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Ruth Smoking 5 - Signed Print by Julian Opie 2006 - MyArtBroker

Ruth Smoking 5
Signed Print

Julian Opie

£3,500-£5,000Value Indicator

$7,000-$10,000 Value Indicator

$6,500-$9,000 Value Indicator

¥30,000-¥45,000 Value Indicator

4,200-6,000 Value Indicator

$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥670,000-¥960,000 Value Indicator

$4,400-$6,500 Value Indicator

-8% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.

Medium: Screenprint

Edition size: 50

Year: 2006

Size: H 121cm x W 82cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

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Track auction value trend

The value of Julian Opie's Ruth Smoking 5 (signed) is estimated to be worth between £3,500 and £5,000. This screenprint has shown consistent value growth since its first sale in June 2017. Over the past five years, the hammer price has varied from £2,914 in February 2018 to £4,110 in December 2019. The current average annual growth rate is -8%. This work is part of a limited edition of 50.

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Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseLocation
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
October 2022Christie's London United Kingdom
June 2017Phillips London United Kingdom

Meaning & Analysis

The figure is shown semi-undressed with her breasts partially exposed by Opie’s rendering of a thin blouse that hangs over her breasts to give the image a certain amount of depth. Opie created a video version of this print, depicting the same model with her eyes blinking, wearing a watch with the second hand ticking, and wisps of smoke rising from her cigarette. By creating moving images Opie brings his subjects to life, but paired with his reductivist visual language, these images produce a lingering sense of unease within the viewer.

Ruth Smoking 5 is indicative of Opie’s interest in Ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese woodblock prints from the 18th and 19th centuries that often depicted female beauties not meant for exhibition. Opie’s particular interest in Ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro comes through in these portraits of Ruth through his choice of eroticised subject matter and use of flattened colour, cropped format and simplified shapes.