Salman Toor
GrowthEgon research · Artist market profile
The market, in context.
Explore Salman Toor’s auction history alongside the exhibitions, collections and gallery relationships behind the market.
Institutional research
Collections & exhibitions
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Egon investment scores
Market position
Research updated
Recent auction highlight
A result from Egon’s tracked auction sales; historical auction records are researched separately. Price including buyer’s premium.
- Liquidity
- High liquidity for works from 2018-2020 period. Strong institutional and collector demand. Works regularly appear at major auction houses.
Comparables
Positioned alongside contemporaries Doron Langberg, Louis Fratino, Anthony Cudahy in the 'New Queer Intimists' category. Market performance comparable to Flora Yukhnovich, Amoako Boafo, and other rising figurative painters.
Collector base
Strong international interest from US, Europe, and Asian collectors. Notable collector Christie Zhou acquired 'Four Friends' before its record sale. Primary demand from New York, London, Hong Kong. Strong bidding from Asian collectors noted at multiple sales.
Primary market
Represented by Luhring Augustine (New York) and Thomas Dane Gallery (London). Primary market prices not publicly disclosed but estimated in six-figure range for major paintings.
Market position
Strong upward trajectory from 2020-2022, with record-setting results. Market showing signs of increased selectivity in 2024-2025 with some works selling at or near estimates rather than multiples above.
Institutional presence
Research updated
Exhibitions
- Whitney Museum of American Art - 'How Will I Know' (2020-2021) - Solo
- 60th Venice Biennale - 'Stranieri Ovunque - Foreigners Everywhere' (2024)
- Baltimore Museum of Art - 'No Ordinary Love' (2022), traveled to Tampa, Honolulu, Rose Art Museum (2023-2024)
- M WOODS, Beijing - 'New Paintings and Drawings' (2023-2024)
- Tate Modern - 'Capturing the Moment' (2023-2024)
- Frick Collection - 'Living Histories: Queer Views and Old Masters' (2021-2022)
- Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection, Paris (2024)
- Venice Biennale (2024)
- 16th Biennale d'Art Contemporain Lyon (2022-2023)
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India (2016)
- Lahore Biennale (2018)
Museum collections
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (4 works)
- Tate, London
- Moderna Museet, Stockholm
- Pinault Collection, Paris
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- High Museum of Art, Atlanta
- Dallas Museum of Art
- M WOODS, Beijing
- Courtauld Gallery, London
- The Morgan Library and Museum, New York
- RISD Museum, Providence
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo
Awards and recognition
- Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2019)
- TIME Magazine 100 Next emerging leaders list (2021)
Career & Biography
Research updated
Career
- Whitney Museum solo exhibition 'How Will I Know' (2020-2021) - career breakthrough
- Venice Biennale participation (2024)
- Baltimore Museum traveling solo show (2022-2024)
- Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant recipient (2019)
- Part of 'New Queer Intimists' movement
Identity
- Current location
- New York City, USA
- Artistic context
- Explores vulnerability within contemporary public and private life and the notion of community in the context of queer, diasporic identity
Artistic Profile
Research updated
Influences
- Caravaggio
- Watteau
- Van Dyck
- Rubens
- Pakistani painters: Colin David, Bhupen Khakhar, Amrita Sher-Gil
Themes and subjects
- Queer South Asian male experience
- Immigration and diaspora identity
- Intimacy and vulnerability
- Technology in contemporary life
- Cultural code-switching
- Techniques and mediums
- Academic painting technique with sketch-like immediacy, thick impasto, distinctive brushwork
Critical Reception
Research updated
Critical reception
- Critical consensus
- Universally acclaimed for bringing underrepresented queer brown male experience into art historical canon
- Institutional validation
- Strong curatorial support from major museums including Whitney, Baltimore Museum, Tate
Publications and media
Major publications
- The New York Times - Roberta Smith: 'Salman Toor, a Painter at Home in Two Worlds' (2020)
- The New Yorker - Calvin Tomkins: 'How Salman Toor Left the Old Masters Behind' (2022)
- Artforum - Review coverage
- Financial Times - 'How Salman Toor Became the Art Name to Know' (2023)
- W Magazine - Arthur Lubow: 'Changing the Perspective' (2021)
Gallery & Representation
Research updated
- Fair presence
- Regular participation through gallery representation at major fairs
Representation
Previous galleries
- Aicon Gallery, New York (earlier career)
Major gallery exhibitions
- Luhring Augustine - 'Wish Maker' (May-July 2025) - Two-venue show, first solo with gallery
- Aicon Gallery - 'Time After Time' (2018)
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, “Salman Toor: 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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