American, 1908–1997
Horace Bristol
119results on record
76%sell-through
$625median result (USD, incl. premium; 99% observed, 1% estimated from hammer)
$30,000record in our coverage
Drawn from 119 recorded results (93 sold · 26 passed) across 8 auction houses, 1999–2026. 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| photography | 87 | 78% | $525 |
| ceramics & design | 3 | 33% | $5,000 |
| other | 3 | 50% | $1,022 |
Medium is recorded for 93 of 119 results (78%) — rows above cover that subset; the rest of the record is in the full ledger below.
Compared with Ansel Adams Horace Bristol Ansel Adams
| Metric | Horace Bristol | Ansel Adams |
|---|---|---|
| Median result | $625 | $11,875 |
| Record price | $30,000 | $988,000 |
| Results on record | 119 | 2,991 |
| Years active at auction | 1999–2026 | 1998–2026 |
Related artists: Ansel AdamsBerenice AbbottEdward WestonHenri Cartier-bresson
Market strength liquidity score, 0–100 · method
73/ 100
- Sell-through76%
- Meets estimate56%
- Market depth119 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Auctions | 80 | 76% | $500 | — |
| Sotheby's | 8 | 100% | $14,688 | 1.14× |
| Bonhams | 11 | 55% | $5,500 | 1.23× |
| Rago | 6 | 83% | $1,375 | — |
| Christie's | 6 | — | $10,157 | — |
| Phillips | 5 | 80% | $15,632 | — |
| Grisebach | 3 | — | $4,253 | — |
| Freeman's | Hindman | 1 | 100% | $625 | 0.33× |
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 120 recorded lots — sold, passed, and upcoming — results in USD incl. premium; est. marks a premium estimated from the house's schedule ✓ Includes 26 passed lots
| Date | Lot | Medium | vs. estimate | Estimate USD | Result USD, incl. premium | House |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 realized prices on this page are locked. A Research Pass reads 50 of them for $19, once — buy a pass | ||||||
| 2026·07 | Miner (from The Grapes of Wrath portfolio) | Gelatin silver print, printed circa 1989 | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2026·06 | Four works | $700–$900 | Rago | |||
| 2026·04 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul | $8,000–$12,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2026·04 | Fighter Pilot | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Invasion of North Africa (2 works) | Gelatin silver prints | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Girl Twisting Skeins of Silk; Worker Realigns Skein of Silk in Mouth, Korea (2 works) | Gelatin silver prints | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Girls Picking Mulberry Leaves; Girls Checking Cocoons | Gelatin silver prints | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Worker Reeling Silk | Gelatin silver contact print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Men Looking over Pusan Harbor, Korea | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Shinto Shrine Melee, New Year's Day, Japan | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Grandmother and Baby; Grandmother and Shy Little Maid, Korea (2 works) | Gelatin silver prints, one printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Japanese Moths Laying Eggs; Laying Silkworm Eggs on Card (2 works) | Gelatin silver prints | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | Family Coming Home from Market through Rice Fields, Japan | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·10 | PBY Blister Gunner | Gelatin silver print, printed 1994 | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·07 | Patrons' Edition Portfolio, including 'Rescued Airmen Smoking in PBY (Sitting in Blister of 'Dumbo' Rescue Plane)' | $6,000–$9,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2025·04 | Oil in California for Fortune Magazine (16 works) | Seven gelatin silver and nine dye coupler prints, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2025·03 | Patrons' Edition Portfolio, including 'Rescued Airmen Smoking in PBY (Sitting in Blister of 'Dumbo' Rescue Plane)' | $9,000–$12,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2025·03 | Shinto Shrine Melee, New Year's Day, Japan | $1,500–$2,500 | Bonhams | |||
| 2024·10 | Selected Images of PBY Blister Gunner | $25,000–$35,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2024·04 | PBY Blister Gunner | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·11 | Taking Wind Reading on Carrier Deck | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·11 | Playing Horseshoes on Tender Deck | Toned gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·11 | Exercise on Deck, Invasion of North Africa, Morocco, November 12 | Gelatin silver print, printed 1991 | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·11 | Aerial View of Army Air Force (2 works ) | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·11 | Deck Scene (Invasion of North Africa) | Toned gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·10 | PBY Blister Gunner | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·10 | (Daegu) Railway Station, Korea | Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·10 | Mail Call in the Aleutian Islands | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·10 | Sailor Washing Clothes on Deck | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·10 | SBD Dive Bombers on Carrier Deck in the Invasion of Africa | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·09 | Pilots in the Rain | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·09 | Loading Bomber on Carrier | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·09 | Korean War, Taegu Station | Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·09 | Taegu Railway Station | Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2023·04 | Pattern in Diagonals, Steam and Stacks | Gelatin silver print | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·12 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul | $10,000–$15,000 | Rago | |||
