Julie Mehretu
Blue-chipEgon research · Artist market profile
The market, in context.
Explore Julie Mehretu’s auction history alongside the exhibitions, collections and gallery relationships behind the market.
Auction record
$10,737,500
Walkers With the Dawn and Morning (2008)
View the sale and market context →Institutional research
Collections & exhibitions
Read holdings, exhibition history and their qualifications in context.
Read the institutional research →
Egon investment scores
Market position
Research updated
Auction record
Pricing
- 2010
- First work over $1 million (Untitled 1, sold for $1.02M at Sotheby's)
- 2013
- Rising Down (2008) sold for $3M at Sotheby's Doha
- 2014
- Mumbo Jumbo (2008) sold for $5M at Art Basel (White Cube)
- 2015
- Untitled (2001) sold for $2.285M at Christie's New York
- 2023 october
- $9.32M record at Sotheby's Hong Kong
- 2023 november
- $10.737M new record at Sotheby's New York
- Trajectory analysis
- Consistent upward trajectory with 227% increase from 2015 to 2023 for same work. Market accelerating post-major retrospective (2019-2022).
Price ranges by category
- Note
- Primary market pricing available through Marian Goodman Gallery, White Cube. Gallery-controlled market with selective secondary availability.
- Major paintings
- $2M-$10.7M (2023-2025)
- Mid size paintings
- $500K-$2M (estimate based on market position)
- Prints and works on paper
- $38,988 USD average (past 12 months per MutualArt)
- Historical range paintings
- $106-$10,737,500 USD (lifetime auction range)
- Liquidity
- HIGH - Strong institutional demand, major collector base, consistent auction presence at top houses
Comparables
- Note
- Per Culture Type analysis: 'Mehretu has dominated the market with large, tour-de-force paintings defined by dynamic, gestural mark making'
- Position
- Top tier of contemporary African diaspora artists; highest auction records for African-born and Black female artists
- Peer group
- Kerry James Marshall, Mark Bradford, Kara Walker, Glenn Ligon, Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Collector base
- Private collectors
- Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, established collectors
- Geographic distribution
- Global: North America, Europe, Asia (strong Hong Kong market), Middle East
- Institutional collectors
- Major museums worldwide acquire regularly
Auction history
Auction volume
- Annual estimate
- 20-30 lots annually based on recent activity
- Total lots lifetime
- 323+ artworks at auction (per MutualArt)
- Recent activity 2024 2025
- Multiple lots at Phillips, Sotheby's, Christie's, Artsy Auctions
Previous record
- Date
- October 5, 2023
- Work
- Untitled (2001, diptych)
- Venue
- Sotheby's Hong Kong
- Amount USD
- $9,320,000
- Tier classification
- BLUE-CHIP
Investment indicators
- Scarcity
- HIGH - Gallery-controlled primary market, limited secondary availability for major works
- Market momentum
- STRONG - Multiple record breaks 2023, major museum acquisitions continuing
- Speculation risk
- LOW - Established 25+ year career, deep institutional support
- Institutional validation
- EXCEPTIONAL - Whitney/LACMA retrospective, Palazzo Grassi show, museum commissions
Current auction record
- Date
- November 15, 2023
- Work
- Walkers With the Dawn and Morning (2008)
- Venue
- Sotheby's New York
- Context
- Record for African-born artist and Black female artist (living or dead)
- Amount USD
- $10,737,500
Institutional presence
Research updated
Exhibitions
- Whitney Biennial (2004)
- Carnegie International (2004)
- São Paulo Biennial (2004)
- Istanbul Biennial (2003)
- Sydney Biennale (2006)
- dOCUMENTA (13) (2012) - Mogamma series
- Venice Biennale (2019) - represented Portugal curatorially
- Note
- Largest European exhibition to date, over 50 works
- Year
- 2024-2025
- Dates
- March 17, 2024 - January 6, 2025
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: Ensemble
- Venue
- Palazzo Grassi, Venice (Pinault Collection)
- Note
- First mid-career survey in Germany, nearly 100 works
- Year
- 2024-2025
- Dates
- October 22, 2025 - February 15, 2026
- Title
- Julie Mehretu (mid-career survey)
- Venue
- K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
- Note
- First exhibition in Australia/Asia-Pacific region
