Realised prices for Modern & Contemporary Prints reflect the growth in demand for this hugely popular art form, which is engaging new audiences in art collecting due to affordability and accessibility. At Sworders, prints are typically consigned to our Modern & Contemporary Art auctions, held six times a year, but also a feature in our Design and Out of the Ordinary sales.
Leading the category are works by celebrated British artists including David Hockney, Henry Moore, Patrick Hughes, Grayson Perry, Elizabeth Frink, and Bridget Riley with notable recent successes for two of Riley’s signature black and white screenprints from her 1965 ‘Fragments’ series achieving £39,000 and £31,850 respectively in April 2021.
The sales also showcase the works of leading international printmakers such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Yayoi Kusama, and Yoshitomo Nara and offer a dynamic range of artforms from engravings and lithographs to large format screenprints, and photography to special edition sculptures.
Urban art is perhaps one of the most vibrant genres to emerge in the auction market, with artists such as Ben Eine, Charming Baker, KAWS, and Invader achieving strong results at Sworders.
If you would like to discuss the consignment of an individual work or an entire collection or would like information about a forthcoming sale, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our specialist team.
Our specialists hold regular valuation days. Please contact us for more information, or complete the online form to enquire about the valuation of your items.
Bryn Sayles
Modern & Contemporary Art | Senior Valuer, Business Development
T: 01279 817778
E: brynsayles@sworder.co.uk
Want to know how much your Modern & Contemporary Prints may be worth? Fill out our easy to use form and a member of the team will be in touch with free advice shortly.
Here, close friend, art historian and former Senior Curator of Modern British Art at Tate, Andrew Wilson, offers an insight into James Birch’s remarkable collection and the extraordinary life behind it. Having known James since the late 1980s, Andrew has witnessed first-hand his restless curiosity, his friendships with artists and his instinct for the unusual.
15 September 2026
Art dealer, curator, gallerist and author James Birch has spent more than four decades championing artists and staging groundbreaking exhibitions. This October, approximately 300 works from his private collection come to auction at Sworders, tracing a remarkable career from the King’s Road to Moscow and beyond.
Day One of our autumn Modern & Contemporary Art auction will be celebrate The James Birch Collection, offering bidders an exciting opportunity to purchase works from Birch's private collection.
27 August 2026
