Hilary Pecis
Blue-chip#54
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
7/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
9/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
1/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Price Ranges by Period
- 2021
- Work: Backyard View (2018); Notes: Sotheby's Contemporary Day Sale - 17x over estimate; Chinese collectors driving force; Realized: £340,000; Low Estimate: £20,000
- 2022
- Range USD: 50,000-1,252,167; Notable Works: Fish and Bird achieved $1.25M record
- 2023-2024
- Trend: Consistently exceeding estimates; strong demand at both primary and secondary market; Range USD: 60,000-700,000
- 2024-2025 Current
- Trend: Record-matching performance; institutional quality works commanding premium prices; Range USD: 60,000-1,260,000
- Auction History
- Work
- Wine at J's (2020)
- Notes
- Matched previous record; acrylic on canvas, 76 x 64 in.
- Sale Date
- November 21, 2024
- Amount USD
- $1,260,000
- Auction House
- Christie's New York
- Auction Volume
- Active Period
- 2020-present with significant market acceleration
- Askart Database
- 44 auction lots (40 sold)
- Price Range Overall
- $10,547 - $1,260,000 USD
- Total Lots Recorded
- 63+ auction lots
- Previous Record
- Work
- Fish and Bird (2019)
- Notes
- 50 x 40 in. acrylic on canvas; Property of an Important Private Collector
- Sale Date
- March 2, 2022
- Amount USD
- $1,252,167
- Auction House
- Sotheby's
- Fair Participation
- Paris+ par Art Basel (2022)Art Basel Hong Kong (2025) - new editions with Pace Prints
- Market Characteristics
- Liquidity
- High - regular appearance at major auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips)
- Primary Market
- Sold-out solo exhibitions at Timothy Taylor London (2021), Rachel Uffner Gallery (2020)
- Price Trajectory
- Rapidly ascending - works regularly exceeding estimates by 200-600%
- Geographic Strength
- Strong in Asia (China, Hong Kong), US, UK
- Collector Demographics
- Chinese collectors notable driving force; US institutional collectors; Important Private Collectors category
- Recent Notable Sales 2024 2025
Work Date Result USD Venue Notes Estimate Wine at J's November 21, 2024 $1,260,000 Christie's New York More than three times low estimate $400,000-600,000 Record Collection February 27, 2024 $700,000 Sotheby's Los Angeles (Iovine and Young Center Benefit) 600% above low estimate; star lot of sale $100,000-150,000 Clementine's Bookshelf (2021) November 20, 2024 Sotheby's 74 x 64 in. acrylic on linen $300,000-500,000 Crestline Sunset (2019) May 17, 2024 Christie's 30 x 24 in. $60,000-80,000
Institutional Presence
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Los Angeles, CAMuseum of Fine Arts
Boston, MASFMOMA
San Francisco, CAColumbus Museum of Art
OhioPalm Springs Art Museum
CaliforniaOrange County Museum of Art
Costa Mesa, CACrisp-Ellert Art Museum, Flagler College
St. Augustine, FLAïshti Foundation
BeirutDaegu Art Museum
South KoreaYuz Museum
Shanghai, ChinaAurora Museum
Shanghai, ChinaSifang Art Museum
Nanjing, ChinaDeji Art Museum
Nanjing, ChinaZhuzhong Museum
Beijing, ChinaUCCA Center for Contemporary Art
Beijing, ChinaBuffalo AKG Art Museum
New York- Exhibitions
- Major Group Exhibitions Recent
Title Year Venue Location Map Reading of Painting 2024 Daegu Art Museum Korea Day for Night: New American Realism 2024 Palazzo Barberini, organized by Aïshti Foundation Rome, Italy A Journey 2023 Yuz Museum Shanghai, China The Interior Life: Recent Acquisitions 2023 National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. 13 Women: Variation I 2022-2023 Orange County Museum of Art Costa Mesa, CA Common Ground: UCCA 15th Anniversary Patrons Collection Exhibition 2022 UCCA Center for Contemporary Art Beijing, China Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined 2022 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, CA Present Generations: Creating the Scantland Collection 2021 Columbus Museum of Art Ohio FEEDBACK 2021 The School at Jack Shainman Gallery Kinderhook, NY
- Museum Collections
- Notes
- Strong Tier 1 institutional presence including National Gallery of Art, LACMA, MFA Boston, SFMOMA. Significant Chinese institutional collecting. Recent acquisitions indicate growing curatorial interest.
- Awards and Recognition
- Year
- 2008
- Award
- Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship
- Institution
- San Francisco Arts Commission
Career & Biography
- Career
- Working Method
- Takes reference photos on phone during daily runs, commutes, and travels. Sketches composition onto canvas, then builds up with large swaths of saturated color before adding details. Works tentatively, often moving between multiple paintings. Uses Nova Color acrylic paint, a local Culver City brand. Describes process as slowing down to really see moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed.
- Identity
- Personal Life
- Married to artist Andrew Schoultz; one child born 2012. Grew up in Redding, California with two siblings to civil servant parents who encouraged creativity. Influenced early by PBS show 'The Secret City Adventures' with Mark Kistler.
- Current Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Artistic Evolution
- Early career focused on maximalist abstract collages using paper, magazine scraps, spray paint, and digital elements during graduate school. After 2014 move to Los Angeles, transitioned to painting focusing on still lifes and landscapes. Working methods involve photographing scenes on phone during daily activities, then translating to canvas with acrylic paint, prioritizing memory and vibrancy over photographic accuracy.
