Claes Oldenburg

American · 1929–2022 · Painter, Printmaker

Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his… (Wikipedia)

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495lots offered1999–2026years recorded92%sold (445)$1.3kSign up free to seemedian price

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24 Open-Faced SandwichesPhillips · Nov 2024$793,750≈ £627,619≈ €750,378Sign up to see
"Ghost Wardrobe for M. M."Van Ham · Oct 2024€343,200≈ $380,472≈ £285,511Sign up to see
Punching BagPhillips · May 2019$200,000≈ £155,267≈ €178,843Sign up to see

Claes Oldenburg’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

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489 results · page 2 of 13

Tongue Cloud over London, with Thames Ball, 1976
Etching
31½ h x 21¼ w in (80 x 54 cm)
Rago Auctions · Feb 26, 2026 · Lot 210
$1,016≈ £750≈ €860Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Proposal For A Civic Monument In The Form Of Two Windows, 1982
Lithograph · Paper
28 h x 39¾ w in (71 x 101 cm)
Rago Auctions · Feb 26, 2026 · Lot 233
$1,056≈ £779≈ €894Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Untitled (City as Alphabet), 1968
Lithograph
20 h x 14 w in (51 x 36 cm)
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Feb 25, 2026 · Lot 122
$1,080≈ £799≈ €916Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Watch Rising, The Art Pro Choice II Print Portfolio (Axsom/Platzker 233.1), 1965
Woodcut / linocut · Paper · ed. PP
17 1/2 x 11in (44.5 x 27.9cm)
Bonhams · Feb 25, 2026 · Lot 3
$3,840≈ £2,840≈ €3,259Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–1,500View at Bonhams ↗
5 plates, from Notes (Axsom/Platzker 55, Gemini 104; 106-109), 1968
ed. 23/100
each sheet 22 3/4 x 15 3/4in (57.8 x 40cm)
Bonhams · Feb 25, 2026 · Lot 5
$1,664≈ £1,230≈ €1,412Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–2,000View at Bonhams ↗
Alphabet in the Form of a Good Humor Bar; Symbolic Self-Portrait with "Equals" (2 works) (Axsom/Platzker 69.1; 74), 1970; 1971
sheets 29 1/2 x 20 5/8in (75.0 x 52.4cm); 28 1/2 x 21in (72.4 x 53.3cm)
Bonhams · Jan 22, 2026 · Lot 127
$1,088≈ £811≈ €929Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–1,500View at Bonhams ↗
Proposal for a Cathedral in the Form of a Sink Faucet for Lake Union, Seattle, Washington; Symbolic Self-Portrait with "Equals"; Claes Oldenburg: Drawings and Prints (3 works) (Axsom/Platzker 89; 74.1; 64.1), 1972; 1971; 1970
sheets 32 1/4 x 24 5/8in (81.9 x 62.6cm); 28 1/2 x 20 7/8in (72.4 x 53.0cm); 29 x 20in (73.7 x 50.8cm)
Bonhams · Jan 22, 2026 · Lot 128
$960≈ £715≈ €820Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–1,500View at Bonhams ↗
Proposed Colossal Monument for Battersea Park, London, Drum Set (Axsom/Platzker 62), 1969
Lithograph · Paper · ed. edition of 316
sheet 24 x 35 3/8in (61.0 x 89.9cm)
Bonhams · Jan 22, 2026 · Lot 129
$512≈ £381≈ €437Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,000View at Bonhams ↗
Geometric Mouse Pyramid as an Image of the Electoral System, Doubled (Axsom/Platzker 156), 1976
Lithograph · Paper · ed. AP
sheet 35 1/4 x 26in (89.6 x 66.0cm)
Bonhams · Jan 22, 2026 · Lot 130
$563≈ £420≈ €481Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $700–1,000View at Bonhams ↗
The Soap at Baton Rouge, 1990
Multiple
13⅝ h x 20½ w x 1⅝ d in (35 x 52 x 4 cm)
Rago Auctions · Dec 5, 2025 · Lot 234
$826≈ £619≈ €709Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $400–View at Rago Auctions ↗

Also offered, result not published (10)

Lots by Claes Oldenburg that were offered at auction where the house did not publish whether they sold. Not counted in any statistics.

Claes Oldenburg paintings (16)Claes Oldenburg acrylic paintings (10)Claes Oldenburg mixed media (3)Claes Oldenburg works on paper (29)Claes Oldenburg watercolors (8)Claes Oldenburg drawings (9)Claes Oldenburg prints (356)Claes Oldenburg etchings (25)Claes Oldenburg lithographs (217)Claes Oldenburg screenprints (63)Claes Oldenburg woodcuts & linocuts (7)Claes Oldenburg multiples (30)Claes Oldenburg sculpture (39)

Claes Oldenburg signature

165 catalogued lots by Claes Oldenburg record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (53% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

lower right18
lower left5
lower centre4
on the reverse4
on the base1
in the margin1

Form

signed76
initialled61
signed in pencil13
monogrammed11
signed and dated4

Signed with the artist's initials and dated "CO 91" lower right — Study for Soft Saxophone, Phillips, Feb 28, 2025
Signed with the artist's initials and dated 'CO 69' lower left — Ice Bags and Bananas, Phillips, Dec 4, 2024
Signed with the artist's initials and dated "CO. 85" lower right and titled "arcobaleno di tartive" upper edge — Arcobaleno di tartine, Phillips, Sep 23, 2024

Claes Oldenburg signature: all forms and examples →

About Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions of everyday objects. Many of his works were made in collaboration with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, who died in 2009; they had been married for 32 years. Oldenburg lived and worked in New York City.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.