Peter Doig
Blue-chip#19
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
9/10
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
1/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
1/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Value Drivers
- Early 1990s works (especially canoe series, concrete cabins, snowscapes); works with strong provenance; paintings from breakthrough exhibitions
- Works on Paper
- $10,000-$100,000+
- Prints Editioned
- $1,000-$70,000 depending on edition and subject
- Temporal Context
- Market has shown consistent upward trajectory since 2007; nine of top 10 prices achieved in last decade
- Paintings Mid Level
- $1M-$5M
- Paintings Major Works
- $5M-$40M for breakthrough period (1990-1996) canvases
- Liquidity
- Market Stability
- Mature market with consistent demand; weathered 2008 financial crisis and recent market corrections
- Auction Frequency
- Regular appearance at major auction houses
- Sell Through Rate
- 85% in recent sales (2025-2026 database)
- Primary Market
- Wife Gallery
- Parinaz Mogadassi runs Tramps Gallery in New York - supports but does not represent
- Gallery Status
- Left Michael Werner Gallery in 2023 after 23 years
- Pricing Access
- New works now primarily available through institutional exhibitions or direct from studio
- Recent Collaborations
- Collaborative projects with Gagosian (2024 exhibition 'The Street'), institutional shows direct from studio
- Current Representation
- Working independently without gallery representation as of 2023
- Auction History
- Major Sales
Work Date Price Venue Notes Rosedale (1991) May 2017 $28,800,000 Phillips New York Record at the time for living British artist Swamped (1990) 2015 $25,950,000 Christie's — Ski Jacket (1994) October 2025 $19,200,000 (£14.3M) Christie's London Exceeded estimate of £6-8M Gasthof zur Muldentalsperre (2000-02) 2014 $17,038,276 Christie's Now at Art Institute of Chicago The Pink Lake 2025 $15,800,000 Christie's — - Print Market
- Record Print
- Untitled, Ping Pong Player (monotype, 2011) - £170,000 at Christie's March 2018
- Market Trends
- 2024 print turnover £272,500, up from £109,273 in 2019; 63 lots in 2024 vs 39 in 2019; unsold rate improved to 21% from 30%
- Typical Range
- £1,000-£5,000
- Popular Series
- 100 Years Ago (£3,000-£15,000), Zermatt (£3,000-£6,000 individual, £20,000-£30,000 complete sets)
- Print Percentage
- 66% of auction work sold is prints
- Top Editioned Print
- Alpinist (D2-1A) edition of 25 - £70,000 at Christie's March 2025
- All Time Record
- Date
- November 2021
- Work
- Swamped (1990)
- Notes
- Work from canoe series, inspired by Friday the 13th film still
- Amount
- $39,862,500
- Auction House
- Christie's New York
- Recent Activity 2024 2025
Work Date Price Venue Performance Ski Jacket (1994) November 2025 $2,978,000 Sotheby's Exceeded high estimate Untitled December 2025 $23,220 Phillips Exceeded high estimate
- Market Position
- Status
- Blue-chip contemporary painter - consistently ranks among top-selling living artists
- Influence
- Described as inspiring 'post-Doig aesthetic' among emerging painters including Florian Krewer, Justin Caguiat, Arisa Yoshioka, Casey Bolding
- Market Depth
- Strong institutional and collector demand; consistent sell-through rates; 85% sell-through in recent auctions
- Collector Base
- Major collectors include César Reyes (psychiatrist, Puerto Rico - one of biggest collectors); Ole Faarup estate (1934-2025); international museum and private collections
- Peer Comparison
- Named alongside Jeff Koons, David Hockney, Jean-Michel Basquiat as most expensive living artists
- Investment Outlook
- Trend
- Continued institutional recognition (2025 Praemium Imperiale); major exhibitions ongoing; market remains strong despite broader art market corrections
- Strengths
- Museum validation across tier 1 institutions; historical auction records; sustained critical acclaim; scarcity from independent working model
- Considerations
- Lack of gallery representation changes primary market access; print market shows some volatility; works now come to market less frequently
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Upcoming Confirmed
- Dates
- Through February 8, 2026
- Notes
- Currently on view with live music programming
- Venue
- Serpentine South Gallery, London
