# Suzanne Valadon artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/suzanne-valadon/
Profile generated: 2026-05-08T14:47:24.850Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1865-09-23
- Death date: 1938-04-07
- Nationality: French
- Movements: Post-Impressionism
- Common media: Oil painting, Pastel, Etching, Drawing

## About Suzanne Valadon

Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938) was a French painter, pastelist, and printmaker recognized as one of the most significant self-taught women artists of the early twentieth century. Born Marie-Clémentine Valadon in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, she began her career as an artists' model in Montmartre, sitting for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others before teaching herself to draw and paint. In 1894 she became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Her boldly drawn female nudes, portraits, and still lifes challenged period conventions and earned the admiration of Degas, who championed her work. Valadon was the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo and married the artist André Utter in 1909. Today her work is held by major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Musée de l'Orangerie.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Valadon's works in oil on canvas, pastel on paper, charcoal or graphite drawings, and etchings. Her subjects include female nudes rendered with strong contour lines, domestic interiors, still lifes of flowers and fruit, portraits of family and friends, and Montmartre street scenes. Print editions of her etchings appear periodically at auction. Works range from small-format drawings to larger canvases. Signed pieces with clear provenance are preferred by the market.

## Market and appraisal context

Suzanne Valadon's work appears regularly at auction, with over five hundred recorded lots in international sale databases. Her oil paintings — particularly female nudes and portraits — tend to attract the strongest institutional and private interest. Works on paper, including pastels and etchings, trade at lower price points but remain collectible. Provenance and condition are key appraisal considerations: pieces with documented exhibition histories or museum provenance carry a premium. Collectors should verify attribution carefully, as confusion with works by her son Maurice Utrillo can occur. Valadon's growing critical reputation and increasing museum attention may influence long-term market perception.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines structured artist-identity research drawn from museum records, library authority files (Getty ULAN, VIAF, Library of Congress, RKD), and biographical sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. Market observations are grounded in documented public auction activity and institutional holdings.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q156889
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Valadon
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500032597
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/66475473/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81058893
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/6055
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/78974