American, 1906–1965
David Smith
286results on record
77%sell-through
$44,550median result (USD, incl. premium; 99% observed, 1% estimated from hammer)
$23,816,000record in our coverage
Drawn from 286 recorded results (258 sold · 28 passed) across 13 auction houses, 1998–2026. 4 upcoming lots on the ledger. What we cover
Median sold price by year typical estimate range median result USD, incl. premium; 99% observed, 1% estimated from hammer method · log scale
Where does a value land in this market?
The same figure also answers the seller's question: which house clears a work like this, and for how much — expected proceeds by house, from the sell-through the rest of this page is built on.
Every sold result for this market, low to high (log scale) — the dashed line is the median. Enter a value to see where it lands.
By medium where medium is recorded or stated in the catalog line
| Medium | Results | Sell-through | Median result (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| painting | 36 | 100% | $51,250 |
| works on paper | 26 | 100% | $21,408 |
| other | 20 | 67% | $998,500 |
| prints | 12 | 100% | $5,181 |
| sculpture | 9 | 100% | $492,500 |
| ceramics & design | 7 | 100% | $535,500 |
Medium is recorded for 110 of 286 results (38%) — rows above cover that subset; the rest of the record is in the full ledger below.
Compared with Andy Warhol David Smith Andy Warhol
| Metric | David Smith | Andy Warhol |
|---|---|---|
| Median result | $44,550 | $32,500 |
| Record price | $23,816,000 | $195,040,000 |
| Results on record | 286 | 15,103 |
| Years active at auction | 1998–2026 | 1998–2026 |
Related artists: Andy WarholAlexander CalderSam FrancisWillem De Kooning
Market strength liquidity score, 0–100 · method
72/ 100
- Sell-through77%
- Meets estimate52%
- Market depth286 results
How readily and near-estimate this market clears — sell-through, estimate reliability, and depth, blended into one score. "Meets estimate" is the share of sold lots hammering at or above the low estimate, over catalogs that print a real appraisal: a house whose printed low is a starting bid would meet its estimate on every lot, so those lots are excluded from this term only — their prices and outcomes still count in the other two. Method →
Where this artist sells best
| House | Results | Sell-through | Median | vs. estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sotheby's | 122 | 75% | $67,000 | 0.84× |
| Christie's | 98 | 71% | $54,375 | — |
| Phillips | 36 | 78% | $19,140 | — |
| Bonhams | 10 | 80% | $16,408 | 0.71× |
| Rago | 9 | 89% | $10,795 | — |
| Wright | 3 | 100% | $18,750 | — |
| Freeman's | Hindman | 2 | 100% | $16,500 | 0.98× |
| Lyon & Turnbull | 2 | 100% | $577 | 0.81× |
| Ketterer Kunst | 1 | — | $21,137 | — |
| Sworders | 1 | 100% | $350 | — |
| Heritage Auctions | 1 | 100% | $239 | — |
| Lempertz | 1 | 0% | — | — |
| Dorotheum | 1 | 0% | — | — |
The same artist across every house we cover — hammer-vs-estimate side by side. A dash in the estimate column can mean withheld rather than unpublished: the house publishes no hammer price, or its printed low is a starting bid rather than an appraisal. Method →
Prices realized 291 recorded lots — sold, passed, and upcoming — results in USD incl. premium; est. marks a premium estimated from the house's schedule ✓ Includes 28 passed lots
| Date | Lot | Medium | vs. estimate | Estimate USD | Result USD, incl. premium | House |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026·09 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | upcoming | Rago | ||
| 96 realized prices on this page are locked. A Research Pass reads 50 of them for $19, once — buy a pass | ||||||
| 2026·07 | ΔΣ 11/1/52 (double-sided) | $7,000–$10,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2026·06 | Voltri | $8,000–$12,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2026·06 | 5/4/53 | $9,312–$11,640 | Lempertz | |||
| 2026·05 | Untitled | $8,000–$12,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2026·05 | Untitled | $5,000–$7,000 | Rago | |||
| 2026·04 | Self Portrait with "Detroit Queen" | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2026·03 | Coastal landscape | — | Sworders | |||
| 2026·02 | Untitled | $180,000–$250,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2026·02 | Sans titre | $8,312–$11,874 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2026·02 | View from Adolph's Sister's House, Provincetown | $10,000–$15,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2025·12 | Untitled | $10,000–$15,000 | Rago | |||
| 2025·11 | Untitled | $80,000–$120,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2025·11 | February 15, 1957 | ink on paper | $15,000–$20,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2025·11 | Forging V | $600,000–$800,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2025·11 | Untitled (Nude) | $8,000–$12,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2025·11 | Voltri-Bolton IV | steel | $1,200,000–$1,800,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2025·10 | Easter Greets Thee | $700–$1,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2025·09 | Untitled | $8,000–$10,000 | Rago | |||
| 2025·07 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | Rago | |||
| 2025·07 | Voltri | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2025·07 | Untitled | $5,000–$7,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2025·05 | Head as Figure | steel and paint | $250,000–$350,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2025·05 | Boaz Dancing School | steel | $250,000–$350,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2025·05 | Untitled | $30,000–$40,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2025·05 | Hi Candida | $2,000,000–$3,000,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2025·02 | Untitled | $150,000–$200,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2025·02 | Untitled 29 ¾ x 42 in (75.5 x 106.6 cm) | $10,000–$15,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2024·12 | Untitled | spray paint on paper | $20,000–$30,000 | upcoming | Christie's | |