- Exhibition
- Peter Doig: House of Music
- Major Solo Retrospectives
Title Dates Venue Significance Peter Doig Retrospective — — First large-scale career survey No Foreign Lands — — First major exhibition in home country Scotland Peter Doig — Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2014); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (2015) Major European touring exhibition Peter Doig February-May 2023 The Courtauld Gallery, London First contemporary artist at Courtauld since redevelopment; new works since return to London Peter Doig: Reflets du siècle Late 2023-2024 Musée d'Orsay, Paris Two exhibitions - own works plus curated selection from Orsay collection Peter Doig: House of Music October 10, 2025 - February 8, 2026 Serpentine Gallery, London Multi-sensory environment combining paintings with music via vintage cinema speakers; Sound Service program with Brian Eno, Dennis Bovell, Linton Kwesi Johnson - Selected Group Exhibitions
- Venice Biennale (2003, 2015)Whitney Biennial 'Day for Night' (2006)Carnegie International (2004)Documenta XI, Kassel (mentioned in German sources)The Triumph of Painting, Saatchi Gallery (2005)Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s-Now, Tate Britain (2021)
- Publications
- Major Monographs
- Peter Doig (Phaidon Contemporary Artists Series), 2007Peter Doig (Rizzoli Classics), 2017Peter Doig: Works on Paper, 2009
- Exhibition Catalogues
- Comprehensive catalogues for all major retrospectives including Tate Britain 2008, Fondation Beyeler 2014, Courtauld 2023
- Museum Collections
- Tier 1 Museums
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New YorkTate Modern, LondonTate Britain, LondonMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gifted monumental work 'Two Trees' 2017)Art Institute of Chicago (owns 'Gasthof zur Muldentalsperre')Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, ParisNational Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (owns 'Grande Riviere')British Museum, LondonWhitney Museum of American Art, New YorkSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.Philadelphia Museum of ArtDallas Museum of Art
- Collection Highlights
- 30 works identified in major museum databases; significant institutional buying 2000s-2020s
- International Collections
- Fondation Beyeler, BaselLouisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, DenmarkTel Aviv Museum of ArtBonnefanten Museum, MaastrichtPinakothek der Moderne, MunichMuseum Ludwig, CologneGoetz Collection, MunichVictoria & Albert Museum, LondonCleveland Museum of ArtSmithsonian Institution
- Awards and Recognition
Year Award 1991 Whitechapel Artist Prize 1993 John Moores Prize First Prize 1994 Turner Prize Nomination 2008 Wolfgang Hahn Prize 2017 Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Award 2025 Praemium Imperiale Prize for Painting
Career & Biography
- Career
- Education
- Foundation course, Wimbledon School of Art (1979-1980)BA Painting, St. Martin's School of Art (1980-1983)MA Painting, Chelsea School of Art (1989-1990)
- Studio Locations
- Trinidad: Caribbean Contemporary Arts Centre near Port of Spain (2002-2021)London: Current studio (2021-present)
- Career Milestones
- 1991: Won prestigious Whitechapel Artist Prize, solo exhibition at Whitechapel Art Gallery1993: Won first prize at John Moores exhibition with 'Blotter'1994: Nominated for Turner Prize1995-2000: Trustee of the Tate Gallery2007: White Canoe sold for $11.3M - then auction record for living European artist2008: Won Wolfgang Hahn Prize (€100,000), major retrospective at Tate Britain2017: Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Award2025: Praemium Imperiale Prize for Painting
- Key Relationships
- Close friend and collaborator with Chris Ofili (met at Chelsea School of Art)
- Wife: Parinaz Mogadassi (founder of Tramps Gallery)
- Collaborated with late poet Derek Walcott on print series
- Teaching Positions
- Professor at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany (from 2002)
- Identity
- Gender
- male
- Full Name
- Peter Doig
- Birth Date
- April 17, 1959
- Birth Place
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Nationality
- British (Scottish)
- Current Location
- London (returned 2021 after living in Trinidad 2002-2021)
- Artistic Context
- Key Quote
- I never try to create real spaces—only painted spaces
