Yoshitomo Nara

Japanese · b. 1959 · Painter, Printmaker

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist. He lives and works in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, though his artwork has been exhibited worldwide. Nara has had nearly 40 solo… (Wikipedia)

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HK$123,725,000≈ $15,944,441≈ £11,268,952≈ €13,088,525Sign uprecord price · incl. premiumMissing in ActionPhillips2021599lots offered2005–2026years recorded90%sold (529)$21.6kSign up free to seemedian price

8 works by Yoshitomo Nara with an auction history (offered more than once) →

2 works by Yoshitomo Nara coming up at auction · bid with the house ↓

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Missing in ActionPhillips · Jun 2021HK$123,725,000≈ $15,944,441≈ £11,268,952≈ €13,088,525Sign up to see
Hothouse DollPhillips · Dec 2020HK$103,115,000≈ $13,302,866≈ £9,892,078≈ €10,947,960Sign up to see
Lookin' for a TreasurePhillips · Mar 2023HK$83,850,000≈ $10,681,652≈ £8,651,212≈ €9,812,283Sign up to see

Yoshitomo Nara’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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590 results · page 2 of 15

Puppy bookends, 2002
Sculpture
8 h x 5½ w x 6½ d in (20 x 14 x 17 cm)
Wright · Oct 30, 2025 · Lot 131
$1,143≈ £871≈ €990Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–View at Wright ↗
Y.N. Lamp, 2021
powder-coated steel, plastic
18½ h x 8 dia in (47 x 20 cm)
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Oct 22, 2025 · Lot 270
$762≈ £571≈ €658Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Little Wanderer Snow Globe (Blue), 2023
glass, wood · Panel
4½ h x 3¾ dia in (11 x 10 cm)
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Oct 22, 2025 · Lot 271
$1,016≈ £762≈ €877Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $600–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Mini Mori Girl, 2012
painted wood, plastic · Panel
4½ h x 3¼ dia in (11 x 8 cm)
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Oct 22, 2025 · Lot 273
$635≈ £476≈ €548Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $600–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
In the Cloud (M. & S. E-2003-007), 2003
Lithograph · Paper · ed. 33/150
I. 12 1/8 x 9 3/8 in. (30.8 x 23.8 cm) S. 16 3/4 x 13 in. (42.5 x 33 cm)
Phillips · Oct 21, 2025 · Lot 158
$33,540≈ £25,077≈ €28,896Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $20,000–30,000View at Phillips ↗
Untitled, 2001-2002
Drawing · Paper
29.7 x 21 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
Phillips · Oct 18, 2025 · Lot 8
£38,700≈ $51,990≈ €44,508Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £30,000–50,000View at Phillips ↗
Cold Side, 1995
Acrylic · Paper
48 x 35.7 cm (18 7/8 x 14 in.)
Phillips · Oct 18, 2025 · Lot 9
£193,500≈ $259,948≈ €222,539Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £100,000–150,000View at Phillips ↗
Afiche Young mother, 2011
Print (other)
51,5 x 36,5 cm
Bogotá Auctions · Oct 9, 2025 · Lot 105
COP 1,000,000HammerSign up free to seeEst. COP 1,000,000–2,000,000View at Bogotá Auctions ↗
Kleine Taucherin auf der Wolke, 1996
Acrylic · Paper
31.8 x 23.8 cm. (12 1/2 x 9 3/8 in.)
Phillips · Sep 28, 2025 · Lot 122
HK$1,677,000≈ $215,528≈ £160,375≈ €184,654Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. HK$1,000,000–2,000,000View at Phillips ↗
In the Floating World (set of 16), 1999
Print (other) · Paper · ed. AP
each 41.3 x 28.5 cm. (16 1/4 x 11 1/4 in.)
Phillips · Sep 28, 2025 · Lot 127
HK$1,548,000≈ $198,949≈ £148,039≈ €170,450Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. HK$1,200,000–2,200,000View at Phillips ↗

Also offered, result not published (10)

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

Yoshitomo Nara paintings (88)Yoshitomo Nara oil paintings (4)Yoshitomo Nara acrylic paintings (61)Yoshitomo Nara mixed media (18)Yoshitomo Nara works on paper (148)Yoshitomo Nara watercolors (3)Yoshitomo Nara gouaches (3)Yoshitomo Nara drawings (94)Yoshitomo Nara prints (244)Yoshitomo Nara etchings (14)Yoshitomo Nara aquatints (3)Yoshitomo Nara lithographs (61)Yoshitomo Nara screenprints (17)Yoshitomo Nara woodcuts & linocuts (52)Yoshitomo Nara multiples (24)Yoshitomo Nara photographs (6)Yoshitomo Nara sculpture (59)

Yoshitomo Nara signature

189 catalogued lots by Yoshitomo Nara record a signature line. The most common placement is on the reverse (53% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

on the reverse42
lower right19
lower left8
along the bottom4
lower centre3
on the stretcher1

Form

signed123
signed and dated62
initialled3
with seals1

Numbered '52/52' lower left; further signed and dated 'Nara [in Japanese] 2002-04' lower right — Time Goes On, Phillips, May 20, 2026
(i) signed with the artist's initial and dated 'Na [in Japanese] 2005' on the reverse — Three Works: (i) Fuckin Politics; (ii) Midnight Tears Scarf; (iii) In the Milky Lake/ Thinking One Scarf, Phillips, May 20, 2026
Signed with the artist's initial and dated 'Na [in Japanese] 99' lower left — Untitled, Phillips, May 20, 2026

Yoshitomo Nara signature: all forms and examples →

About Yoshitomo Nara

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist. He lives and works in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, though his artwork has been exhibited worldwide. Nara has had nearly 40 solo exhibitions since 1984. His art work has been housed at the MoMA and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). His most well-known and repeated subjects are "big-headed girls" with piercing eyes, who one Nara scholar describes as having "childlike expressions [that] resonate with adult emotions, [their] embodiment of kawaii (cuteness) carries a dark humor, and any explicit cultural references are intertwined with personal memories."

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.