood (oil on panel, 18 ¾ × 13 ¾ in.) at $355,600, Concrete Cabin (oil on plywood, 15 × 20 1/8 in.) at £635,000—show that even modestly sized original oils carry significant value.
- Annual auction volume of roughly 43–46 lots indicates consistent liquidity; collectors can expect regular opportunities to buy at auction.
- Some lots at regional houses (Kastern, AaG) have realized no price or very low prices (€600)—these may reflect attribution uncertainty or works of uncertain authenticity and warrant careful vetting.
- The LoC authority record lists a related alternate name form (Lovelace, Che) that may refer to a different Trinidadian artist; collectors acquiring works attributed under variant names should seek additional provenance documentation.

### Market caveats

- Price dispersion is extreme ($20 AUD to over $18M); any appraisal must be grounded in closely comparable lots filtered by medium, size, date, and provenance rather than broad averages.
- Several recent lots at regional German houses (Kastern, AaG) carry very low realized prices or no price at all; these may involve attribution questions, non-original works, or different media not fully described in lot titles.
- The LoC authority file lists 'Lovelace, Che' as a related name form—this likely refers to the distinct Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace, not an alias of Peter Doig. Attribution under variant names requires independent verification.
- Currency mix across GBP, USD, EUR, and AUD means price-tier boundaries shift with exchange rates; comparables should be normalized to a single currency for appraisal purposes.
- The existing profile incorrectly states 'over 900 catalogued lots'; the current Appraisily auction-record index shows 627 lots (463 priced). The market description in this addendum supersedes that figure.
- No artist estate, foundation, or catalogue raisonné was identified in the source pack, limiting access to estate-verified provenance records.

### Market evidence sources

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## Appraisily data basis

This artist page is based on identity and biographical research drawn from museum collections, library authority files, and public biographical sources. Appraisily supplements this foundation with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available, providing collectors with context for appraisal and attribution decisions.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1281272
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/84445208/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr98025389
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/8087
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/peter-doig-2361
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/223289
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Doig
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500094247