- Working Method
- Paints from photographs, postcards, film stills, and memory - what he calls painting 'by proxy'; works slowly with layers, scraping, and reworking; not photorealist despite photographic sources
- Itinerant Childhood
- Born Edinburgh; moved to Trinidad age 2-7; Montreal/Toronto age 7-17; Scottish boarding school ages 12-15; formative displacement and lack of belonging
- Biographical Influences
- Father was shipping merchant and amateur artist; great-aunt was professional artist; picked up drawing at age 17 working on gas drilling rig
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Scale
- Often large-scale canvases (many works 6-12 feet); also prolific in works on paper
- Palette
- Early work: more muted tones, blues, purples, greens; Post-Trinidad (2002+): increasingly bold, vibrant colors; characteristic unexpected color combinations
- Surface Quality
- Builds up then scrapes away paint; drips, cracks, and texture integral; can make oil look like watercolor
- Visual Characteristics
- Dreamlike, atmospheric, haunting landscapes; figures often dissolve upon close viewing; layered, complex surfaces; balance between figuration and abstraction
- Evolution
- Early 1980s
- Urban scenes, nightlife, sex and pop culture references; rapid brushwork, cartoony figures; exploring art history with humor (references to Courbet, etc.)
- Mid-late 1980s
- Shift to contemplative landscape; more limited palette; solitary mood emerges
- Late 1990s-2002
- Continued landscape exploration; some critics noted shift away from narrative elements
- 2002-2021 Trinidad
- Tropical subjects; richer colors; sound system culture; cemetery imagery; post-colonial themes; figures more prominent; Caribbean contemporary art engagement
- 1990-1996 Breakthrough
- Canonical period - concrete cabins, canoe series, Canadian snow scenes; complex layered surfaces; early masterpieces (Swamped, Blotter, Architect's Home in the Ravine, Rosedale)
- 2021-present Return to London
- New works shown at Courtauld 2023; continued Trinidad-influenced palette; music integration (House of Music exhibition 2025); recent works include Alpinist, Canal, Bather, lions and Rastafarian imagery
- Influences
- Historical Artists
- Edvard Munch - alienated figures, psychological intensityClaude Monet - Impressionist light and atmospherePierre Bonnard - kaleidoscopic colorPaul Gauguin - tropical subjects, flat areas of colorGustav Klimt - decorative surfaceCaspar David Friedrich - romantic landscapesHenri Matisse - color relationshipsEdward Hopper - isolation and atmosphereH.C. Westermann
- Non Visual Influences
- Film: Jean Cocteau's Orphée, Friday the 13th, film stills generally
- Music: Dub, reggae, calypso, post-punk, krautrock (Kraftwerk), Augustus Pablo, Lloyd Miller
- Literature: Derek Walcott poetry (subject of print series)
- Popular culture: record album covers, postcards, newspaper clippings, advertisements
- Contemporary Influences
- Gerhard Richter - approaches to photographic paintingSigmar Polke - 1960s Düsseldorf paintingMarsden Hartley, Max Beckmann, Helene Schjerfbeck (northern painting tradition)
- Visual Language
- Descriptors
- Uncanny, melancholic, nostalgic, mysterious, hallucinatory, dreamlike, timeless, ethereal, haunting
- Emotional Register
- Evocative of psychological states; beauty always possible but never guaranteed; sense of evanescence
- Viewing Experience
- Works register in phases like recalling a dream; images shimmer in and out of focus; heightened reality that tests truth of senses
- Themes and Subjects
- Recurring Motifs
- Canoes - solitary boats in eerie landscapes (inspired by Friday the 13th film still)Concrete cabins - modernist architecture partially obscured by natureSnow scenes - memories of Canadian childhoodTropical landscapes - Trinidad beaches, jungles, Caribbean lightLone figures - often isolated, mysterious, partially obscuredReflections in waterMusic and musicians - especially Trinidad sound system culture
- Conceptual Themes
- Memory and displacement - itinerant childhood creates sense of belonging nowhereTension between nature and built environmentTime - past merging with presentLiminal spaces - 'nowhere places' between locationsCinematic influence - frozen film stills transformedPost-colonial Caribbean identity (Trinidad works)