- Year
- 2024
- Dates
- November 2024 - April 2025
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory
- Venue
- Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney
- Note
- Major traveling retrospective
- Year
- 2021
- Dates
- March 24 - August 8, 2021
- Title
- Julie Mehretu
- Venue
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Year
- 2020-2021
- Dates
- October 24, 2020 - January 31, 2021
- Title
- Julie Mehretu
- Venue
- High Museum of Art, Atlanta
- Year
- 2021-2022
- Dates
- October 16, 2021 - March 6, 2022
- Title
- Julie Mehretu
- Venue
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
- Note
- First comprehensive retrospective, co-organized with Whitney
- Year
- 2019-2020
- Dates
- November 3, 2019 - September 7, 2020
- Title
- Julie Mehretu
- Venue
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Note
- Site-specific monumental commission
- Year
- 2017-2018
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: HOWL, eon (I, II)
- Venue
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Note
- First major solo museum exhibition
- Year
- 2010
- Title
- Grey Area
- Venue
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Note
- Commissioned cycle of 7 paintings exploring Berlin's urban landscape
- Year
- 2008-2009
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: Grey Area
- Venue
- Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin
- Year
- 2007
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: City Sitings
- Venue
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- Year
- 2006
- Title
- Julie Mehretu: Black City
- Venue
- Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
Museum collections
Tier 1 museum holdings
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
Notable works
- Empirical Construction, Istanbul (2003)
- Landscape Allegories series (2004)
- Exhibition history
- Multiple exhibitions including 'Drawing Now: Eight Propositions' (2002)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Notable works
- Of Other Planes of There (S.R.) (2018-19)
- Exhibition history
- Major retrospective March-August 2021
Tate, London
Notable works
- Mogamma, A Painting in Four Parts: Part 3 (2012)
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Notable works
- Hineni (E. 3:4) (2018)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Notable works
- Atlantic Wall (2008-2009)
- Berliner Plätze (2009) at Deutsche Guggenheim
- Exhibition history
- Major solo exhibition 'Grey Area' (2010)
View 9 more records
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Notable works
- Epigraph, Damascus (2016)
- Haka (and Riot) (2019)
- Exhibition history
- Co-organized major retrospective 2019-2020
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Notable works
- Myriads, Only by Dark (2014)
Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of African Art)
Notable works
- Auguries (2010)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Notable works
- HOWL, eon (I, II) (2017) - monumental commission
The Broad, Los Angeles
Notable works
- Cairo (2013)
- Conjured Parts (eye), Ferguson (2016)
- Auguries (2010)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Notable works
- Retopistics: A Renegade Excavation (2001)
Art Institute of Chicago
Cleveland Museum of Art
Tier 2 museum holdings
- Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (Stadia II, 2004)
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (Transcending: The New International, 2003)
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- High Museum of Art, Atlanta (Mogamma Part 2, 2012)
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Mogamma Part 4, 2012)
- Studio Museum in Harlem (Untitled, 2011)
- Pérez Art Museum Miami (Myriads, Only by Dark, 2014)
- Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
- Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (Mogamma Part 1, 2012)
- Pinault Collection, Venice/Paris (Black City, 2007; Sun Ship, 2018)
Curatorial significance
Major subject of scholarly publications, catalogue raisonnés in development, featured in art history surveys. The New York Times (2021) described her as 'a rare example of a contemporary Black female painter who has already entered the canon.'
