Rating and value of paintings by Valentin Serov

If you own a work by or based on the work of artist Valentin Serov and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market. Thereafter, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value

An important Russian artist, Valentin Serov has a high rating on the auction market. Appreciated, Serov's works sell for between €30 and €10,368,080 on the art market, a substantial delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works, as evidenced by his oil on canvas Portrait of Maria Zetlin, which sold for €10,368,080 in 2016 at Christie's, while it was estimated at between €1,896,600 and €3,161,000.

Order of value from basic to prestigious

Artist's style and technique

Valentin Serov is a Russian Impressionist painter who mainly produced oils on canvas. He initially produced compositions inspired by nature, but also portraits and mythological scenes. At the end of his career, he produced some fairly committed war paintings.

Valentin Serov's life

Valentin Aleksandrovitch Serov was a Russian artist born in 1865 in Saint Petersburg.

Born into a family of artists, his mother being a pianist and his grandfather a composer, he had early access to the Abramstevo circle, which brought together Russian artists of all arts at the end of the 19th century. He spent his childhood in Germany and Paris, returning to Russia at the age of thirteen. During this period, he took painting lessons from the famous Russian painter Ilya Répine - he even lived with him.

From the age of fifteen, he studied at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, then began to paint portraits, notably of important Russian figures. Throughout his career, he was greatly influenced by Repine's realism. Later in his career, he would exchange influences with Constantin Korovine.

He became a member of the Society of Traveling Art Exhibitions, then taught at the Moscow School of Painting and became a member of the Academy of Painting, which he later left because of shootings at a peaceful demonstration. On this occasion, and to make his voice heard, he painted Soldats, Héros, où est passé votre gloire?, a canvas aimed at denouncing the incipient violence that would fracture the Russian Empire.  

Valentin Serov died in Moscow in 1911. 

Valentin Serov's imprint on his era

Valentin Serov is a painter who left his mark on 19th-century art in Russia. His works are part of prestigious collections and are sought after by many buyers, who play the greatest role in preserving his works although some are exhibited in museums.

His signature

Not all of Valentin Serov's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of his signature:

Expertise your property

If you happen to own a work by or after Valentin Serov, don't hesitate to request a free valuation by filling in our form on our website. A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly with an estimate of the value of your work, and will provide you with all the relevant information. If you are planning to sell your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account the inclinations of the market and its specificities.