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 8 of 13

Proposal for a Civic Monument in the Form of Two Windows, 1982
Lithograph · Paper
27¾ h x 39⅞ w in (70 x 101 cm)
Rago Auctions · Mar 23, 2021 · Lot 221
$2,000≈ £1,451≈ €1,683Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Screwarch Bridge (State I), 1980
Etching · Paper
31¼ h x 57¾ w in (79 x 147 cm)
Rago Auctions · Mar 23, 2021 · Lot 223
$1,875≈ £1,360≈ €1,578Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Fire Plug Souvenir-Chicago August 1968, 1968
Acrylic
8 h x 7 w x 6 d in (20 x 18 x 15 cm)
Rago Auctions · Mar 11, 2021 · Lot 103
$5,440≈ £3,894≈ €4,545Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Tea Bag (from 4 on Plexiglas), 1966
Multiple
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Feb 28, 2021 · Lot 76
$5,625≈ £4,039≈ €4,667Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Striding Figure from the Conspiracy: The Artist as Witness portfolio
Screenprint · Paper
28½ h x 20¾ w in (72 x 53 cm)
Rago Auctions · Feb 17, 2021 · Lot 170
$813≈ £586≈ €674Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Typewriter Eraser as Tornado, 1972
Lithograph · Paper
26½ h x 18 w in (67 x 46 cm)
Rago Auctions · Feb 17, 2021 · Lot 281
$1,125≈ £811≈ €933Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $600–View at Rago Auctions ↗
NYC Pretzel, 1994
Screenprint · Board
6½ h x 6½ w in (17 x 17 cm)
Rago Auctions · Feb 17, 2021 · Lot 371
$688≈ £496≈ €570Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Museum à la Mode (Aus: Grafikmappe MMK), 1994
Print (other) · Board · ed. 175/175
44,5 x 35,5cm
Van Ham · Feb 3, 2021 · Lot 79
€528≈ $635≈ £465Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €300–View at Van Ham ↗
Wedding Souvenir, 1966
Sculpture
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Jan 17, 2021 · Lot 22
$7,500≈ £5,538≈ €6,217Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $3,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Soft Alphabet, 1978
Screenprint · ed. AP
74,4 × 56,2 × 7,5 cm
Grisebach · Dec 4, 2020 · Lot 812
€22,500≈ $27,358≈ £20,313Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €12,000–15,000View at Grisebach ↗

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 (354)Claes Oldenburg etchings (25)Claes Oldenburg lithographs (217)Claes Oldenburg screenprints (61)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.