Awards and recognition
Major commissions
Mural (2008)
- Fee
- $5 million
- Note
- Described by Calvin Tomkins (New Yorker) as 'the most ambitious painting I've seen in a dozen years'
- Size
- 80 feet wide x 23 feet high
- Client
- Goldman Sachs
HOWL, eon (I, II) (2017)
- Note
- Expansive exploration of American West, site-specific for Haas Jr. Atrium
- Client
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Uprising of the Sun
- Note
- Featured on north facade of Museum Building
- Size
- 83 ft x 25 ft
- Year
- 2024
- Client
- Obama Presidential Center
BMW Art Car #20 (M Hybrid V8)
- Note
- First woman to design BMW Art Car, raced at 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Year
- 2024
- Client
- BMW
Career & Biography
Research updated
Career
- Studio locations
- Studio in Chelsea, Manhattan near Whitney Museum; maintains two-story house in Harlem
Career milestones
Scroll horizontally if needed →
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1997-1998 | CORE Program Residency at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| 2001 | Artist-in-Residence at Studio Museum in Harlem |
| 2005 | MacArthur Fellowship awarded |
| 2007 | Berlin Prize from American Academy in Berlin |
| 2010 | Major solo exhibition 'Grey Area' at Guggenheim Museum, New York |
| 2015 | US Department of State Medal of Arts Award |
| 2020 | Named to TIME 100 Most Influential People |
| 2021-2022 | Major traveling retrospective at Whitney, LACMA, High Museum, Walker Art Center |
| 2024 | First woman to design BMW Art Car for 24 Hours of Le Mans |
| 2024 | Major exhibition 'Ensemble' at Palazzo Grassi, Venice (largest European exhibition to date) |
Identity
Personal life
Married artist Jessica Rankin (2008-2014), two sons: Cade Elias (born 2005) and Haile (born 2011). Co-founder of Denniston Hill artist residency (2004) with Paul Pfeiffer and Lawrence Chua.
- Current location
- New York City, NY and Berlin, Germany
Family background
Daughter of Assefa Mehretu (Ethiopian professor of economic geography) and Doree Mehretu (Jewish American Montessori teacher and Peace Corps volunteer). Family fled Ethiopia in 1977 during political turmoil and settled in East Lansing, Michigan where father joined Michigan State University faculty.
Residencies and awards
- MacArthur Fellowship (2005)
- American Art Award, Whitney Museum (2005)
- Berlin Prize, American Academy in Berlin (2007)
- Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2003)
- US Department of State Medal of Arts (2015)
- Barnett and Annalee Newman Award (2013)
- National Academian designation
Artistic Profile
Research updated
Influences
Artistic
Abstract Expressionism, Constructivism, Futurism, Japanese/Chinese calligraphy, graffiti art, Leonardo da Vinci (atmospheric studies), Dürer, Robert Motherwell
- Personal
- Ethiopian heritage, childhood displacement, migration experience, economic geography (father's profession), travel in Africa and globally
- Conceptual
- Urban theory, psychogeography, postcolonial studies, migration studies, mapping practices
Themes and subjects
- Urban sociopolitical change and conflict
- Migration, diaspora, displacement
- Colonialism and imperialism
- Capitalism and globalization
- Climate change and environmental crisis
- Revolution and social uprising (Arab Spring, Ferguson, etc.)
- Architecture as social construct
- Mapping and geography as political tools
- Time, memory, and palimpsest
- War and military-industrial complex
Movements and periods
Influenced artists
Cited as major influence on contemporary artists working with abstraction, mapping, spatial complexity, digital space, migration themes. Multiple artists reference her as 'touchstone' for socially engaged abstraction
Working philosophy
Artist statement: 'I think of my abstract mark-making as a type of sign lexicon, signifier, or language for characters that hold identity and have social agency.' Aims to create 'third space' between representation and abstraction, structure and gesture, beauty and violence.
