Oliver Messel: career timeline

British · 1904–1978 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 28 of 38 lots (74% 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.

Oliver Messel: 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
1930s	3	3	$3.1kSign up	Oil
1940s	8	7	$1.4kSign up	Watercolor
1950s	12	12	$2kSign up	Watercolor
1960s	4	4	$1.5kSign up	Other
1970s	1	1	$13.8kSign up	Watercolor

Where does mine fit?

Enter what you know about a work by Oliver Messel 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

1930s 3 works

Sold: 3 of 3
Median: $3.1kSign up
Average: $4.6kSign up
Typical size: 29.5 × 24.5 in (75 × 62 cm)
Mediums: Oil (3)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (2)

1930 Portrait Sketch of a Young Man$3.1kSign up
1930 Portrait Sketch of a Young Man$3kSign up
1936 Set Design for The Country Wife$7.7kSign up

1940s 8 works

Sold: 7 of 8
Median: $1.4kSign up
Average: $2.1kSign up
Typical size: 15.5 × 15.5 in (40 × 40 cm)
Mediums: Watercolor (6), Drawing (1), Mixed media (1)
Subjects: —

1950s 12 works

Sold: 12 of 12
Median: $2kSign up
Average: $2.9kSign up
Typical size: 15 × 10 in (38 × 25 cm)
Mediums: Watercolor (6), Gouache (4), Other (2)
Subjects: Sunsets & night (1), Figures & portraits (1)

1960s 4 works

Sold: 4 of 4
Median: $1.5kSign up
Average: $2kSign up
Typical size: 13.5 × 9.5 in (34 × 24 cm)
Mediums: Other (2), Drawing (1), Watercolor (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

1960 CEILING LIGHT, CIRCA 1960$905Sign up
1960 CEILING LIGHT, CIRCA 1960$4.6kSign up
c. 1963 Portrait of a Young Barbadian Man$640Sign up
1965 Five costume designs for Twang!!$2.1kSign up

1970s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $13.8kSign up
Average: $13.8kSign up
Typical size: 15 × 10 in (38 × 25 cm)
Mediums: Watercolor (1)
Subjects: —

1973 Eight costume designs, to include three from Gigi$13.8kSign up

Creation date not recorded

10 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 2010s 3 works

Sold: 3 of 3
Median: $1.1kSign up
Average: $1.2kSign up
Typical size: 14 × 11 in (36 × 28 cm)
Mediums: Watercolor (2), Oil (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

sold 2015 Costume Design For Cleopatra Ii$1.1kSign up
sold 2015 Costume Design For Cleopatra Ii$710Sign up
sold 2019 Head Study of Mrs Maud Messel$1.7kSign up

Undated, sold in the 2020s 7 works

Sold: 6 of 7
Median: $1.7kSign up
Average: $1.7kSign up
Typical size: 15.5 × 13 in (39 × 33 cm)
Mediums: Watercolor (4), Pastel (1), Gouache (1)
Subjects: —

sold 2021 Untitled$398Sign up
sold 2024 Fantaisies Oceanographiques Set Model$3.6kSign up
sold 2025 A costume design for a lady in a riding habit$1.9kSign up
sold 2025 A costume design for 'The Lady'$864Sign up
sold 2025 A pair of costume designs for 'The Dark is Light Enough'$1.5kSign up
sold 2026 Two Costume Designs for Queen of Spades$1.9kSign up

Show 1 more (2020s)

sold 2026 TWO WORKS: 'COSTUME DESIGN OF A GENTLEMEN IN UNIFORM' AND 'HENRI TROCHARD IN MY THREE ANGELS'Unsold

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 Oliver Messel auction results →