# Willy Maywald artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/willy-maywald/
Profile generated: 2026-05-16T22:31:38.493Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1907-08-15
- Death date: 1985-05-21
- Nationality: German
- Movements: 20th-century European photography
- Common media: gelatin silver prints, portrait photography, fashion photography

## About Willy Maywald

Willy Maywald (1907–1985), born Wilhelm Maywald, was a German photographer who became one of the notable portrait and fashion photographers of twentieth-century Europe. He emigrated to Paris in 1931, where he established his practice and built a reputation for photographing prominent cultural figures of the era. Maywald's portraits and fashion work captured the creative energy of mid-century Parisian artistic life. His photographs are documented in the holdings of major institutions including the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and his career is recorded in authority files maintained by the Getty Research Institute, the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), and the Library of Congress. Collectors most often encounter his work as gelatin silver portrait and fashion prints.

## Common works and media

Maywald's most commonly encountered works are gelatin silver portrait photographs of artists, writers, and cultural figures active in mid-century Paris, as well as fashion photographs produced during his career in France. Prints may appear as vintage examples with studio stamps or markings, or as later prints. Collectors should verify dating, provenance, and print condition when evaluating attribution.

## Market and appraisal context

Willy Maywald's photographs appear at auction primarily as vintage gelatin silver prints in the Photography category. Valuation depends on whether a print is vintage or later-produced, the significance of the sitter or subject, print condition, provenance, and any edition or stamp markings. Portraits of recognized artists or cultural figures tend to attract stronger collector interest. Auction results and comparable sale records, when available, provide the most reliable basis for appraisal.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and institutional sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Willy Maywald, identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN, RKD, VIAF, Wikidata, and the Library of Congress authority file.

## Sources

- RKD – Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/255883
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107083
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Maywald
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500116813
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/36936182/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85127316