# William S. Schwartz artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/william-s-schwartz/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T03:50:49.811Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1896-02-23
- Nationality: American, Russian-born
- Common media: oil painting, lithography

## About William S. Schwartz

William Samuel Schwartz (1896–1977) was a Russian-born American painter and lithographer who spent his career in Chicago, Illinois. Born in Smarhoń—then part of the Russian Empire, in present-day Belarus—he immigrated to the United States and became an active figure in the Chicago art world. Schwartz worked primarily in oil painting and lithography, and his output spans several decades of the twentieth century. He is listed in the Union List of Artist Names (Getty Research Institute), the Library of Congress name authority file, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, reflecting his documented presence in institutional collections and catalogues. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, also holds a record for Schwartz in its artist database. Collectors most often encounter his work through American paintings and works on paper at auction.

## Common works and media

Common work types include oil paintings on canvas and board, lithographic prints, and other works on paper such as drawings. Schwartz's documented mediums span painting and printmaking, and collectors may encounter both unique works and editioned prints at auction. Subject matter and specific series designations are not well-delineated in the available authority sources.

## Market and appraisal context

Schwartz's work appears with moderate regularity at auction, with over three hundred documented lots across sale records. Collectors considering an appraisal should note that value depends on medium—oil paintings generally command stronger results than prints or works on paper—as well as subject matter, provenance, date of execution, condition, and confirmed attribution. Comparable public auction records for Chicago-based American painters of the early-to-mid twentieth century provide a useful benchmark. Because Schwartz is not widely associated with a single named movement in major reference sources, provenance and exhibition history carry added weight in establishing significance and market positioning.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files, museum records, and published catalogues with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For William S. Schwartz, identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN, VIAF, Library of Congress, Wikidata, RKD, and MoMA artist records, supplemented by biographical references cited in the RKD including Bénézit and Falk's Who Was Who in American Art.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8018013
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Schwartz
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500017787
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/45207420/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84157324
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/65307
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/97364