Karel Appel Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Appel’s current auction record was set when Two Birds And A Flower (1951) sold at Christie's Paris in December 2012, significantly exceeding its high estimate of £405,600. This vibrant composition exemplifies Appel's signature style during what would become the final year of the CoBrA movement, featuring bold primary colours and simplified, almost primitive animal and natural forms against a bright yellow background. The work was created during a pivotal year in Appel's career, when his international reputation was rapidly expanding following his move to Paris. Its strong performance at auction underscores collector appreciation for works that most purely represent Appel's artistic philosophy of unrestrained creative expression, which he famously described as "I don't paint, I hit."

When Femmes, Enfants, Animaux (1951) sold at Christie's New York in May 2002, it significantly exceeded its previous sale of £350,000 in November 1995 and set a new record for Appel’s work - a record that held for 10 years. The monumental canvas, at nearly 3 metres wide, is one of Appel's most ambitious compositions from his seminal CoBrA period, with complex overlapping human and animal forms rendered in rich earthy oranges, browns, and blacks. The work's title references themes that would remain central to the CoBrA movement’s rejection of conventional art, drawing inspiration from children's art, folk traditions, and primitive forms of expression. The piece is also considered a commentary on the reality of life during and after World War II, evoking a sense of tragedy as much as familial unity.

Tigerbird (1952) sold for €500,000 at Sotheby's Paris in October 2018, a 40% increase on its sale just two years previously, in 2016, and yet another strong performance for Appel’s early 1950s works. This vibrant oil painting features one of Appel's signature hybrid creatures - part tiger, part bird - rendered in his characteristic bold primary colours and given depth by his use of impasto medium. This mythical subject exemplifies Appels’ interest in creating imaginative, almost child-like zoomorphic forms that, like his artistic style, transcend convention. The result is both playful and powerful, and reminiscent of the work of Picasso and Paul Klee.

This impressive sale of Le Grand Chef Cobra (1950), which translates to “The Great Chief Cobra,” occurred at Christie's London in June 2010. With a title that directly references the name of the movement, and possibly Appel’s leadership role within it, this piece captures the rebellious energy of the CoBrA aesthetic. Its success at auction underscores the market's appreciation for works that directly reference Appel's pivotal role in establishing one of post-war Europe's most influential art movements, which derived its name from the first letters of its founders' home cities: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

Sans Titre (Untitled) (1952) achieved this impressive result at Christie's Paris in June 2021. This untitled work was created after the dissolution of the CoBrA movement in October 1951, but while the movement was still conversely gaining international traction. In fact, the group’s unexpected success was one of the reasons it disbanded. As such, this painting still showcases the distinctive CoBrA style, with boldly delineated figures rendered in a vibrant palette dominated by primary colours. Appel’s method of rendering human bodies and faces is at once representational and abstract, often creating a slightly ominous result.

De Famille (1952) sold at Bonhams Cornette de Saint-Cyr in October 2007, out of the collection of Alain Delon, exceeding its high estimate by almost 100%. This oil painting depicts simplified, almost tribal representations of family figures. Many of Appel’s paintings subvert traditional portraiture to explore universally recognised human connections through a more raw, emotive aesthetic. Despite Appel’s interest in human relationships, complete families were not commonly featured in his works. When they did, however, such as in the painted stone relief Floating Family (1976), Appel used them as a symbol for unity and collective experience.

When Femme Et Enfant (1953) sold at Sotheby's in November 2009, it exceeded its high estimate by over £100,000. The work’s popularity comes from its depiction of two of Appel’s favourite subjects: women and children. The relationship between mother and child was a subject that fascinated Appel throughout his career, influenced in part by his equal fascination with a child’s instinctive approach to art where adults were prone to overthinking. Appel often used the figure of a child in his work to embody his desire to return to a more unfiltered, primal method of creating art.

Tête Tragique (1961) achieved this value at Sotheby's Amsterdam in March 2010, doubling its high estimate on Appel’s home turf. This large oil painting on canvas, measuring 230 x 300cm, represents one of Appel's most monumental works to appear at auction; its scale allowed Appel to work with unprecedented freedom. It is also the latest work to appear on this list. The painting's title, translating to "Tragic Head," references its central motif: a distorted, anguished face rendered with explosive energy and a palette dominated by red and black, with smatterings of yellow and blue. Its chaotic brushwork not only captures the tragic energy of the central character, but also reflects Appel's philosophy that "painting is a battle." In the early 1960s, Appel was exploring the limits of his expressive figuration.

L'Exode, Le Monde Floral (1953) this result at Christie's London in June 2004. The painting's title, which translates to "The Exodus, The Floral World," hints at its dual themes of movement and natural forms. Its colour, spontaneity, and movement reflect a combination of different journeys - the return to primal nature that Appel imbued in all of his work, Appel’s own development as an individual artist after the dissolution of CoBrA, and the renewal of society after World War II.

Fille En Pleurs (1953), which translates to “Girl in Tears,” sold at Sotheby's Paris in May 2012. Like many of Appel’s works from his post-CoBrA period, this oil painting focuses on a specific emotion. It was created just one year before Appel experienced his international breakthrough as an independent artist in 1954 with his exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery, New York. This success spurred on a new decade of avid experimentation with new compositions and new materials - the beginning of which can be seen in Fille En Pleurs (1953) and how it stands out against the earlier 1950s works on this list. Its high contrast colour palette and bold brushstrokes are testament to Appel’s status as one of the most significant Expressionist painters of the post-war period.