# Willem Gerard Hofker artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/willem-gerard-hofker/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T05:13:32.009Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1902-05-02
- Death date: 1981-04-30
- Nationality: Dutch
- Common media: oil painting, etching, lithography, mezzotint, drawing

## About Willem Gerard Hofker

Willem Gerard Hofker (1902–1981), often known as Wim Hofker, was a Dutch painter, etcher, draftsman, and graphic artist born in The Hague. Trained in the Netherlands, he traveled to the Dutch East Indies where the island of Bali became his defining subject. Hofker produced portraits, landscapes, and figure studies of Balinese people and culture across oil painting, etching, lithography, mezzotint, and drawing. His Balinese portraits — especially of women and dancers — are the works most frequently encountered by collectors. Working at the intersection of Dutch modernist tradition and Southeast Asian cultural documentation, Hofker left a body of work significant to collectors of both European and Indonesian art. He typically signed his work "W.G. Hofker."

## Common works and media

Oil paintings on canvas and board, primarily Balinese portraits, landscapes, and figure studies. Etchings and drypoint prints, often depicting Balinese dancers and temple scenes. Lithographs and mezzotints in edition. Graphite and charcoal drawings. Works are typically signed "W.G. Hofker." The majority of works encountered at auction date from his Bali period.

## Market and appraisal context

Willem Gerard Hofker has a deep and liquid secondary market spanning over three decades, with 436 catalogued auction lots and 277 with recorded prices between 1993 and February 2026. The market is anchored by recurring appearances at major international houses (Christie's, Sotheby's) alongside a strong network of Dutch regional houses (Zeeuws Veilinghuis, Venduehuis der Notarissen, Vendu Rotterdam, Veilinghuis Van Spengen, Veilinghuis Onder de Boompjes) and Southeast Asian firms (Larasati Auctioneers, Global Auction, Subastas Segre). Price dispersion is extreme: the interquartile range runs from approximately €550 to €8,400, reflecting a market where modestly valued prints and works on paper dominate volume, while rare Bali-period oils command five- and six-figure sums. Recent highlights include a Sotheby's Singapore sale of "Portrait of Ni Njeloen" at SGD 88,900 (January 2026) and a Zeeuws Veilinghuis sale of "Garden view, Kruisheide" at €38,000 (November 2025). Prints and etchings of Balinese subjects routinely trade in the €300–€900 range. Liquidity is stable, with 18 lots in the most recent 12 months versus 15 in the prior period.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Willem Gerard Hofker has a deep and liquid secondary market spanning over three decades, with 436 catalogued auction lots and 277 with recorded prices between 1993 and February 2026. The market is anchored by recurring appearances at major international houses (Christie's, Sotheby's) alongside a strong network of Dutch regional houses (Zeeuws Veilinghuis, Venduehuis der Notarissen, Vendu Rotterdam, Veilinghuis Van Spengen, Veilinghuis Onder de Boompjes) and Southeast Asian firms (Larasati Auctioneers, Global Auction, Subastas Segre). Price dispersion is extreme: the interquartile range runs from approximately €550 to €8,400, reflecting a market where modestly valued prints and works on paper dominate volume, while rare Bali-period oils command five- and six-figure sums. Recent highlights include a Sotheby's Singapore sale of "Portrait of Ni Njeloen" at SGD 88,900 (January 2026) and a Zeeuws Veilinghuis sale of "Garden view, Kruisheide" at €38,000 (November 2025). Prints and etchings of Balinese subjects routinely trade in the €300–€900 range. Liquidity is stable, with 18 lots in the most recent 12 months versus 15 in the prior period.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 436 auction records as a comparable-sales foundation, cross-referenced against the specific work's medium, dimensions, signature, condition, provenance, and — for prints — edition number and state. The wide price spread (€30 to multi-million euro territory) means that accurate medium identification is the single most important step: an etching of a Balinese dancer (typically €300–€900) and an oil portrait of a named Balinese sitter (typically €10,000–€90,000+) occupy entirely different market tiers. For oil paintings, comparable lots from Sotheby's, Christie's, and Zeeuws Veilinghuis sales provide the strongest benchmarks. For prints, Dutch regional house results offer dense comparable data. Provenance tracing to Hofker's Bali period (1938–1940s) or to his post-war Netherlands production can materially affect value. Condition reports should flag foxing, fading, or toning on paper works and craquelure or relining on canvases. The characteristic "W.G. Hofker" signature should be verified against RKD records.

