# Yoko Ono artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/yoko-ono/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T04:30:45.493Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1933-02-18
- Nationality: Japanese, American
- Movements: Conceptual Art, Fluxus, Performance Art
- Common media: Performance art, Sculpture, Photography, Painting, Film, Instruction-based works, Installation art

## About Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono (born 1933, Tokyo) is a Japanese-American conceptual artist, musician, performance artist, and peace activist whose work has shaped contemporary art and culture for over seven decades. Active since the 1950s, she is recognized as a pioneering figure in Conceptual Art, Fluxus, and participatory practice. Her instruction-based works — scored as written directions rather than fixed objects — invite audiences to complete the art through their own actions. Signature pieces such as Cut Piece (1964) and the ongoing Wish Trees installation (first realized 1996) transform simple acts into expressions of vulnerability, hope, and collective participation. Ono's practice spans performance, sculpture, film, music, photography, and installation. Her work has been the subject of major solo exhibitions at institutions including Tate Modern, The Broad in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She maintains an official presence through the Imagine Peace project.

## Common works and media

Ono's auction and appraisal profile includes instruction paintings and drawings, screen prints and lithographic editions, participatory installation components (such as Wish Trees and related materials), performance documentation and ephemera, sculptural objects, artist books, photographs, film works, and event posters or announcements. Her multiples and editions are the most frequently traded category, while unique sculptural works and performance relics are rarer at auction.

## Market and appraisal context

Yoko Ono's work appears at auction across several categories: Contemporary Art, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Editions and Multiples, and Prints. Collectors most frequently encounter her editioned prints, multiples, and instruction-based works with accompanying documentation. Valuation depends on provenance clarity, exhibition history, condition of installation components, and whether the work is tied to a recognized series or landmark exhibition. Performance relics and ephemera linked to documented events can carry significant premiums. Attribution should be confirmed through estate or exhibition records, and completeness of edition or installation elements should be verified before appraisal.

## Appraisily data basis

This artist page is based on identity and biographical research drawn from museum records, library authority files (Getty ULAN, VIAF, Library of Congress, RKD), and the artist's official site. Market context draws on public auction categories and common lot characteristics. When available, Appraisily complements this research with realized auction prices, comparable sale records, and provenance data from the Invaluable database.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117012
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500115959
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/111076257/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50001903
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4410
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/yoko-ono-1719
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/230351
- Yoko Ono: http://www.imaginepeace.com
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono