Salman Toor
Blue-chip#56
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
8/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
9/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
8/10
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
- 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.
- Auction History
- 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
- Exhibitions
- Whitney Museum of American Art - 'How Will I Know' (2020-2021) - Solo60th 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 YorkWhitney Museum of American Art, New York (4 works)Tate, LondonModerna Museet, StockholmPinault Collection, ParisWalker Art Center, MinneapolisBaltimore Museum of ArtHigh Museum of Art, AtlantaDallas Museum of ArtM WOODS, BeijingCourtauld Gallery, LondonThe Morgan Library and Museum, New YorkRISD Museum, ProvidenceMuseu de Arte de São Paulo
- Awards and Recognition
- Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2019)TIME Magazine 100 Next emerging leaders list (2021)
Career & Biography
- Career
- Whitney Museum solo exhibition 'How Will I Know' (2020-2021) - career breakthroughVenice 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
- Style
- Influences
- CaravaggioWatteauVan DyckRubensPakistani painters: Colin David, Bhupen Khakhar, Amrita Sher-Gil
- Themes and Subjects
- Queer South Asian male experienceImmigration and diaspora identityIntimacy and vulnerabilityTechnology in contemporary lifeCultural code-switching
- Techniques and Mediums
- Academic painting technique with sketch-like immediacy, thick impasto, distinctive brushwork
Critical Reception
- 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
- 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)
This is what the market knows about Salman Toor. What Egon can also tell you: whether Salman Toor fits your portfolio — based on your existing holdings, budget, and investment timeline.
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