### Valuation factors

- Medium is the primary value driver: unique oil paintings, especially Bali-period portraits and landscapes, trade at 10–100× the level of etchings, lithographs, and mezzotints
- Named Balinese sitters (e.g., Ni Njeloen, Ni Kenjoen, Goesti Made Toewi) and dancer/temple subjects command premiums over generic figure studies
- Print edition state and number: proofs ("proefdruk") and early states carry premiums over standard edition impressions
- Provenance linking to Hofker's Indonesian period (pre-1946) or to notable Dutch collections enhances value
- Condition is critical for paper works: foxing, acid burn, fading, and handling creases are common and materially reduce prices realized
- Signature verification: works are typically signed "W.G. Hofker"; unsigned or atypically signed works require authentication
- Multi-currency market: results span EUR, SGD, and potentially other currencies; currency conversion at sale date affects comparable analysis
- Sale venue matters: major-house results (Sotheby's, Christie's) typically exceed regional Dutch house prices for comparable works

### Collector notes

- Hofker's market offers entry points across a wide range. Collectors seeking affordability will find etchings and lithographs of Balinese subjects available at €300–€900 through Dutch regional houses such as Zeeuws Veilinghuis and Venduehuis der Notarissen. These appear regularly (multiple times per year) and represent a liquid segment. Collectors targeting significant paintings should monitor Sotheby's Singapore and Christie's sales, where named-sitter Bali-period oils have realized SGD 88,900 and above. The €14,000,000 top recorded price is an extreme outlier and should not be used as a benchmark without independent verification of the specific lot. The slight uptick in auction volume (18 lots in the latest 12 months vs. 15 the prior year) suggests stable or modestly growing collector interest. Buyers of prints should always request condition reports and confirm edition details, as the volume of works on paper means condition quality varies widely.

### Market caveats

- The recorded maximum price of €14,000,000 is a significant outlier relative to the €1,200 median and €8,401 75th percentile; this figure should be independently verified against the specific lot record before being cited
- Prices are recorded in mixed currencies (primarily EUR and SGD); cross-currency comparability depends on exchange rates at time of sale
- Many recent lot titles in the source pack are generic ("Willem Gerard Hofker (1902-1981)") without medium, dimensions, or subject detail, limiting the precision of comparable-lot analysis
- Several recent lots have null price-realized values, indicating either unsold lots or results not yet reported; unsold rates are not calculated in this addendum
- Auction-house attribution in the source pack is based on the Invaluable/Appraisily aggregator feed and may differ from the house's own cataloguing
- No private-sale or dealer-price data is included; the auction record may not reflect the full breadth of the market for this artist

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/willem-gerard-hofker/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-546-c-0a1424588d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-539-c-8f34adabf3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-82-c-aef4030aa5
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-55-c-2034d30b69
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-132-c-9b24484af6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-129-c-8d4deb86d0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-128-c-de9273e504
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-127-c-56ef129c3d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-126-c-7e24d0722d
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-aki-aki-556-c-3510be1eb3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-portrait-of-ni-njeloen-ni-njeloen-632-c-961175a1c7
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-willem-gerard-hofker-1902-1981-garden-view-kruisheide-70-c-adb009e6b9

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from institutional authority files with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Willem Gerard Hofker, biographical data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50000231
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/96231051/
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/38972
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4464908
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500077420