Jenny Saville
Blue-chip#44
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
7/10
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
2/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
Recent Sales Highlights
| Work | Price | Venue & Date |
|---|---|---|
| Juncture | — | Sotheby's London, June 2025 |
| Mirror (charcoal drawing) | — | Sotheby's London, June 24, 2025 |
| Shift | $9,050,000 | Sotheby's London, June 28, 2016 |
| Muse on Stool (Study) | $677,418 | Sotheby's |
| Componimento inculto | $1,804,500 | Christie's |
- Pricing
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- Works on Paper
- $800,000 average, up to $2,100,000+
- Major Paintings
- £5,000,000-£9,500,000+ (million-dollar range)
- Prints Multiples
- $3,000-$10,000
- Temporal Context
- Historic highs achieved 2016-2018; 2025 market shows strong demand for drawings, selective for large paintings
- Liquidity
- Secondary Market Activity Meta
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- Primary Market
- Gallery Pricing Meta
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- Auction History
- Artwork
- Propped
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- Sale Date
- October 5, 2018
- Amount GBP
- $9,500,000
- Amount USD
- $12,497,949
- Significance
- Record for living female artist at auction at time of sale
- Year Created
- 1992
- Auction House
- Sotheby's London
- Market Trends
- Collector Base
- International: UK, US, Asia (Long Museum Shanghai acquired Shift), European collectors
- Market Momentum
- Strong institutional validation in 2025 (National Portrait Gallery, Modern Fort Worth, Albertina Vienna retrospectives) created temporary scarcity - owners reluctant to sell during museum spotlight
- Sell Through Rate
- 100% (from available 2025 data)
- Market Positioning
- Blue-chip contemporary painter, most expensive living female artist (2018-present era)
- Auction Volume 2025
- 6+ lots (partial data, major houses only)
- Estimate Low GBP
- $3,000,000
- Estimate High GBP
- $4,000,000
- Market Trends Meta
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- Recent Major Sales
Artwork Year Created Price GBP Price USD Auction House Performance Sale Date Juncture 1994 $5,400,000 Sotheby's London Just below low estimate June 2025 Mirror (charcoal drawing) 2011-12 $2,100,000 Sotheby's London Far exceeded estimate, six bidders, record for Saville drawing June 24, 2025 Shift 1996-97 $6,800,000 $9,050,000 Sotheby's London Previous auction record before Propped June 28, 2016 Muse on Stool (Study) — $677,418 Sotheby's Above estimate October 2025 Componimento inculto — $1,804,500 Christie's — May 2025 - Recent Major Sales Meta
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Institutional Presence
Tate Britain, London
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Broad, Los Angeles
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
The Long Museum, Shanghai
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Norton Museum of Art, Florida
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery, London
George Economou Collection, Athens
- Exhibitions
- Biennials Meta
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- Major Exhibitions Meta
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- Museum Collections
- Museum Collections Meta
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- Institutional Validation Indicators
- Tier 1 museums globally (MoMA, Tate, Met, Broad), major retrospectives at prestigious institutions, Venice Biennale participation, sustained institutional acquisition activity
- Institutional Validation Indicators Meta
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- Awards and Recognition
- Awards Recognition Meta
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Career & Biography
- Career
- Career Milestones
Year Significance Event 1992 Launched career, erased art school debt Graduation show entirely purchased by Charles Saatchi 1992-1994 Financial support to create new works for Saatchi Gallery 18-month contract with Charles Saatchi 1994 Influenced exploration of flesh transformation Observed plastic surgery operations in New York 1997 Major gallery representation established Represented by Gagosian Gallery 2000-2006 Teaching position at prestigious institution Lecturer at The Slade School of Fine Arts, London 2007 Prestigious recognition Elected Royal Academician, Royal Academy of Arts, London 2018 Record for living female artist at auction Propped (1992) sold for £9.5 million - Career Milestones Meta
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- Identity
- Gender Meta
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- Education Meta
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- Birth Year Meta
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- Birth Place Meta
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- Current Location
- Oxford, England
- Nationality Meta
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- Personal Context
- Born to educator parents, attended 15 different schools due to father's career. Mother created first studio from broom cupboard. Uncle Paul Saville (artist and art historian) was major early influence, taking her on art historical tours of European cities. Became mother, which influenced series of mother-and-child works.
- Artistic Evolution
- Started with large-scale female nudes while student, influenced by feminist theory during Cincinnati fellowship. Early work characterized by confrontational self-portraits and examination of cosmetic surgery. Evolved to incorporate abstract expressionist techniques while maintaining figural foundation. Recent work explores intersection of physical and virtual realms with saturated colors and compartmentalized forms.
- Current Location Meta
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- Personal Context Meta
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- Artistic Evolution Meta
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- Artistic Context
- Influences Meta
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Artistic Profile
- Style
- Signature Style Meta
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- Visual Language
- Scale Meta
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- Themes and Subjects
- Key Themes Meta
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- Movements and Periods
- Artistic Periods Meta
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- Art Historical Positioning
- Bridges Old Masters (Rubens, Titian, Rembrandt) and Modernism (de Kooning, Twombly, Bacon, Freud). Original member Young British Artists but distinguished by commitment to painting over conceptual practices. Credited with reinventing figure painting for 21st century and originating new method of painting female nude from female subject position.
- Art Historical Positioning Meta
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- Evolution of Critical Discourse
- Initially received as feminist painter challenging beauty standards (1990s YBA context). Evolved recognition as painter's painter with exceptional technique. Recent discourse emphasizes integration of art historical knowledge, philosophical depth, and relevance to contemporary digital age.
- Evolution of Critical Discourse Meta
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- Techniques and Mediums
- Primary Medium Meta
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- Technical Approach Meta
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Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Cultural Impact
- Work used for Manic Street Preachers album covers: Strategy for The Holy Bible (1994), Stare for Journal for Plague Lovers (2009, deemed 'inappropriate' by UK supermarkets)
- Cultural Impact Meta
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- Critical Reception Meta
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- Scholarly Attention Meta
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- Publications and Media
- Major Publications
Title Year Significance Publisher Jenny Saville 2005 Major monograph Rizzoli/Gagosian Gallery Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting 2025 Comprehensive retrospective catalogue National Portrait Gallery Jenny Saville (Norton Museum catalogue) 2011 — — - Media Coverage Meta
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- Documentary Coverage
- Gagosian Quarterly features, studio visits, conversations with Nicholas Cullinan, Martin Gayford, Douglas Stuart
- Major Publications Meta
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- Documentary Coverage Meta
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Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Art Fair Participation
- Gagosian presentations at Art Basel Paris (2024), major international fairs
- Art Fair Participation Meta
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- Representation
- Market Positioning
- Represented by top-tier gallery alongside artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Richard Serra, Ed Ruscha - signals blue-chip status
- Market Positioning Meta
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- Primary Representation Meta
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- Exhibition History with Gagosian
- Territories (1999, New York)Closed Contact with Glen Luchford (2002, Beverly Hills)Migrants (2003, New York)Erota (2016, London)Ancestors (2018, New York)Multiple shows Paris, London, Hong Kong (2019-2024)
- Exhibition History with Gagosian Meta
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This is what the market knows about Jenny Saville. What Egon can also tell you: whether Jenny Saville fits your portfolio — based on your existing holdings, budget, and investment timeline.
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