Jean Dubuffet Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Les Grandes Artères (1961), achieved Dubuffet's current auction record when it sold at Christie's New York in November 2016. This large canvas, measuring almost 1.5 metres in width, exemplifies Dubuffet's celebrated Paris Circus series, which marked his return to vibrant colour after years of working in monochromatic palettes. Its title translates to “The Main Arteries,” referring to the bustling, colourful streets at the heart of Paris, while the organic shapes and colours of the piece seem to reference the tissues of a human body. People and vehicles circulate around the city like blood, life, and energy. The names of places and shops add to the sense of chaos and excitement, as does the rich texture of the impasto-covered surface. Its exceptional performance at auction underscores the market's appreciation for Dubuffet's most visually dynamic period.

Paris Polka (1961) secured this impressive result at Christie's London in May 2015. Another standout example from the Paris Circus series, this large-scale work, measuring almost 2 square metres, captures the rhythm and chaos of city life through vibrant patterns that resemble musical notes or dance steps, as suggested by its title. The work's bright palette, busy linework, and dynamic composition reflect Dubuffet's fascination with the vitality of urban environments. Created during a pivotal period in Dubuffet's career when his reputation was solidifying, particularly after his 1961 exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the painting exemplifies his mature style that had fully embraced the primitive aesthetic he championed through the Art Brut movement.

Être Et Paraître (1963), “To Be And To Seem,” achieved this significant result at Christie's London in March 2017. The philosophical title reflects Dubuffet's ongoing interest in the tensions between appearance and reality, a theme that permeated much of his work. The work features Dubuffet's characteristic jumble of abstract forms and figures that blend with their surroundings, creating a visual puzzle that offers glimpses of discernible faces and objects. The painting was created during Dubuffet's transition from the Paris Circus series to his Hourloupe cycle, and therefore shows elements of both in its complex interplay of patterns and forms. The piece had not been widely exhibited, moving between private collections in Paris, London, Basel, and Chicago before its sale in 2017.

Another 1961 masterpiece, Cérémonie (1961) sold at Christie's London in June 2019. The colour palette, darker than many Paris Circus works, and abstract figures evoke ritualistic themes, suggesting a gathering or procession. It is simultaneously chaotic and harmonious, reflecting his philosophical belief that authentic art should arise from intuitive impulses rather than academic training or conventional aesthetics. The painting's mysterious, almost ceremonial quality exemplifies Dubuffet's interest in cultural rituals and social interactions - like the unclear subject of the painting, Dubuffet believed society behaved in an irrational, unpredictable way. In the 10 years after its creation, it was exhibited in Paris, at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, and at the Musée des Beaux-Arts Montreal as part of a show titled The Common Man.

Painted one year after Dubuffet coined the term ‘Art Brut,’ La Cavalière Au Diamant (1946) achieved this impressive result at Sotheby's London in March 2021. This whimsical piece, “The Dancing Partner With Diamonds,” showcases Dubuffet's use of mixed media to create textured surfaces that challenge traditional portraiture conventions. Sand, glass, and plaster are all incorporated into the paint. The figures appear both abstract and anthropomorphic, blending human traits with imaginative forms in a brutalist, almost aggressive style. The title adds an element of intrigue, inviting viewers to interpret the "diamond" as a metaphor for hidden value or brilliance within unconventional beauty, a core tenet of Dubuffet's artistic philosophy that celebrated raw expression over refined aesthetics. The painting’s success in 2021 is in part due to its provenance, having been originally gifted by Dubuffet to René Guiette, sold privately once, and then retained in a family collection.

Pourlèche Fiston (1963) sold at Christie's Paris in July 2020. The piece was created during Dubuffet’s transition from the Paris Circus series to his Hourloupe cycle. While retaining the pink and purple palette of the former, it introduces the cellular patterning that would define the latter, before he restricted himself to the primary colours that would dominate the remainder of the Hourloupe series. The title roughly translates to "Lick Son," adding a playful, surreal, and somewhat menacing element to the composition. The painting exemplifies Dubuffet's interest in creating densely packed compositions that flatten perspective and create a sense of frenetic energy, reflecting his view that conventional spatial representation was too limiting. It remained in Dubuffet’s own collection until being gifted to the Jacques Berne Collection in 1970, in which it remained until 2020. It has a rich exhibition history, including Musée des Beaux-Arts André Malraux in Le Havre, where Dubuffet grew up, in 2011-12.

Visiteur Au Chapeau Bleu (1955) achieved this result at Sotheby's Paris in October 2024, making it the most recent sale on this list. The painting features two figures, one wearing a blue hat, and the other greeting him outside his house - hence the work’s title, “Visitor With Blue Hat.” It was created during a period when Dubuffet was exploring more textural approaches to painting, and demonstrates his technique of building up surfaces with unconventional materials and scraping some paint away. In 2016, the work sold out of the Leslie Waddington Collection at Christie’s London for £4,150,000, making its 2024 sale a significant return on investment.

Les Versatiles (1964) sold at Christie's London in October 2017. This piece is part of Dubuffet's Hourloupe cycle (1962-1974), characterised by interlocking shapes and repetitive, almost meditative, mark-making. The title suggests adaptability and inconsistency, qualities that are both paradoxically appropriate for Dubuffet’s signature puzzle-like cellular forms. Interestingly, the Hourloupe series originated from doodles Dubuffet made during telephone conversations, demonstrating his ability to transform casual sketches into works of art. The piece was sold out of the Jean-François and Marie-Aline Prat Collection, where it had been kept since 2003.

Francis Ponge Jubilation (1947) achieved this result at Sotheby's Paris in October 2024. As the title suggests, this early Art Brut work pays homage to the French poet Francis Ponge, known for his prose poems celebrating everyday objects. The textured surface reflects Dubuffet's post-war experimentation with materials like plaster and whitewash, creating a raw, tactile, and primitive aesthetic - almost like a cave painting. The exaggeratedly round portrait resembles some of the artwork by schizophrenic patients examined in Hans Pinzhorn’s Artistry of the Mentally Ill (1922). The book greatly inspired Dubuffet’s definition of Art Brut, which particularly celebrated the works of children, prisoners, and the mentally ill, who exist beyond the rules of society. The playful yet grotesque figure embodies Dubuffet's rejection of traditional beauty standards and his embrace of primal expression, principles that laid the foundations of the Art Brut movement that was officially founded a year later in 1948.

The only work on this list from Dubuffet’s Théâtres De Mémoire series (1975-79), Le Tissu Social (1977) sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2015. The series explores the concept of memory as fragmented and layered, depicting its complexity as broken and dream-like scenes. Many works, like this one, incorporate collage to exaggerate their central theme. The title translates to "The Social Fabric," eluding specifically to the man-made societal structures that dictate the nature of human relationships. Its figures, each contained in a box with no more than two others, are at once crowded and isolated, reflecting Dubuffet’s career-long fascination with modern life’s juxtaposition of urban chaos with alienation.