| 2024·11 | 8-4-58 | $15,000–$20,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2024·10 | Untitled (Tableau) | $5,000–$7,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2024·10 | Untitled | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·07 | Untitled (DS 11/18/54) | $15,000–$20,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·06 | Untitled | $18,985–$25,313 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·06 | Full Moon Over Rothiemurchus | $506–$759 | Lyon & Turnbull | |||
| 2024·05 | Untitled | painted steel | $300,000–$500,000 | upcoming | Christie's | |
| 2024·05 | To Be A Golden Harbour | spray enamel on canvas | $400,000–$600,000 | upcoming | Christie's | |
| 2024·05 | Puritan Landscape | $400,000–$600,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·05 | Voltri X | steel and paint | $2,000,000–$3,000,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2024·05 | Vertical Pistol Structure | $700,000–$1,000,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·05 | Structure 38 | $180,000–$250,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·03 | Still Life | $30,000–$40,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2024·03 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·03 | March 8, 1962 | $15,000–$20,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2024·02 | Letter Sculpture Group | $20,000–$30,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2023·11 | Untitled | $20,000–$30,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2023·11 | Untitled | $600,000–$850,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2023·11 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2023·10 | Untitled | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2023·09 | Untitled (Nude) | $12,000–$18,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2023·05 | Untitled | $10,000–$20,000 | Rago | |||
| 2023·05 | Albany VIII | painted steel | $400,000–$600,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2023·04 | Willard Gallery Poster (S. 38) | $7,000–$10,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2023·04 | Untitled (Chelsea Hotel Series) | $20,000–$30,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2023·03 | Untitled | $12,000–$18,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2023·01 | Untitled (1960 23/16) 1960 | $12,000–$18,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2022·12 | Cape Cod from Ad Reinhardt’s House | $20,000–$30,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·12 | Untitled (recto, verso), 1956 | $6,382–$8,510 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·11 | Cloistral Landscape | $700,000–$1,000,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·11 | Untitled | $20,000–$30,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·11 | Untitled 1964 | $30,000–$50,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2022·10 | Medallion | $3,000–$5,000 | Wright | |||
| 2022·10 | Fishermen’s Nets in the Wind | $341–$568 | Lyon & Turnbull | |||
| 2022·08 | Hero Transformation , 1989 | egg tempera, gold, aluminum leaf, bole on masonite over norcore | $500–$700 | Freeman's | Hindman | ||
| 2022·06 | [no title recorded] | — | Dorotheum | |||
| 2022·05 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | Rago | |||
| 2022·05 | Main Pribilof | $300,000–$400,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2022·05 | Untitled | $25,000–$35,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·05 | Untitled (Virgin Island Landscape with Brown Shell) | $100,000–$150,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2022·05 | Untitled | oil on Masonite | $30,000–$50,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2022·03 | 3-17-62 | $25,000–$35,000 | Rago | |||
| 2021·12 | Untitled | ink on paper | $15,000–$20,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2021·11 | Untitled | $15,000–$20,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2021·11 | Untitled | spray enamel on canvas | $18,000–$22,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2021·11 | Untitled (1960 23/16) 1960 | $20,000–$30,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2021·11 | Untitled | $20,000–$30,000 | Rago | |||
| 2021·09 | Untitled | $30,000–$50,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·09 | Don Quixote | $3,000–$5,000 | Christie's | |||
| 2021·09 | Untitled (Family) | $2,000–$3,000 | Christie's | |||
| 2021·08 | Untitled | $34,190–$47,865 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·07 | Untitled | $35,000–$45,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·06 | Untitled (recto verso) | $11,109–$16,664 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·05 | Untitled | $2,000–$3,000 | Rago | |||
| 2021·05 | Untitled | spray enamel and oil on paper | $25,000–$35,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2021·05 | Untitled | spray enamel on paper | $25,000–$35,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2021·05 | Furniture Store | spray enamel on canvas | $300,000–$500,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2021·05 | Structure 38 | $400,000–$600,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2021·04 | Untitled (Family) (S. 36) | $2,000–$4,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2021·04 | Juliette (S. 21) | $1,500–$2,500 | Phillips | |||
| 2021·03 | Untitled | $5,000–$7,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2020·12 | Untitled | $15,000–$25,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·12 | Classic Figure III | $100,000–$150,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2020·12 | Untitled (Family) | $4,000–$6,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2020·12 | Juliette | $3,000–$4,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2020·10 | agricola vii | $1,800,000–$2,500,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·10 | Untitled | spray paint on paper | $30,000–$40,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2020·10 | Untitled (The Rooster) | steel on wood base | $300,000–$500,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2020·10 | untitled | $25,000–$35,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·10 | untitled | $50,000–$70,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·10 | Untitled , 1954 | black ink, salmon tempera and white oil on paper | $15,000–$25,000 | Freeman's | Hindman | ||
Realized prices are sold by the record: 50 for $19, non-expiring. Reading them at volume is what Starter is for.