# Ray Swanson artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/ray-swanson/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T12:06:36.486Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Common media: Painting

## About Ray Swanson

Ray Swanson (1937–2004) was an American painter whose work is associated with imagery of the American West, particularly Native American subjects. Public authority records distinguish him as a twentieth-century American artist and connect his identity across major cultural-data systems, including Wikidata, VIAF, Getty ULAN, and the Library of Congress authority file. Collectors are most likely to encounter Swanson through paintings catalogued within Western American art. The supplied research does not identify a formal movement, named series, or complete medium-by-medium catalogue, so broader classifications should be treated cautiously. His recurring Western subject context is useful for entity matching, but it is not sufficient by itself to authenticate an individual work. Signatures, inscriptions, ownership history, physical characteristics, and catalogue evidence should be evaluated at the object level before a firm attribution is made.

## Common works and media

The available sources identify Swanson as a painter of the American West, with particular attention to Native American subjects. Paintings in that broad subject area are therefore the best-supported work type for cataloguing and appraisal searches. The source pack does not establish specific paint media, recurring titles, named series, print editions, drawings, sculptures, or other categories, so those classifications should be confirmed from the individual object and reliable catalogue or auction documentation.

## Market and appraisal context

Ray Swanson has an established auction-directory presence, but the collected pack does not provide lot-level sale results or enough detail to characterize price patterns. A useful appraisal should first establish that the object belongs to this American painter rather than another person with a similar name. The Western or Native American subject context may assist identification, but it cannot establish authorship independently. Object-specific documentation and comparable public auction records are needed to assess a particular work. Because the supplied evidence does not reveal individual lot media, dimensions, dates, provenance, condition, or realized prices, this profile makes no prediction about value, scarcity, or market direction.

## 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. This profile's biographical foundation comes primarily from authority records; its supplied auction evidence is not detailed enough for price analysis.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q52157500
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/8196411/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500104183
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Swanson
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/ray-swanson/