David Lynch
Growth#16
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
6/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
10/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
3/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Auction Price Ranges
- Temporal Context
- Lynch's artwork market was primarily gallery-controlled rather than auction-driven. Most significant works sold through primary representation (Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Pace Gallery, Sperone Westwater) with prices undisclosed.
- Recent Sales 2024 2025
- Limited auction data for original artworks; prints and multiples typically $1,000-$3,000
- Historical Range 2009 2023
- $283 - $5,986 USD
- Liquidity
- Market Activity
- Annual Lots
- Historically 5-15 auction lots annually (low volume)
- Market Depth
- Thin secondary market; most activity through galleries
- Auction Houses
- Phillips, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, Material Culture, Christie's (occasional), smaller regional houses
- Posthumous Surge
- Following January 2025 death, Lynch became the #1 most in-demand artist on Artsy platform in 2025, representing massive year-over-year increase in collector inquiries
- Collector Base
- Film collectors, contemporary art collectors, institutional buyers, crossover entertainment/art collectors
- Primary Market
- Availability
- Works available through Pace Gallery, Sperone Westwater, Kayne Griffin
- Gallery Pricing
- Contact galleries for current pricing (not publicly disclosed)
- Media Breakdown
- Paintings, mixed media works, photographs, prints/lithographs, furniture/lamps, works on paper
- Auction History
- Estate Sale 2025
- Date
- June 18, 2025
- Note
- White-glove sale (100% sold), significant posthumous demand surge
- Top Lots
- Ronnie Rocket screenplays: $195,000Mulholland Drive scripts (3): $104,000Twin Peaks pilot scripts: $91,000Director's chair: $91,000 (est. $5,000-$7,000)Fire Walk with Me scripts: $78,000Eraserhead 35mm print: $52,000Nuclear explosion photo: $45,500La Marzocco espresso machine: $45,500 (est. $3,000)
- Description
- Personal collection sale including 450+ items from Lynch's home
- Auction House
- Julien's Auctions
- Total Realized
- $4.25 million
- Auction Record High
- $5,986 USD (2015, Wire chair, Piasa auction house)
- Market Position
- Market Positioning
- Lynch occupied unique position as crossover artist-filmmaker. Artworks valued for connection to cinematic legacy rather than as standalone contemporary art market commodity. Estate sale demonstrated strong collector demand driven by cultural significance.
Institutional Presence
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
New York, NYPennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)
Philadelphia, PASmithsonian Institution
Washington, DC- Exhibitions
- Biennials Festivals
- None documented (Lynch's practice was primarily gallery and museum exhibitions rather than biennial circuit)
- Major Exhibitions Solo
Title Year Dates Venue Location David Lynch 1989 — Leo Castelli Gallery New York The Air is on Fire 2007 — Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain Paris, France Dark Splendor 2009 November 22, 2009 - April 10, 2010 Max Ernst Museum Brühl, Germany The Factory Photographs 2014 January 17 - March 30, 2014 Photographers' Gallery London David Lynch: The Unified Field 2014-2015 September 13, 2014 - January 11, 2015 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia, PA Between Two Worlds 2015 March 14 - June 7, 2015 Queensland Art Gallery Brisbane, Australia Silence and Dynamism 2017-2018 November 12, 2017 - February 18, 2019 Centre of Contemporary Art Torun, Poland I Was a Teenage Insect 2018 September 8 - November 3, 2018 Kayne Griffin Corcoran Los Angeles, CA Someone is in my House 2018-2019 November 30, 2018 - April 28, 2019 Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, Netherlands Squeaky Flies in the Mud 2019 November 1 - December 21, 2019 Sperone Westwater New York My Head is Disconnected 2019 — HOME Manchester UK Infinite Deep: The Photographic World of David Lynch 2021-2022 — International Photo Festival Olten / Nikolaj Kunsthal Switzerland / Copenhagen Big Bongo Night 2022 November 4 - December 17, 2022 Pace Gallery New York I Like To See My Sheep 2022 November 3 - December 17, 2022 Sperone Westwater New York Up In Flames 2025 June 2025 - February 2026 DOX Centre for Contemporary Art Prague Untitled (Berlin exhibition) 2026 Opening January 29, 2026 Pace Gallery Berlin Berlin, Germany - Group Exhibitions Notable
- Marilyn Manson and David Lynch: Genealogies of Pain, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2010)
- Saul Leiter, David Lynch, Helmut Newton: Nudes, Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin (2018-2019)
- Mathematics: A Beautiful Elsewhere, Fondation Cartier, Paris (2011-2012)
- Crime and Punishment, from Goya to Picasso, Musée d'Orsay, Paris (2010)
- Museum Collections
- Curatorial Interest
- High institutional interest evidenced by major retrospectives at prominent venues. Works held in major collections. Exhibitions continued posthumously indicating sustained institutional support.
- Awards and Recognition
- Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Venice Film Festival (2006)Academy Honorary Award (2019)César Award for Best Foreign Film (2x)Palme d'Or, Cannes Film FestivalLaurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (2025, posthumous)
Career & Biography
- Career
- Working Method
- Lynch described his paintings as 'organic, violent comedies' that 'have to be violently done and primitive and crude.' He preferred dark colors, stating 'The more you throw black into a color, the more dreamy it gets.' He created his first 'moving painting' in 1967 at PAFA, which led to his film career. Lynch maintained studios in Los Angeles where he worked on paintings, furniture, and mixed media works.
- Identity
- Death Place
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Death Context
- Died from complications of emphysema (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and cardiac arrest after being evacuated from his Los Angeles home due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. He was a lifelong smoker.
