Public sale records, not an appraisal

How much is Whistler's Mother worth?

Whistler's Mother is not for sale: it is held by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, so it has no market price. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1871
Medium: Oil on canvas
Held by: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Own a print or copy of Whistler's Mother?

Most copies of Whistler's Mother in homes are prints, posters or hand-painted copies. They sell as decorative pieces, not as Whistler's work. These are the resale ranges Art Scanner's value estimate starts from.

Poster or unframed print$5–$60

Framed decorative or museum-shop print$40–$250

Large framed archival print$150–$800

Hand-painted copy$100–$800

An oil copy painted by hand, often sold as decor

Resale value in US dollars on a log scale: what copies actually sell for second-hand, not retail.

Dots under a magnifier

A regular grid of tiny coloured dots means a print, however old the frame looks.

Strokes that match the picture

Raised brushstrokes that follow the image mean a hand-painted copy. A few strokes over a flat print are added texture.

Labels on the back

Publisher, framer or gallery labels often say exactly what it is and when it was made.

Step by step: how to tell if a painting is valuable. Or scan it with Art Scanner: it checks original or print from the photo and gives a value range for the object you own.

About the painting

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, best known under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother or Portrait of Artist's Mother, is a painting in oils on canvas created by the American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. The subject of the painting is Whistler's mother, Anna McNeill Whistler. The painting is 56.81 by 63.94 inches, displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design. It is held by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, having been bought by the French state in 1891. It is one of the most famous works by an American artist outside the United States. It has been variously described as an American icon and a Victorian Mona Lisa.

Why it has no price

Whistler's Mother is held by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Works in public collections are not sold, so no one can put a market price on them. Sale records of other works by the same artist are the closest guide to what it would fetch.

Scan it, see the price tag

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Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag — The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M, Musée du Louvre, 1962

Questions

How much is Whistler's Mother worth?

Whistler's Mother is not for sale: it is held by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, so it has no market price. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

How much is a print of Whistler's Mother worth?

Most prints and posters of Whistler's Mother sell for $5–$250, with framed ones at the top of that range, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800. They are priced as decorative pieces, not as Whistler's work.

Is Whistler's Mother for sale?

No. It is held by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Works in public collections are not sold, so they have no market price.

Where is Whistler's Mother?

Whistler's Mother (1871, oil on canvas) is held by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.