# Vanessa Beecroft artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/vanessa-beecroft/
Profile generated: 2026-05-10T05:54:04.260Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Italian, American
- Movements: Contemporary art, Performance art
- Common media: Performance / tableaux vivants, Photography, Video art, Sculpture, Painting, Gouache and watercolor, Installation

## About Vanessa Beecroft

Vanessa Beecroft (born 1969) is an Italian-born American contemporary artist best known for her large-scale live performances featuring groups of women—often professional models—arranged in still, carefully choreographed tableaux vivants. Active since 1993, she numbers her works in the sequential VB series (beginning with VB01), spanning performance, photography, video, sculpture, painting, gouache, and installation. Her early practice explored autobiographical themes around gender and the female body, while later works have addressed race and cultural representation. Beecroft studied between 1988 and 1993 and has lived and worked in Milan, New York, and Los Angeles. Her work is held in major institutional collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and she has collaborated on high-profile commercial projects with figures in music and fashion. With over 400 documented auction appearances, Beecroft's practice is well represented in the secondary market.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Beecroft's photographic prints and editions documenting her VB performances, often depicting groups of posed female figures. Gouache and watercolor works on paper, video art installations, sculptural pieces, and paintings also appear at auction. Works range from unique pieces to limited-edition photographs in various formats and sizes. Subject matter centers on the female body, identity, and staged group compositions.

## Market and appraisal context

Vanessa Beecroft's auction presence spans contemporary art, photographs, and editions. Collectors encounter photographic documentation of her performances, gouache and watercolor works on paper, video installations, and sculptural pieces. Appraisal values are influenced by the specific VB-series number, medium, date of execution, edition size for photographic works, provenance, condition, and whether the work is held in or exhibited by a major institution. Works from landmark or early VB performances may carry additional significance. As with much contemporary performance-derived art, the relationship between the live event and its documented or editioned artifacts affects how lots are catalogued and valued at auction.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured artist identity research from museum, library authority, and official sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Vanessa Beecroft, identity data is grounded in Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, RKD, MoMA, and the artist's official site.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q152292
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Beecroft
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500114573
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/84237315/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr98025082
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/8261
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/212802
- Vanessa Beecroft: https://vanessabeecroft.com