- Key Life Events
- 1967: Created first 'moving painting' Six Men Getting Sick at PAFA1973: Discovered Transcendental Meditation1989: First major gallery show at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York2005: Founded David Lynch Foundation2006: Received Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Venice Film Festival2014: First major US museum exhibition at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts2019: Received Academy Honorary Award2022: Joined Pace Gallery representation2024: Announced emphysema diagnosisJanuary 16, 2025: Died at age 78
- Artistic Context
- Artistic Influences
- Francis Bacon (primary painting influence), William Eggleston, Joel-Peter Witkin, Diane Arbus (photography influences), Franz Kafka (literary influence), Oskar Kokoschka (attempted to study with), Transcendental Meditation (practiced since 1973)
Artistic Profile
- Style
- 'Lynchian' - surreal, disturbing, dreamlike aesthetic combining the mundane with the macabre. Dark palette, primitive execution, narrative ambiguity, psychological intensity. Seamless integration of high/low culture, horror/beauty, innocence/corruption.
- Influences
- Influences From
- Francis Bacon (primary influence - distorted figures, violence, raw emotion)Expressionism (attempted to study with Oskar Kokoschka)Surrealism (labeled 'first popular surrealist' by Pauline Kael)Dada (transdisciplinary practice)William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Joel-Peter Witkin (photography)Franz Kafka (literature)Philadelphia's industrial decay and violence (environmental)Transcendental Meditation (philosophical/spiritual)
- Themes and Subjects
- Violence beneath suburban American normalcyIndustrial decay and organic body mergedChildhood trauma and memoryDreams and unconscious mindSurrealism and mysteryHuman/industrial hybridsDarkness, fear, and the uncannyHouses as sites of nightmares or passionMetamorphosis and transformation
- Movements and Periods
- Influenced Artists
- Massive influence on contemporary filmmaking and visual culture; 'Lynchian' became descriptive adjective. Influence more cultural/cinematic than direct visual art lineage, though work inspired crossover artist-filmmaker practices.
- Techniques and Mediums
- Medium Breakdown
- Film
- Considered 'moving paintings' - extension of visual art practice
- Painting
- Primary medium - oil on canvas, acrylic, mixed media
- Sculpture
- Lamp designs, furniture pieces
- Photography
- Industrial scenes, portraits, nudes - significant series
- Printmaking
- Lithographs, etchings - edition works
- Works on Paper
- Drawings, watercolors, mixed media - extensive body
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Online Discourse
- Strong online presence and following; 'Lynchian' became cultural descriptor; Foundation Cartier publications, exhibition catalogues widely distributed; featured in major art publications' digital platforms
- Critical Consensus
- Lynch's visual art shares DNA with his films - surreal, disturbing, exploring darkness beneath American normalcy. Influenced by Francis Bacon. Works are 'organic, violent comedies' executed in dark, primitive style. Critical debate over whether celebrity status overshadowed legitimate artistic merit; posthumous consensus trending toward recognition of serious, sustained practice.
- Critical Evolution
- Early critical reception mixed - seen as 'celebrity painter.' Leo Castelli's endorsement (1989) provided legitimacy. By 2014 PAFA retrospective, taken seriously as visual artist. Critical consensus: work inseparable from film practice; both share surrealist, dreamlike, disturbing aesthetic. Posthumously, critical reassessment underway with recognition of unified artistic vision across media.
- Catalogue Raisonnes
- No formal catalogue raisonné published; exhibition catalogues include: The Unified Field (PAFA, 2014), Between Two Worlds (Queensland, 2015), Dark Splendor (Max Ernst Museum, 2009), Naming (Kayne Griffin Corcoran, 2013), various others
- Publications and Media
- Books by Artist
- Images (1994)Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity (2006)Room to Dream (with Kristine McKenna, 2018)
- Major Publications
Assessment Coverage Publication Called 1989 Castelli show 'eye-opening'; Simone Krug reviewed 2018 show; significant critical platform Multiple reviews and features including Critics' Picks (2018), video interview (2019), obituary (2025) Artforum — Multiple features including 2018 interview about painting practice Art News Sustained critical attention from major West Coast publication Regular coverage including David Pagel review (2018): 'paintings reveal insecurities of adolescence and maligned misfits' Los Angeles Times Mixed early reception from influential critic Roberta Smith review of 1989 Castelli show called paintings 'familiar, unoriginal, and slick' The New York Times High cultural significance recognition Called Lynch 'the most important director of this era' The Guardian Contemporary art establishment recognition Multiple features including 'I Was a Teenage Insect' (2018) Frieze Major art market publication with sustained coverage Extensive coverage including exhibition reviews, market reports, obituary Artnet News — Featured articles and reviews Art Review — 2012 essay titled 'David Lynch's Art Doesn't Suck' - acknowledging perception issues Hyperallergic - Documentary Coverage
- Year
- 2016
- Title
- David Lynch: The Art Life
- Description
- Feature-length documentary about his visual art practice directed by Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Art Fair Participation
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary (Kayne Griffin Corcoran booth, 2017); likely participated in other major fairs through gallery representation
- Representation
- Gallery Tier
- Blue-chip (Pace Gallery = top tier; Sperone Westwater = established Tier 1)
- Past Representation
Location Gallery Relationship Los Angeles Kayne Griffin Corcoran Long-term representation; eventually acquired by Pace Gallery (2022) New York Leo Castelli Gallery 1989 solo exhibition; legendary dealer support Santa Monica, CA James Corcoran Gallery Multiple exhibitions 1987-2011 New York Jack Tilton Gallery Multiple exhibitions Philadelphia, PA Rodger LaPelle Galleries Early representation; 1987, 2014 exhibitions
- Geographic Reach
- Works available through Pace Gallery and Sperone Westwater; limited secondary market availability; prices available upon request from galleries Primary markets: New York, Los Angeles. International exhibitions: Paris, London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Tokyo, Brisbane, Maastricht, Munich
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