Rating and value of works, drawings, paintings by Anne Vallayer-Coster

If you own a work by or about the artist Anne Vallayer-Coster, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we'll guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Cote et valeur de l'artiste Anne Vallayer-Coster

Anne Vallayer-Coster is a well-known still-life artist. Today, the prices of her works are rising under the auctioneer's hammer. Her oils on canvas are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €1,335 to €2,100,000, a significant delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works. In 2023, his oil on canvas Nature morte au vase d'albâtre rempli de fleurs avec sur une table plusieurs espèces de fruits comme ananas, pêche, raisin sold for €2,100,000, whereas it was estimated at between €60,000 and €1,000,000. Its value has risen sharply.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique Anne Vallayer-Coster   

Anne Vallayer-Coster mainly paints oils on canvas, following the Rococo trend and producing mostly still lifes, particularly of flowers. She does few portraits.  

Artist's style and technique Anne Vallayer-Coster   

Anne Vallayer-Coster mainly paints oils on canvas, following the Rococo trend and producing mostly still lifes, particularly of flowers. She does few portraits.   

Anne Vallayer-Coster, head of the painting cabinet of the French Queen Marie-Antoinette

Anne Vallayer-Coster was born in Paris in 1744. Her father, a goldsmith working for the Hôtel Royal des Gobelins, passed on to her a taste for art and a certain refinement. During her childhood, she spent a great deal of time at the Royal Manufactory, where she was introduced to tapestry, and many of her still lifes were inspired by cartoons and hangings created at the Royal Manufactory. She was trained in painting and in the technical aspects of perspective and drawing by her father, but also probably by the painter Françoise Basseporte, who was in charge of drawing the medicinal plants for the Jardin Royal, and by the painter of marine paintings Claude Joseph Vernet. She had no patron until the age of 26, when she submitted two still lifes to the Académie Royale as reception pieces. She was unanimously elected in 1770.

The following year, several of his paintings were exhibited at the Salon. Diderot praised her exhibition. In 1775, she presented her first still life of flowers to the public, and thanks to this, Queen Marie-Antoinette offered her patronage. Thanks to her patronage, she was given her own space in the Louvre. Shortly afterwards, she marries a lawyer at the Versailles parliament, and the Queen signs her marriage contract as a witness, granting her the title of noblesse de robe (close to noblesse d'épée). A strong bond developed between the two women, and Anne Vallayer-Coster became the Queen's appointed drawing teacher and head of her painting studio.

After 1789, with the Ancien Régime no longer in power, Vallayer-Coster lost his financial and social support. Empress Josephine bought some of his paintings, but his reputation suffered.

She continued to produce, notably at the Manufacture Royale des Gobelins, and to exhibit at the Salon. She donates her painting Nature morte aux homards (Still life with lobsters) to King Louis XVIII, which some critics and experts describe as the " synthesis of her career ", to reaffirm her support for the House of Bourbons.

She died in Paris at the age of 73, having produced over 120 oil paintings.

The legacy of Anne Vallayer-Coster

Vallayer-Coster left her mark on the academic art of the 18th century, and is today a relatively unknown but much sought-after artist, famous for her contribution to the Académie Royale and to genre painting and portraiture at the end of the Ancien Régime.

A counter-example to the collective imagination of the female painter in the 18th century, Vallayer-Coster made her mark at the Académie Royale and became a professor to the Queen very early in her career, without any debate whatsoever.

His works are quite rare at auction, and could therefore fetch unprecedented sums.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Anne Vallayer-Coster does not necessarily sign her works. Copies may exist, which is why expertise remains important.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Anne Vallayer-Coster , don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using the form on our website. A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it. If you're thinking of selling your work, our specialists will also be on hand to offer you alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market trends.