# Theodore Wores artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/theodore-wores/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T11:30:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1860-08-01
- Nationality: American
- Movements: American painting, late 19th–early 20th century, with Asian and Pacific subject matter
- Common media: oil painting

## About Theodore Wores

Theodore Wores (1860–1939) was an American painter and illustrator born in San Francisco, California. He is recognized for his extensive international travel, which included sustained periods in Germany, Japan, Hawaii, and Samoa—destinations that deeply shaped his artistic output. Wores is particularly noted for depicting Japanese life and culture at a time when few Western artists had direct, sustained engagement with the country. His work encompasses Chinoiserie and broader Asian and Pacific Island subjects, placing him among late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century American painters who looked beyond domestic scenes for inspiration. Wores's career is documented in major reference works including Bénézit's Dictionnaire critique, Mantle Fielding's dictionary, and the Witt Checklist of painters. His paintings appear regularly at auction, reflecting a sustained collector following.

## Common works and media

Wores worked primarily in oil on canvas. Common subjects include Japanese street scenes and figure studies, Hawaiian and Samoan landscapes and portraits, Chinoiserie-inspired compositions, and San Francisco Bay Area scenes. His output ranges from finished exhibition paintings to smaller travel sketches and studies. Illustration work is also documented. Works attributed to Wores that appear at auction tend to be oil paintings, though works on paper and sketches may also surface.

## Market and appraisal context

Theodore Wores's works appear with notable frequency at auction, with over 200 lots recorded. The strongest valuation factors include subject matter—his Japanese, Hawaiian, and Samoan scenes stand out among American painters of his era—as well as medium, condition, provenance, and documented exhibition history. Authentication is aided by his inclusion in Bénézit, Fielding's, and other standard references. Collectors should note that no catalogue raisonné was identified; works lacking clear provenance or signature warrant additional scholarly review before attribution is confirmed.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and Wikidata with published auction records, reference citations from Bénézit and Fielding's, and comparable lot data. When available, sale dates, realized prices, and auction-house context are incorporated to support appraisal guidance.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/85567
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7782112
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500031878
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54953584/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81068761
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Wores