How Much Is Portrait of Félix Fénéon Worth?

Opus 217 is not just a key work by Signac; it is one of the emblematic images of Neo‑Impressionism. Painted in 1890 at the height of Divisionist experimentation, it synthesizes the movement’s optical theories with a dazzling, abstracted decorative field that has made it a staple of art‑historical surveys. The sitter, Félix Fénéon, was a pivotal critic and promoter of the avant‑garde, making the portrait an image about modernity’s very networks of influence. This dual significance—formal innovation and the iconicity of the subject—places the work in a category apart from Signac’s already desirable marines. As a result, it anchors scholarship and museum displays, supporting a premium valuation commensurate with its canonical status.

Collectors prize Signac for shimmering harbors, ports, and Venice views. By contrast, fully resolved, major portraits by Signac from this period are exceptionally scarce. The combination of a finished, large‑format portrait; the swirling, polychromatic background that is unique in his oeuvre; and the depiction of a historically important sitter creates a form of rarity that cannot be substituted by even the best harbor scenes. This scarcity boosts competition across collecting categories—drawing not only Signac specialists but also buyers of iconic, museum‑level Post‑Impressionist works—thereby justifying an uplift above the price levels fetched by marine subjects, including the artist’s 2022 auction record.

The painting’s long association with top‑tier collections (notably the David and Peggy Rockefeller collection) and its status as a highlight of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, significantly elevate its cultural cachet. MoMA ownership signifies curatorial consensus about the work’s masterwork standing and ensures consistent global exposure. While such institutional status makes a sale improbable, it amplifies the hypothetical demand and perceived irreplaceability that insurers and trophy‑level buyers price in. Works with this level of visibility and scholarly anchoring typically command a meaningful premium relative to otherwise comparable market examples, especially when they are the definitive image of an artist’s contribution to a movement.

Signac’s auction ceiling is $39.32 million for a prime 1891 marine, with additional major results in the $10–26 million range. Those sales confirm robust demand for top‑period oils at canonical sizes. However, no other work offers a direct substitute for the Fénéon portrait’s combination of fame, subject, and pictorial fireworks. That lack of substitution, together with cross‑category appeal to Post‑Impressionist trophy buyers, supports a range materially above the record. The medium and scale align with what the market values most; the only moderating consideration is that Signac, as a market tier, prices below Seurat. Our $45–75 million band reflects this balance of strong market anchors and unique, non‑replicable attributes.