Rating and value of drawings and paintings by Bui Xuan Phai

Paintings and drawings by Bui Xuan Phai trade up to €136,850 on the auction market. An appraisal enables us to accurately determine the price of your Bui Xuan Phai work on the current market and to optimize, if necessary, the sale of a work.

If you own a work by Bui Xuan Phai and would like to know its value, our state-approved auctioneers will carry out a free appraisal based on authenticity, quotation and recent market results.

Rating and value of the artist Bui Xuan Phai

The artist Bui Xuan Phai leaves behind a distinctive body of work, composed mainly of drawings and paintings. He is Vietnamese. Now, the prices of his works are rising under the auctioneers' gavel.

The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €70 to €136,850, a significant gap but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Bui Xuan Phai's works. He is especially prized by buyers from Hong Kong, Vietnam and France.

In 2021, an oil on canvas entitled Houses, dating from 1968, sold for €136,850, while it was estimated at between €32,000 and €42,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Situate the artist

Period

Bui Xuan Phai (1920 - 1988) is a Vietnamese artist who worked in the context of Vietnam's political and cultural transformations, from the end of the colonial period to the post-independence decades.

He belongs to a generation that emerged from the Indochina School of Fine Arts, a founding moment of modern Vietnamese painting, marked by the introduction of Western academic methods.

He worked mainly in North Vietnam during the second half of the century, a period characterized by institutional and ideological constraints weighing on creation.

Currents

Bui Xuan Phai is part of Vietnamese modernism, a synthesis of local pictorial tradition and Western academic heritage, visible in the treatment of drawing, perspective and composition.

He turned to everyday, familiar subjects, treated with an introspective, melancholy dimension, distinct from strictly ideological realism. He is participating in the construction of an autonomous Vietnamese pictorial language, in dialogue with artists such as Tran Van Can or Nguyen Tu Nghiem.

The life of Bui Xuan Phai

Cultural context

Bui Xuan Phai was born in 1920 in Hanoi, in a Vietnam marked by the colonial period and then by the profound political transformations of the 20th century, a context that had a lasting influence on the themes of his work.

He trained at the Indochina School of Fine Arts, and is part of the continuity of Vietnamese pictorial modernity, articulating Western techniques and local aesthetic sensibilities.

His work focuses largely on the representation of Hanoi, particularly the old streets, which he interprets in an approach that is both realistic and expressive, contributing to the construction of an urban visual memory. 

Artistic and intellectual entourage

He belongs to a generation of artists heir to the teaching of Victor Tardieu and the pedagogical framework established by the Indochina School of Fine Arts. He evolved in an artistic milieu that included the major figures of Vietnamese painting.

These included To Ngoc Van and Nguyen Sang, with whom he shared a reflection on the synthesis between national tradition and plastic modernity. His influence extends to several generations of Vietnamese painters, who see him as an essential figure on the local art scene.

Techniques of Bui Xuan Phai

Artist's style

Bui Xuan Phai is a central figure in modern Vietnamese painting, associated with a deeply personal aesthetic marked by urban melancholy. He often depicts the old streets of Hanoi, with architectural stylization and simplified volumes.

Expressive line and strong contour structure the composition, revealing a graphic approach close to drawing. His palette is often muted and nuanced, dominated by grays, ochres and browns, contributing to an atmosphere of introspection.

Focus on a key work

Old street in Hanoi, Pho Phai series, 1960s - 1970s

The architectural composition is dense, structured by narrow facades and oblique lines that guide the eye towards depth. There is a deliberate distortion of perspective, giving the buildings an expressive presence.

The pictorial treatment is thick and visible, and the material reinforces the sensitive dimension of urban space. There are no human figures, accentuating the silent, introspective character of the scene.

The chromaticism is subdued, contributing to a nostalgic vision of the city, between individual memory and historical transformation. This work is part of an emblematic series illustrating Bui Xuan Phai's ability to transform a repetitive urban motif into ongoing plastic research.

FAQ - How to value a work by Bui Xuan Phai ?

1)    What stylistic criteria specific to Bui Xuan Phai are analyzed ?

The analysis focuses on his characteristic formal vocabulary, notably the famous urban views of Hanoi with their simplified architectural lines, restricted palette and rhythmic construction of space, as well as the expressive dimension of the line.

2)    How important is the theme of " streets of Hanoi " in the appraisal ?

The compositions depicting old streets constitute an emblematic and particularly sought-after corpus. Their quality of execution, state of preservation and place in the artist's stylistic evolution directly influence the indicative value.

3)    How does the art market influence the estimate ?

The estimate is based on a study of the results of comparable public sales of modern Vietnamese art, taking into account the rarity of major works, their emblematic character and the sustained interest of international collectors.

Market segmentation

Price of works

For Bui Xuan Phai, there is a clear hierarchy between oils, lacquers, gouaches and drawings. Paintings are generally estimated at between €10,000 and €250,000, with variations depending on format and pictorial quality.

Drawings are often between €2,000 and €6,000. Prints make up a secondary segment, ranging from €500 to €5,000 for sought-after editions.

Valuation factors

The premium is high for urban scenes from Hanoi's old quarter (Pho co), often valued at between €25,000 and €250,000, significantly higher levels than portraits or secondary landscapes estimated at between €10,000 and €80,000.

Rare large oils, with direct studio provenance and expressive quality of urban compositions are the main determinants of valuation, in a context of heightened interest in modern Vietnamese painting, even if it remains less quotable than artists such as Mai Thu or Le Pho.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Bui Xuan Phai signs his works most of the time. However, it is essential to have your work appraised to be sure of its originality. What's more ; there are naturally many copies.

Get an appraisal for your Bui Xuan Phai

If you own a work by Bui Xuan Phai, an appraisal enables you to appreciate its value on today's market.

Using our online form, our experts and certified auctioneers will carry out a free appraisal and provide you with a reliable estimate of your work's market value.

 If you're considering selling it, we'll work with you to ensure the best value.