# Stevan Dohanos artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/stevan-dohanos/
Profile generated: 2026-05-13T04:01:21.465Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1907-05-18
- Death date: 1994-01-01
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Social realism
- Common media: oil painting, illustration, poster design

## About Stevan Dohanos

Stevan Dohanos (1907–1994) was an American painter and illustrator associated with the social realism tradition. He is best recognized for his cover illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post, producing meticulously detailed scenes of American everyday life that earned comparison to the work of Norman Rockwell. During World War II, Dohanos created several posters in the "Don't Talk" propaganda series, warning against loose talk that could aid the enemy. He credited Grant Wood and Edward Hopper as the strongest influences on his painting style. His work is held in museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, and his legacy bridges the fields of commercial illustration and fine art. Collectitors encounter his work through original paintings, magazine cover art, wartime posters, and printed reproductions.

## Common works and media

Dohanos produced original oil paintings for magazine covers, wartime poster designs (lithographic prints), magazine illustration studies, and later stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service. Common subjects include small-town American scenes, domestic interiors, storefronts, and patriotic themes. Collectors may encounter both original works on board or canvas and editioned or mass-produced poster prints.

## Market and appraisal context

Stevan Dohanos's work appears regularly at auction across illustration art, American art, and poster categories. Original oil paintings, especially Saturday Evening Post cover studies, tend to attract the strongest collector interest. Printed posters from his WWII propaganda series circulate widely and are valued both as graphic design and as historical memorabilia. Condition, medium, provenance, and whether a work is an original painting versus a printed reproduction are key factors in appraisal. Comparable public auction records for illustration art of this era should be consulted when assessing individual works.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Stevan Dohanos, identity data is grounded in Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD, Wikidata, and Library of Congress authority files.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7611709
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevan_Dohanos
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500048008
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/62840005/
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/104317
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80037729
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/1570