Techniques and mediums
- Scale
- Ranges from intimate works on paper to monumental paintings (up to 24+ feet)
Process
Projects maps, architectural plans, and photographs onto canvas; traces elements; builds up layers separated by clear acrylic; uses airbrush, screen printing, drawing, painting, sanding/erasure
- Materials
- Ink, acrylic, graphite, colored pencil on canvas or paper; Mylar for drawings
Printmaking
Extensive printmaking practice with master printers; techniques include etching, photogravure, lithography, aquatint, drypoint. New York Times noted: 'prints she began making in 2008 have been consistently stronger than her paintings'
Critical Reception
Research updated
Critical reception
Critical consensus
EXCEPTIONAL - Recognized as major figure in contemporary painting; 'already entered the canon' per NYT; occasional critiques of maximalist approach but overall highly positive reception
- Catalogue raisonnes
- In development; major catalogues published for retrospective exhibitions
Critical positioning
- Influences cited
- Constructivism, Futurism, Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, graffiti, architectural drawings, cartography, Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer
- Peer comparisons
- Franz Ackermann, Matthew Ritchie, Mark Bradford, Sarah Morris, Kara Walker (political/social engagement through different visual languages)
Art historical context
Positioned as major figure in contemporary abstraction; reinventing history painting through abstract language; compared to Abstract Expressionists, Futurists, but with contemporary political engagement
- Theoretical frameworks
- Diaspora studies, postcolonial theory, psychogeography, 'third space' (TJ Demos), black feminist abstraction, queer abstraction
Publications and media
Major publications
- Coverage
- Multiple reviews and features, including major retrospective review (2020)
- Publication
- Artforum
Critical assessment
Christine Y. Kim and Rujeko Hockley praised 'muscular, exuberant knockout' exhibition; 'practices a form of history painting...reinvented from a minoritarian perspective'
- Coverage
- Major profile by Calvin Tomkins (2010), Goldman Sachs mural coverage
- Publication
- The New Yorker
- Critical assessment
- Called Mural 'the most ambitious painting I've seen in a dozen years'
- Coverage
- Extensive coverage of retrospective and career
- Publication
- The New York Times
- Critical assessment
- (2021) 'a rare example of a contemporary Black female painter who has already entered the canon'
Details
Major catalogue (2019) with essays by Christine Y. Kim, Rujeko Hockley, and 'majority-black roster of writers including Andrianna Campbell-LaFleur, Adrienne Edwards, Thelma Golden, Fred Moten, and Dagmawi Woubshet'
- Publisher
- Prestel, 320 pages, 450 color illustrations
- Publication
- Whitney Museum catalogue
- Assessment
- Mehretu blends abstraction and representation in open response to current events
- Publication
- The Paris Review
Assessment
Mehretu challenges the histories of art, architecture, and past civilizations, as well as current themes of migration, revolution, climate change, and global capitalism
- Publication
- Forbes
Assessment
Mehretu's pieces are arresting, stopping you and drawing you in. The paintings are both monumental and explosive, with shimmering surfaces that suggest three-dimensional depth
- Publication
- The Washington Post
- Note
- Mixed critical reception on some works; Mark Prince critiqued 'undifferentiated maximalist register'
- Coverage
- Multiple reviews including Deutsche Guggenheim show critique (2010)
- Publication
- Frieze
Documentary coverage
- Art21 extended documentary segments
- Tacita Dean film 'GDGDA' (2011)
- Multiple gallery and museum video interviews
- Studio visit documentaries by Galerie Magazine (2020)
Gallery & Representation
Research updated
Fair presence
Art fair participation
- Art Basel (regular presence)
- Frieze Art Fair
- Art Basel Hong Kong
- Primary market sales typically handled by Marian Goodman and White Cube
Representation
- Market control
- STRONG - Galleries maintain selective secondary market control, works rarely available outside gallery channels
- Gallery tier assessment
- TIER 1 - Represented by top international mega-galleries (Marian Goodman, White Cube) with global presence
Secondary market presence
Scroll horizontally if needed →
| Note | Gallery | Relationship | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenberg Rohatyn was early champion; 2001 solo show sold out before opening | Salon 94 | Early career support through gallerist Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn (major collector) | Not supplied |
| First commercial gallery representation; closed | The Project Gallery, Harlem | Not supplied | Early 2000s |
Geographic reach
- Availability status
- LIMITED - Major paintings rarely available; works on paper and prints more accessible through gallery channels and select auctions
Sources & research notes
Egon’s artist research combines historical auction records, recent sales, institutional history, critical reception and gallery information. Researched auction records and auction highlights are identified separately.
Read prices with their work, sale date, currency and stated basis. Egon’s market assessments are distinct from reported auction results.
Reference: Egon, “Julie Mehretu: Market Intelligence & Investment Profile.”
Research updates by section
These dates show when Egon’s research sections were updated. Source retrieval dates, where supplied above, refer to individual evidence notes.
Ranking updated . Research sections follow their own update dates.
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