- Movements and Periods
- Associations
- Magic RealismNew European PaintingContemporary Figurative PaintingRomantic Landscape tradition (reimagined)
- Historical Positioning
- Operating against dominant conceptual art and YBA (Young British Artists) movement of 1990s; championed painting when it was unfashionable
- Techniques and Mediums
- Other Mediums
- Oil on linen (especially Trinidad works - uses unprimed linen)Distemper on linenWorks on paper: watercolor, etching, aquatintScreenprints, lithographs, digital prints (editions)
- Primary Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Technical Approach
- Projects photographs onto canvas as starting point (early lack of drawing skill); paints in layers; scraping and reworking; 'painting by proxy' - mediated through photographic sources
Critical Reception
- Cultural Impact
- Painting Revival
- Credited with reshaping discussion around painting in 1990s when medium was considered obsolete
- Broader Recognition
- Profile extends beyond art world; featured in Smithsonian Magazine (2008) article on painting revival
- Influence on Younger Artists
- Post-Doig aesthetic identified in emerging painters; former students include Florian Krewer
- Critical Reception
- Consensus
- Widely regarded as one of the most important and accomplished contemporary painters of his generation
- Critical Evolution
- Early 2000s: Some critics (Thad Ziolkowski) questioned if works were 'neither here nor there', lacking epiphany
- Mid-2000s onwards: Consensus solidified around importance to painting's revival
- 2010s-present: Established as defining figure who kept painting relevant during conceptual art dominance
- Scholarly Attention
- Subject of academic analysis; included in art history surveys; PhDdissertations on his work; essays by Richard Shiff and other prominent art historians
- Key Critics and Quotes
Critic Quote Summary Jonathan Jones (The Guardian) Called Doig 'a jewel of genuine imagination, sincere work and humble creativity' amid 21st century art world Barry Schwabsky (Artforum) — Iwona Blazwick (Whitechapel Gallery) Wolfgang Hahn Prize jury: 'Doig's painterly realism leads painting to unexplored territory' Sheena Wagstaff (Metropolitan Museum) Called Doig 'one of the most important figurative painters of our time'
- Publications and Media
- Media Coverage
- Consistently featured in major art publications; 2016 lawsuit (successfully defended against false attribution) generated significant press; record-breaking sales widely reported
- Major Publications
- Artforum (multiple reviews: Barry Schwabsky 2017, Jurriaan Benschop 2014, Anne Prentnieks 2015, Lisa Turvey 2009)The Guardian (Jonathan Jones extensive coverage)ARTnews (extensive market and exhibition coverage)The Art Newspaper (ongoing coverage including 2023 gallery departure)The Telegraph (Mark Hudson, Cal Revely-Calder reviews)The New Yorker (Calvin Tomkins 2017 profile)Vogue (exhibition features)Art ReviewFriezeJUXTAPOZ
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Current
- Limited fair presence due to independent working model; focus on institutional exhibitions
- Historical
- Regular presence at major fairs through Michael Werner Gallery representation
- Representation
- Current Status
- Independent - no gallery representation since 2023
- Earlier Galleries
- Gavin Brown's Enterprise (collaborated for exhibitions); Victoria Miro Gallery, London (1990s)
- Previous Representation
- Michael Werner Gallery, New York/London/Beverly Hills (2000-2023, 23 years)
- Market Strategy
- Post 2023 Model
- Working independently to ensure 'transparency in all dealings'; direct studio sales and institutional collaborations
- Institutional Focus
- Preference for museum exhibitions over commercial gallery shows; Courtauld, Orsay, Serpentine recent venues
- Gagosian Collaboration
- 2024 exhibition 'The Street' at Gagosian Madison Avenue - unique curatorial collaboration, not traditional representation
- Geographic Reach
- Primary Markets
- United Kingdom, United States, Europe
- Strong Presence
- London, New York, Germany (due to teaching position in Düsseldorf)
- Emerging Interest
- Asia (exhibitions at Faurschou Foundation Beijing 2017, National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo 2020)
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