Thierry Noir Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Brompton Road at 6pm (2014) is a large-scale oil painting on canvas featuring caricatured side-profile faces rendered in bold black sinuous lines against a vibrant blue backdrop, lending itself to multiple interpretations of its title. Noir, known for his iconic face motifs on the Berlin Wall, initially placed these symbols in a political and historical context, juxtaposed with lively and playful colours. This artwork garnered significant acclaim, achieving £107,950 (including fees) at Sotheby's online Contemporary Curated sale in April 2023, setting a new auction record for Noir and solidifying his position in the contemporary art world.

My Perceptive Vision Crosses the Darkness and Stares at the Ferryboats That Take to the Sea (2020) is a large-scale canvas that also showcases Noir's ability to craft captivating pieces using a minimal colour palette. The composition primarily features striking red lips, shades of grey, and an electrifying chartreuse eye. This artwork embodies Noir's playful artistic language, hinted at by the title and symbolic references, suggesting a sailor-like figure with a connection to the sea's depth and mystery. Beyond its contemporary aesthetics, the artwork carries narrative and symbolism that enrich its minimalist portrayal. Presented in Sotheby's Contemporary Curated online sale in April 2023, the artwork achieved £101,600 (including fees).

A Certain Degree of Mystery Surrounds the Way I Do My Hair (2020) highlights Noir's adept utilisation of a limited colour palette, primarily greys and blues, punctuated by lively accents of red lips and golden orange hair. The artwork's playful representation of hair resembling a crown resonates with its title. This piece stands as one of Noir's top-selling works, attaining an impressive £100,800 (including fees) in Christie's online Post-War & Contemporary art sale.

Cool and Funky, Perfect Light Over The Dancefloor (2023) encapsulates the dual inspirations of art and music with vibrant colours as Noir portrays his iconic exaggerated caricature figure in the form of a DJ, positioned over the DJ deck with headphones and hands on the turntable. Beyond its representation of musical culture, the artwork demonstrates Noir's adeptness in geometric and colour abstraction. He skilfully utilises the shapes of the DJ board, table, and background to create symmetrical qualities within the piece. Recognised for its artistic merit and lightheartedness, this work achieved a sale price of £94,500 (including fees) at Christie's online auction in October 2023.

Differing from his typical cropped portraits, Flower To The People Of London (2014) presents a full-bodied caricature figure in Noir's signature two-dimensional side portrait style. The figure, holding a three-petaled pink flower, deviates from his usual cropped portraits. This artwork, created in 2014, holds particular significance as it coincided with the centenary of World War I, a moment of great importance in Britain's commemoration of the war, often marked by the wearing of poppy flowers. The figure in the artwork appears to grasp a poppy with a missing petal, symbolising a fallen soldier. This piece achieved £88,200 (including fees) at Sotheby's online sale in May 2022, ranking among Noir's top-selling works.

Nächstes Mal kaufe ich eine noch grössere (Next Time I Buy An Even Bigger One) (1996) by Noir is a smaller-scale artwork featuring one of his iconic figures against a vibrant backdrop of a grassy landscape and a vivid blue sky. The deliberate colouration creates a harmonious palette, with bold black lines adding contrast and life to the composition. The caricature, holding a broken windmill toy, conveys a sense of optimism and aspiration through its title. Originating from a private collection in Germany, it achieved £72,674 (fees included) at a Sotheby's online sale in Germany.

Noir's The Calm Sky Over the Pedestrian Street Makes Me Want To Walk Straight To The Shopping Mall (2019) was presented at Sotheby's Modern & Contemporary Day Auction in June 2023. It features a collage portrayal of Noir's distinctive caricatures, with their exaggerated faces fitting together seamlessly. These collaged pieces have gained popularity in the market, and this particular work sold for £63,500 (including fees), firmly establishing itself among Noir's top-selling works and reflecting his increasing prominence in the secondary art market.

Meeting Point (2016) showcases another of Noir's distinctive facial portraits, characterised by its unique side-profile perspective. In this piece, a vivid orange visage comes to life through Noir's masterful use of bold black lines set against a lively backdrop of pink and orange abstractions. Departing from traditional facial features, Noir embraces a more abstract form, demonstrating a keen awareness of artistic trends. By accentuating the recess between the figure's facial planes, Noir invites viewers to contemplate the ”meeting point,’’ as hinted at in the title. This fosters interpretation and adds an intriguing layer of ambiguity to the composition. Notably, this artwork successfully sold at Sotheby's in June 2022, fetching a price of £56,700 (fees included).

Noir's collage-based creations, such as Fruits are piling up in front of me. It is a good idea! I am going to buy clementines for tonight's dessert (2019), epitomise his artistic intricacy and unique visual vocabulary, offering intriguing interpretations as the vibrant, clementine orange background bursts to life with bold black faces arranged in multiples. Crafted with Noir's distinctive black lines, these distorted visages coalesce in a harmonious tessellated composition playfully referenced by the title, “Fruits are piling up in front of me’’. Noir intentionally shapes a discernible pattern of repeated forms within the piece, attesting to the selling price of £52,920 (fees included) at Phillips in June 2020.

The appeal of Classic Blue Head (2014) resides in its enchanting array of blue hues. The interplay of rich cerulean and vibrant cobalt, punctuated by dashes of red, forms a captivating visual tapestry. The artwork's straightforward title, “Classic Blue Head,’’ establishes a direct connection with the viewer, inviting them to immerse themselves in the serene depths of blue. This work is prominent in Noir's most sought-after pieces, commanding a notable price of £52,920 (fees included) at Sotheby's in April 2022.