Print Series Performance 2022-2023
Note: for the most updated 2024 Warhol market data, click here.
Each year, a handful of Warhol prints are outliers: selling far outside the logic of historical value and market conditions, selling far more frequently than average, or selling none at all. Considering the reasons behind the sales performance of these prints can prove invaluable, as they offer insight into the optimal time for selling a print as well as what could make an individual print likely to perform well in the future.
The 2022 edition of this report listed eight published Warhol prints with more than twenty-five sales since 2000 and no public sales in 2022. Of those, it predicted that two—Birth of Venus and Moonwalk, due to their high overall sales volume—would likely see above-average returns on their return to market.
That prediction proved accurate in 2023. Moonwalk saw an increase of 54 percent over its 2020 average sales price (with the sale of a single trial proof), and Birth of Venus increased 29 percent over its 2021 average sales price. Over the past decade, an average of four Moonwalk prints have come to market per year. So while subsequent sales of Moonwalk will likely not hit trial proof numbers, it is likely that they will continue to outperform most recent sales.
Print Series with No Public Sales in 2023
In 2023, six published prints did not sell. Two, $ Quadrant and Red Lenin, came up for sale but did not sell—the former due to a high estimate. Of the six, only one has sufficient sales volume since 2000 to give a strong indication that buyers do not want to bring it to market: Red Lenin. With the war in Ukraine evaporating demand for prints associated with the Soviet Union, it is likely that collectors of Red Lenin are not keen on keeping it; they just do not want to sell it at a steep loss.
On the other end of the spectrum are the ten bestselling prints in 2023. Ads was both the second-bestselling print series since 2000, and not among the top ten print series by sales volume in 2022. In 2023, Ads came back to the market in full force, jumping from seventeen sales to thirty- one, giving it the second-highest sales volume of any print series.
Two other portfolios saw significant increases in sales volume: Ladies and Gentlemen, which rose from twenty-five sales to thirty-eight sales and took the #1 spot; and Myths, which rose from eighteen to twenty- six sales. Flowers (Hand-Colored) continues to be a perennial favorite, with more than half of its print sales since 2000 occurring in the last three years.
Top 10 Print Series by Volume in 2023
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 25
- 17
- 35
- 34
- 25
- 18
- 30
- 28
- 21
- 25
- 38
- 31
- 30
- 27
- 26
- 26
- 25
- 24
- 19
- 17
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 25
- 17
- 35
- 34
- 25
- 18
- 30
- 28
- 21
- 25
- 38
- 31
- 30
- 27
- 26
- 26
- 25
- 24
- 19
- 17
Most Valuable Print Sales 2023
In 2023, the top twenty most valuable Warhol print sales were dominated by two female figureheads: Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe. Together, they accounted for thirteen of the top twenty prints. The seven sales of Queen Elizabeth II prints encompassed every variation except for II.336, the bright pink image, which did not record any public sales in 2023. Marilyn again saw the most sales from II.23 and II.24, with the latter being the popular black-and-gray image.
During the 1980s, Warhol printed several portfolios of ten different images revolving around a common theme. Seven prints from those portfolios landed in the top twenty this year. And had trial proofs been included, six more of those prints would have made the list: two Superman prints (from Myths), a Black Rhinoceros (Endangered Species), a Chanel (Ads), and a Buffalo Nickel (Cowboys and Indians).
This gives two strong indicators as to which prints will be most valuable in the future. First, the themes Warhol used in the 1980s continue to have broad recognition and appeal. Second, the fact that these are trial proofs indicates collectors are looking for completely unique pieces of art— usually in colorways that are remarkably Pop. Investors and collectors might identify hidden gems by finding the most aesthetic, one-of-a-kind prints available from Warhol’s later-life portfolios.
The top twenty list also indicates the increasing stratification of the Warhol print market. The twenty prints on the following pages sold for more than the bottom 320 Warhol print sales in 2023 combined.
1) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.334A
PRICE: $458,823
2) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.335A
PRICE: $357,724
3) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.335A
PRICE: $327,600
4) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.334A
PRICE: $320,272
5) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.24
PRICE: $306,137
6) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.24
PRICE: $289,897
7) Mickey Mouse (from Myths) 1981
F. & S. II.265
PRICE: $282,027
8) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.337A
PRICE: $275,524
9) Superman (from Myths) 1981
F. & S. II.260
PRICE: $275,029
10) Chanel (from Ads) 1985
F. & S. II.354
PRICE: $262,763
11) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.23
PRICE: $252,375
12) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.335A
PRICE: $252,000
13) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.28
PRICE: $244,470
14) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.23
PRICE: $241,300
15) Superman (from Myths) 1981
F. & S. II.260
PRICE: $241,300
16) Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967
F. & S. II.23
PRICE: $239,400
17) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 1985
F. & S. II.334A
PRICE: $228,865
18) Siberian Tiger (From Endangered Species) 1983
F. & S. II.297
PRICE: $225,000
19) Mickey Mouse (from Myths) 1981
F. & S. II.265
PRICE: $220,935
19) Bald Eagle (from Endangered Species) 1983
F. & S. II.296
PRICE: $220,931
Print Series by Value Appreciation 2022-2023
The following table depicts the top fifteen print series by value appreciation from 2022 to 2023. The top fifteen list over the past three years has demonstrated the strength across Warhol’s work. Of the seventy-five different print series eligible for inclusion on the list, half have been included in the past three years.
The list only includes prints that have had more than twenty-five public sales since 2000. Seven prints topped that number this year for the first time, and were added to the list.
Print Series Included for the First Time
• Paris 1967
• Lincoln Center 1967
• Merce 1974
• Flowers (Black and White) 1974
• Hammer and Sickle 1977
• Joseph Beuys 1980
• Joseph Beuys 1983
3) Cowboys and Indians
APPRECIATION: +130%
9) Brooklyn Bridge
APPRECIATION: +50%
Topping the top fifteen list is The Greatest, Muhammad Ali. Second is Jacqueline II, with two surprise sales one month apart—one for nearly double its high estimate, and the other for more than triple. The average sales price for a Jacqueline II from 2020–2022 is $17,600; these two sales were for an average of $54,700. It only takes two people wanting the same print for a seller to achieve a sizeable return.
Only two print series remain on the list from last year: Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century and Kiku; both saw their highest public sales prices ever. Kiku is the only print in the top fifteen whose value has risen for the past three consecutive years.
Its performance may be misleading, however, as it also has one of the lowest sales ratios of any Warhol print. Of Kiku prints that have come to auction since 2017, 36 percent have failed to sell.
The last entry on the list, Flowers, saw its highest sales price ever— $202,200, more than 1.5 times its high estimate—for a II.66 print. However, Flowers continues to vary widely from print to print; a single fluorescent green II.68 print sold for less than 25 percent of the average sales price.
Despite seeing three sales at a record-high price ($190,000), Sunset landed just off the list, at #16. Five prints sold for an average of $174,000, and two prints sold for an average of $44,000. Why the large discrepancy? The portfolio consists of 632 unique prints, 160 of which were divided into four-print portfolios. The remaining 472 were used in a hotel in Minnesota. The variation in provenance and storage conditions has led to a wide variation in value, even among prints with an identical subject.
Only two of the top fifteen prints also have a top fifteen return from 2000–2023 (Muhammad Ali and Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century). Therefore, investors may consider looking just below the top fifteen performers of this century for those that are likely to appreciate in the short term. In the long-term, however, it continues to be Warhol’s Pop Art icons that have provided the greatest return.
Note: To calculate the top fifteen prints by value appreciation 2022-2023, each entry in the Published Prints section of the Catalogue Raisonné was considered as a single print.