- Artistic Context
- David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, André Derain, Fauvism, German Expressionists (Gabriele Münter, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner), California Funk and Pop art, Wayne Thiebaud, Agnes Martin
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Absence of human figures - 'portraits without people'Exaggerated, vibrant colors that exceed photographic realityLayering of patterns and texturesFlattened picture plane with surprising spatial juxtapositionsObjects as signifiers of identity and aspirationCalifornia light as defining characteristic
- Evolution
- Early Period 2006 2014
- Abstract maximalist collages using paper, magazine scraps, spray paint, ink, glitter, digital elements. Conceptually-driven, theoretical.
- Transitional 2014 2017
- Move to Los Angeles catalyzed shift to painting. Smaller scale works depicting immediate surroundings. Focus on direct observation over theory.
- Mature Period 2017 Present
- Confident synthesis of still life and landscape traditions with contemporary sensibility. Increasing scale. Expansion from domestic interiors to public spaces. Integration of memory with observation.
- Influences
- Artistic Influences Stated
- Henri Matisse and FauvismDavid HockneyPierre BonnardAndré DerainWayne ThiebaudAgnes MartinGabriele MünterErnst Ludwig KirchnerCalifornia Funk and Pop artRoy De Forest
- Themes and Subjects
- Identity through objects and spacesQuotidian beauty and overlooked momentsSouthern California light and aestheticMemory and perceptionDomestic intimacy without human figuresTime and temporality in everyday life
- Movements and Periods
- Primary Subjects
- Still lifes of domestic interiorsLandscape paintings (Southern California)Urban streetscapes (Los Angeles)Floral arrangementsPersonal objects (books, records, art)Public spaces (storefronts, markets, street vendors)
- Technical Characteristics
- Brand
- Nova Color (Culver City-based)
- Medium
- Primarily acrylic on canvas/linen
- Composition
- Flattened perspectives, geometric patterning, bold linework
- Scale Range
- Small intimate works to large-scale paintings (up to 100+ inches)
- Color Palette
- Saturated, vivid colors; Fauvist intensity
- Surface Quality
- Distinct flatness achieved through acrylic; textural mark-making
- Art Historical Positioning
- Contemporary reinterpretation of still life and landscape traditions through Fauvist color sensibility and post-Pop flatness. Bridges modernist formal concerns with contemporary subject matter. Part of broader LA contemporary painting scene alongside artists working in observational realism with heightened palette.
- Critical Reception of Style
- Praised for 'kaleidoscopic compositions,' 'jubilant energy,' ability to make viewers 'feel seen' through recognition of curated domestic signifiers. Critics note sophisticated color relationships and pattern integration. Work described as both 'casual comfort' and meticulously composed.
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Critical Consensus
- Widely praised for synthesis of Fauvist color, domestic intimacy, and contemporary Los Angeles aesthetic. Compared favorably to David Hockney, Wayne Thiebaud. Critics note her ability to elevate quotidian moments through vivid color and pattern, creating 'portraits without figures' that capture identity through objects and spaces.
- Publications and Media
- Books Catalogues
- Note
- Based on Sound & Vision podcast by Brian Alfred
- Year
- 2022
- Title
- Why I Make Art: Contemporary Artists' Stories About Life & Work
- Editor
- Ananda Pellerin
- Publisher
- Atelier Éditions
- Major Publications
Title Date Author Publication 'She's Kind of Our David Hockney': How Hilary Pecis Set the Art World Aflutter With Charming Paintings of Life in Los Angeles June 10, 2021 Taylor Dafoe Artnet News — Summer 2017 Prudence Peiffer Artforum — 2020 Emmalea Russo Artforum Curtis Talwst Santiago / Hilary Pecis at Rachel Uffner 2018 Johanna Fateman The New Yorker Hilary Pecis's Rose-Tinted Los Angeles Is Not All Fantasy March 13, 2023 Jonathan Griffin Cultured Magazine 5 Reasons Why LA Is the Place To Be Right Now February 23, 2023 Jacoba Urist Cultured Magazine Hilary Pecis Captures the Layers of Los Angeles's Landscapes 2021 Nancy Gamboa Cultured Magazine Artists to Watch: Hilary Pecis 2023 Janelle Zara Galerie Magazine Hilary Pecis's Still Lifes Are Anything But Still 2024 Jen Wang Vogue Meet the Women of Frogtown, An Artist Community Like No Other 2022 — Vogue — August 1, 2024 Brian T. Allen National Review Snap Review: Hilary Pecis at The Pit 2019 Lee Purvey CARLA Hilary Pecis's 'Wandering' Brings Tender Vignettes to Timothy Taylor June 2025 — HYPEBEAST - Media Coverage Highlights
- Featured by major art publications consistently since 2017Profile pieces in lifestyle publications (Vogue) indicating crossover appealRegular coverage of exhibitions and market performanceDescribed as post-lockdown 'it painter' (2021)
Gallery & Representation
- Representation
- Print Publishers
- Pace PrintsCrown Point PressCirrus Gallery & Cirrus Editions
- Gallery Evolution
Period Note Galleries 2011-2018 — Guerrero Gallery (San Francisco), Joshua Liner Gallery (New York), Halsey McKay Gallery 2018-2021 Period of accelerating recognition Rachel Uffner Gallery, Timothy Taylor, The Pit (Los Angeles) 2021-present Top-tier gallery representation established David Kordansky Gallery (primary), Timothy Taylor, others - Secondary Market Galleries
- Ben Brown Fine Arts (Hong Kong, London)Gagosian (Athens - featured work)
- Geographic Reach
- Strong international presence: US (Los Angeles, New York, East Hampton), UK (London), China (Beijing), with fair participation at Art Basel platforms
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