Dorothea Tanning: career timeline

American · 1910–2012 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 18 of 26 lots (75% of works) have a usable creation date; the others are listed at the end by the decade they were sold. Each work is shown once, even when it sold more than once.

Dorothea Tanning: works at auction by decade the work was made. Each work counted once; medians use sold works only, in US dollars.

Decade made	Works	Sold	Median sold price	Main medium
1940s	2	2	$2.8kSign up	Other
1950s	1	1	$1.8kSign up	Lithograph
1960s	3	3	$83.6kSign up	Oil
1970s	11	10	$5.3kSign up	Lithograph
1980s	1	1	$10kSign up	Drawing

Where does mine fit?

Enter what you know about a work by Dorothea Tanning to see the closest recorded works from the same period, with their auction results. These are past records only, not a valuation: condition, authenticity, provenance and the market all change what a work brings. For an auction estimate of your work, get a free auction estimate.

Year madeHeight (in)Width (in)MediumSubject

1940s 2 works

Sold: 2 of 2
Median: $2.8kSign up
Average: $2.8kSign up
Typical size: 10 × 6.5 in (25 × 17 cm)
Mediums: Other (1), Print (other) (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

1942 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30, 1942), 1970$2.7kSign up
1947 The Intersections of Constant Desire$2.8kSign up

1950s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $1.8kSign up
Average: $1.8kSign up
Typical size: 20 × 14 in (51 × 36 cm)
Mediums: Lithograph (1)
Subjects: Boats (1)

1950 Bateau Bleu$1.8kSign up

1960s 3 works

Sold: 3 of 3
Median: $83.6kSign up
Average: $117kSign up
Typical size: 12.5 × 13 in (32 × 33 cm)
Mediums: Oil (2), Other (1)
Subjects: Sunsets & night (1)

1960 Ce soir ou jamais$83.6kSign up
c. 1960 Illustration for Paroles Peintes$322Sign up
1965 Status Quo$267kSign up

1970s 11 works

Sold: 10 of 11
Median: $5.3kSign up
Average: $7.7kSign up
Typical size: 19 × 14.5 in (48 × 37 cm)
Mediums: Lithograph (7), Etching (2), Watercolor (2)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (6)

c. 1970 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30)$6.4kSign up
c. 1970 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30)$4.9kSign up
c. 1970 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30)$10.2kSign up
c. 1970 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30)$5.8kSign up
c. 1970 Birthday (Self Portrait at Age 30)$20.5kSign up
1971 The Maid Is Late Because She Laid Her Mate, 1971, colorResult not published
1972 Rêve d’une jeune femme$23.9kSign up
1974 Untitled$148Sign up
1976 Untitled (from the Bonjour Max Ernst portfolio)$882Sign up
1977 Illusioniste$378Sign up
1978 Untitled$4.1kSign up

1980s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $10kSign up
Average: $10kSign up
Typical size: 40 × 31.5 in (102 × 80 cm)
Mediums: Drawing (1)
Subjects: —

1986 The Idealists$10kSign up

Creation date not recorded

6 works have no cataloged or signed date. They are grouped here by the decade they were last sold, which says nothing about when they were made.

Undated, sold in the 2000s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $4.4kSign up
Average: $4.4kSign up
Typical size: 0.5 × 3 in (2 × 8 cm)
Mediums: Other (1)
Subjects: —

sold 2007 Totem$4.4kSign up

Undated, sold in the 2010s 2 works

Sold: 2 of 2
Median: $1.4kSign up
Average: $1.4kSign up
Typical size: 10.5 × 8.5 in (27 × 22 cm)
Mediums: Lithograph (1), Etching (1)
Subjects: —

sold 2011 Les 7 Perils Spectraux; portfolio (7)$2.5kSign up
sold 2017 En Chair et en Or (Flesh and Gold)$325Sign up

Undated, sold in the 2020s 3 works

Sold: 2 of 3
Median: $312Sign up
Average: $312Sign up
Typical size: 11 × 8.5 in (28 × 22 cm)
Mediums: Etching (2), Aquatint (1)
Subjects: Abstract (1)

sold 2022 Composition 6Unsold · sold 3×
sold 2023 Bonjour Max Ernst$567Sign up
sold 2026 Untitled$58Sign up

Medians and averages count sold works only (each work's most recent sale), in US dollars at the sale-date rate. Works cataloged as “attributed to”, “circle of” or similar are left out. All Dorothea Tanning auction results →