# Philipp May artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/philipp-may/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T17:20:22.039Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1864-04-22
- Death date: 1903-08-05
- Nationality: English
- Common media: Illustration, Caricature and cartoon drawing

## Portrait

![Philipp May](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Photo_of_Phil_May.jpg)
Elliott & Fry · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_Phil_May.jpg

## About Philipp May

Philipp May in this artist record appears to correspond to Phil May, the professional name of English illustrator and caricaturist Philip William May (1864–1903). Authority and reference sources consistently identify Phil May as an English caricaturist, while the collected institutional links connect the identity to Getty ULAN, Tate, the British Museum, VIAF, and the Library of Congress. May is chiefly associated with economical line drawing and with the transition from denser Victorian illustration toward a more direct form of humorous cartooning. Collectors may therefore encounter his name in connection with original caricatures, cartoon drawings, illustration material, and works related to published visual humor. Because the input page uses Philipp May while the strongest biographical sources favor Phil May or Philip William May, signatures, inscriptions, publication history, and catalogue attribution should be checked carefully before linking an object or auction record to this artist.

## Common works and media

Works associated with Phil May are most plausibly encountered as caricatures, humorous cartoon drawings, and illustration art distinguished by an economical use of line. The source pack does not establish a complete medium catalogue, named series, edition history, or reliable breakdown of the 229 auction records attributed to the page, so more specific classifications should be verified against the individual object and its publication or auction documentation.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisily has an auction-record page indexed under Philipp May, but the collected research pack does not expose the underlying lot descriptions, realized prices, condition reports, or auction-house attributions. Market interpretation should therefore begin by confirming that a lot belongs to the English caricaturist Phil May rather than a namesake. For a specific object, useful appraisal evidence includes whether it is an original drawing or a reproduction, its medium and dimensions, condition, date, signature or inscription, publication history, and documented provenance. Comparable sales are most informative when their attribution, work type, subject, size, condition, and sale date closely match the object being assessed. This research does not support a price forecast or market-trend claim.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For this identity, institutional authority links are stronger than the collected lot-level market evidence.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3378808
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500023489
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/phil-may-1600
- British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG37819
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_May_(caricaturist)
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_May_(caricaturiste)
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/philipp-may/