Name: Crane
Brand: Tracey Emin
Rating: 4.9 (228 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Tracey Emin’s Crane (signed) is estimated to be worth between £950 and £1,450. This woodcut print from 2015 has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 4%. This work has an auction history of five total sales since its entry to the market in February 2016. Over the past 12 months, the average selling price was £1,300, across a total of one sale. In the last five years, the hammer price has ranged from £700 in August 2020 to £1,400 in February 2022. The average annual growth rate of this work is 4% and it is part of a limited edition of 50.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

November 2023

Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom

Crane - Signed Print

February 2022

Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom

Crane - Signed Print

August 2020

Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom

Crane - Signed Print

July 2019

Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom

Crane - Signed Print

February 2016

Whyte's - Ireland

Crane - Signed Print

September 2015

Bonhams Knightsbridge - United Kingdom

Crane - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

From our collection of Tracey Emin’s Nude Self-Portraits, Crane is a 2015 woodcut forming a signed print edition of 50. The monochromatic woodcut features a nude figure across the stretch of the composition, delineated with marks on the printing block. The figure is therefore pronounced in white against a cloudy, black background which Emin has made atmospheric with her thick application of ink during the printing process.

True to her typically playful use of words, Emin chose the title Crane as she pictures herself with one leg thrust vertically in the air like the bird she references. By carving a series of fine lines into her woodblock, Emin carefully delineates her figure with simple yet evocative mark making. By thickly layering black ink onto the woodblock during the printing process, Emin created an ambient interplay between light and texture which is quite unlike her usual style. Crane is an instance of experimentation for Emin, as she reduces her nude form to effortlessly suggestive lines.