# Riccardo Licata artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/riccardo-licata/
Profile generated: 2026-05-05T04:37:05.651Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Death date: 2014-02-19
- Nationality: Italian
- Common media: painting, printmaking and engraving, sculpture, glass painting, ceramics

## About Riccardo Licata

Riccardo Licata (1929–2014) was an Italian artist born in Turin who worked across an unusually broad range of media, including painting, engraving, sculpture, glass painting, ceramics, and graphic art. Active in post-war Italy and based later in Venice, Licata developed an abstract visual language that earned him institutional recognition during his lifetime. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his career is documented by major library authority files including the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress, and the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD). The breadth of his practice—from set painting to glass work—makes his output varied and sometimes surprising to collectors encountering it at auction.

## Common works and media

Collectors are most likely to encounter Licata's abstract paintings, engravings and graphic prints, sculptural works, and glass-painted pieces. He also produced ceramics and worked as a set painter. His graphic output—etchings, lithographs, and other print media—appears with some frequency at auction. Subjects are predominantly abstract, reflecting the direction identified in RKD documentation.

## Market and appraisal context

Riccardo Licata has a well-established auction footprint spanning nearly three decades, with 439 recorded lots and 232 priced results between October 1997 and April 2026. The market is liquid and active: 63 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period, up from 42 in the prior 12 months, indicating growing supply and collector interest. Prices are dispersed but centered in an accessible range—the median realized price is €750, with a 25th percentile at €280 and a 75th percentile at €1,875. The ceiling reaches €17,000, likely for early-period or large-scale unique works. The bulk of trade flows through Italian regional houses (Felima Art Casa D'Aste, Pananti Casa D'Aste, Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste), but the artist has also appeared at Christie's and Bonhams, confirming international saleroom recognition. A Murano glass piece attributed to Licata for Cenedese Vetri d'Arte sold at Schuler Auktionen (CHF 700), illustrating the crossover into decorative-arts categories. Works are predominantly abstract and untitled, spanning from 1953 to 2013, with no single dominant category label in the auction data—consistent with Licata's known versatility across painting, printmaking, sculpture, glass, and ceramics.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Riccardo Licata has a well-established auction footprint spanning nearly three decades, with 439 recorded lots and 232 priced results between October 1997 and April 2026. The market is liquid and active: 63 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period, up from 42 in the prior 12 months, indicating growing supply and collector interest. Prices are dispersed but centered in an accessible range—the median realized price is €750, with a 25th percentile at €280 and a 75th percentile at €1,875. The ceiling reaches €17,000, likely for early-period or large-scale unique works. The bulk of trade flows through Italian regional houses (Felima Art Casa D'Aste, Pananti Casa D'Aste, Finarte, Cambi Casa d'Aste), but the artist has also appeared at Christie's and Bonhams, confirming international saleroom recognition. A Murano glass piece attributed to Licata for Cenedese Vetri d'Arte sold at Schuler Auktionen (CHF 700), illustrating the crossover into decorative-arts categories. Works are predominantly abstract and untitled, spanning from 1953 to 2013, with no single dominant category label in the auction data—consistent with Licata's known versatility across painting, printmaking, sculpture, glass, and ceramics.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 439 auction records as a comparable-sales baseline, filtering by medium (painting, print, sculpture, glass, ceramic), period (early works from the 1950s–1960s tend to command higher prices, as seen with the 1962 P/3 lot at €2,000–€2,400 and the 1953 and 1959 untitled works), dimensions, and condition. For an appraisal, a qualified specialist would cross-reference the auction history with high-resolution photographs, measured dimensions, medium identification, signature verification, provenance documentation, and—for prints and multiples—edition numbers and total edition size. The wide price spread (€20–€17,000) means that comparable-lot selection is critical; an early unique painting and a late unsigned print should not be benchmarked against each other. The presence of Christie's and Bonhams results alongside regional Italian houses provides a tiered comparables ladder that an appraiser can weight by house reputation and buyer-pool depth.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: unique paintings and early-period works tend to realize higher prices than later prints or multiples
- Period: works from the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., P/3, 1962 at €2,000–€2,400) generally outperform later untitled works from the 1990s–2000s (often €70–€300)
- Edition size and technique for prints: etchings, lithographs, and other multiples should be evaluated for edition number, total run, and plate quality
- Condition: given the age range (1950s–2013), condition reports are essential, especially for works on paper and glass
- Provenance: works with gallery or institutional provenance (e.g., MoMA collection history) carry a premium over undocumented pieces
- Attribution: Licata's broad media practice sometimes leads to cataloguing inconsistencies; signature, style, and period must be verified
- Auction house tier: results from Christie's and Bonhams may reflect stronger buyer pools than regional Italian houses
- Size and scale: larger unique works likely account for the upper price quartile above €1,875

### Collector notes

- Licata's auction market is accessible, with a median price near €750, making entry possible for collectors at multiple price points. The most frequently appearing lots are untitled abstract works from the 1970s onward, often at Italian regional houses—these can represent good value if condition and attribution are confirmed. Early-period works (1950s–1960s) and unique paintings or glass pieces command the strongest prices and are the segments most likely to appreciate. Prints and multiples are abundant and trade at the lower end of the range (€20–€300), suitable for building a collection of the artist's graphic output. The 50% year-over-year increase in auction volume (42 to 63 lots) suggests rising market visibility but also increased supply, which may moderate price growth for common works. Collectors seeking higher-value pieces should focus on documented provenance, early dates, unique media (painting, glass), and results from internationally recognized houses. Murano glass collaborations (e.g., Cenedese) represent a niche crossover collecting category.

### Market caveats

- Price data covers 232 of 439 lots; approximately 47% of lots lack a recorded realized price, which may reflect unsold lots, withdrawn works, or data gaps.
- The majority of priced results come from Italian regional auction houses; comparables should be adjusted for house-tier differences when benchmarking against Christie's or Bonhams results.
- Many lots are titled only as 'Senza titolo' (Untitled) with a year, making precise medium identification from lot titles alone unreliable. A formal appraisal should verify medium, dimensions, and technique directly.
- Currency mix: most results are in EUR, but at least one lot (Schuler Auktionen) is in CHF. Cross-currency comparisons should account for exchange-rate timing.
- Attribution qualifier 'zugeschrieben' (attributed) appears on at least one lot (the Murano glass aquarium at Schuler Auktionen), indicating that not all catalogued works are confirmed as by the artist's hand.
- No catalogue raisonné is referenced in the source pack; catalogue inclusion would strengthen attribution confidence for any individual work.
- Provenance, edition size (for prints), condition, and attribution should be verified by a qualified appraiser for any individual work.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/riccardo-licata/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-1929-2014-vase-a-doppio-incalmo-74-c-30d480b8e7
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-1959-47-c-223c41c5eb
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-torino-1929-venezia-2014-untitled-1953-15-c-c70dd4a0cb
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-untitled-23-c-351462db35
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-150-c-41ea0ee8b3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-1995-48-c-0134ddcf84
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-1977-47-c-13f414cea8
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-torino-1929-venezia-2014-senza-titolo-2007-290-c-4e20b0a2d4
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-torino-1929-venezia-2014-p-3-1962-289-c-d14fa3987c
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-2002-36-c-a938291ef5
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-1977-35-c-82bfd13788
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-riccardo-licata-senza-titolo-1992-31-c-95ac41fa58

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research grounded in library authority records (Getty ULAN, Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata), museum collection data (MoMA), and art-historical documentation (RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History). Market context is supplemented by comparable auction records, sale dates, and realized prices when those records are available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1125975
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500103019
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/44430133/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n94116779
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/3540
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/49898