| 2022·10 | Yakuza in the Bath House | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·09 | Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (eight works) | Eight gelatin silver prints, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·09 | Diving Girls of Hatsushima | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·09 | Man and Shadow, for Fortune Magazine | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·05 | Untitled (From the Ballet Russe) | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2022·02 | Woman with a Crutch | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·12 | Diving for Seaweed, Girl Divers of Hatsushima | Gelatin silver print, printed later, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·12 | Muslim Woman in a Malaysian Mosque | Gelatin silver print, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·12 | Shinto Shrine Melee, New Year's Day, Japan | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·12 | Transport Plane in the Aleutians | Gelatin silver print, printed later, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·12 | Clearing Machine Gun, Submarine Patrol in the Pacific | Gelatin silver print, printed later, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·11 | Diving Girls of Hatsushima (Diving for Seaweed) | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·11 | Playing the Samisen, Kyoto Geisha School | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·11 | Rose of Sharon | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·11 | Sailor with Crane, Pearl Harbor Dry Dock | Gelatin silver print, printed later, ferrotyped | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·11 | Topping Off a Patrol Plane, Aleutian Islands | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·09 | Launching a Fighter Plane, U.S.S. Bunker Hill, Philippine Sea | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·08 | Exercises on Carrier Deck, Invasion of North Africa | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·08 | Joad Family Applying for Relief Aid, Visalia, California | Gelatin silver print, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·06 | A group of five photographs ( Streets of San Francisco - Winos Arguing , 1936 (printed 1990); Ma Joad #4, Crying , 1938 (printed 1990); Winfield with Rabbit , 1938 (printed 1990); Migrant Writing Home , 1938 (printed 1990); Joad Family Applying for Relief Aid , 1938 (printed later) | gelatin silver print | $1,000–$2,000 | Freeman's | Hindman | ||
| 2021·06 | Close-up of Mt. Fuji taken from a B 29 | Digital pigment, printed 1993 | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·06 | Group of Four Photographs of 1930s America, 1930s | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·06 | Group of Four Aviation Photographs, 1940s | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·04 | Invasion of North Africa | Oversized gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2021·03 | Shinto Shrine Melee | $2,000–$3,000 | Rago | |||
| 2020·12 | Pattern Tunnel Entrance | $1,500–$2,500 | Rago | |||
| 2020·12 | Silk worms on grid, Japan | $1,000–$1,500 | Rago | |||
| 2020·12 | Street Bridge, Pattern in Steel and Shadows, Los Angeles, California | $1,500–$2,500 | Rago | |||
| 2020·12 | New Mexico | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·12 | Eugene O'Neal | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·12 | Japanese Street Scene | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·12 | Rescued Airmen Smoking in PBY (Sitting in Blister of 'Dumbo' Rescue Plane) | $1,500–$2,500 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·12 | Two Winos Arguing (Mission Street Tavern) | $2,000–$3,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·11 | Close-up of Mt. Fuji taken from a B 29 | Digital pigment, printed 1993 | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Three Views of Japan, 1940s | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Welder | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Clover Field, Santa Monica, California | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Ballet Russe | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Noel Toy's Chinese Bubble Dance at Forbidden City, San Francisco | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Group of Four Aviation Photographs, 1940s | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·11 | Group of Four Photographs of 1930s America, 1930s | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | Santa Barbara Mission | Gelatin silver | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | White Sands of New Mexico | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | Pattern in Drill Bits | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | Australian Kangaroo | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | Ballerinas from the Wings | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul | Gelatin silver, printed 1990s | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | Rescued Airmen, Smoking | Gelatin silver, printed later | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2020·10 | pby blister gunner, rescue at rabaul | $8,000–$12,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·07 | invasion no. 37 | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·07 | pby blister gunner, rescue at rabaul | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2020·07 | „’Yakuza‘ in Bath House“. 1946 | Later gelatin silver print | $3,403–$4,537 | Grisebach | ||
| 2020·02 | Sand Ripples, Death Valley, California | Gelatin silver | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2019·10 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul | $8,000–$12,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·06 | pby blister gunner, rescue at rabaul | $10,000–$15,000 | Sotheby's | |||
| 2019·04 | "Horace Bristol: Eight Images" | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2019·04 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul | $8,000–$12,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2019·04 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944 | gelatin silver print, printed later | $10,000–$15,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2018·10 | Tea Ceremony. Japan. Um 1946/47 | Vintage | $1,134–$1,702 | Grisebach | ||
| 2018·10 | Rescue at Rabaul: PBY Blister Gunner | $4,000–$6,000 | Bonhams | |||
| 2018·09 | Tower - Golden Gate Bridge | Gelatin silver | — | Heritage Auctions | ||
| 2018·04 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabau | $15,000–$25,000 | Phillips | |||
| 2017·10 | PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944 | gelatin silver print, printed later | $7,000–$9,000 | Christie's | ||
| 2014·10 | Rescue at Rabaul: PBY Blister Gunner | $10,000–$15,000 | Bonhams | |||
Realized prices are sold by the record: 50 for $19, non-expiring. Reading them at volume is what Starter is for.