Rating and value of paintings by Mai Thu

If you own a work of art by or after Mai Thu, 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 value on the current market. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we'll guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value Mai Thu

The artist Mai Thu has left behind a distinctive body of work, composed mainly of drawings and paintings. He is French-Vietnamese. Today, the prices of his works are rising under the auctioneer's hammer. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €40 to €2,148,900, a significant gap but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to Mai Thu's works. He is especially prized by buyers from Hong Kong, Vietnam and France. In 2021, an oil on canvas entitled Portrait de Mademoiselle Phuong sold for €2,148,900, whereas it was estimated at between €805,840 and €999,240. His value has exploded in recent years.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Artist Mai Thu's style and technique   

Mai Thu is a versatile artist who uses ink drawing extensively, as well as oil on canvas and silk painting. He has concentrated his career on portraits of women, which are the reason for his success.

The life of Mai Thu

Mai Thu is a Vietnamese painter born in 1906. His father was a high-ranking dignitary of the Court of Hué. He studied at the Lycée Français in Hanoi and was part of the first graduating class of the city's Ecole des Beaux-Arts. On graduating, he became a drawing teacher at Hué high school.

In Vietnam, he rubbed shoulders with painters Vu Cao Dam and Le Pho, with whom he traveled to Paris for the 1937 Decorative Arts Exhibition. His success was fairly immediate, as the public at the time was quite partial to Far Eastern painting.

He works with UNICEF to contribute to peace and independence in Vietnam. To this end, he filmed President Ho Chi Minh during his visit to France. He consistently refuses to work with American galleries after taking such a stance, but abandons his partnership with UNICEF, even though the organization has enabled him to achieve a certain notoriety.

His work is imbued with traditional Vietnamese music, which he plays himself and whose performers he depicts on his canvases. Over the course of his career, he developed his own compositional technique: pongee on silk, in which gouache is rubbed onto the silk.

Mai The's imprint on its period

Mai Thu was not a well-known artist in his day, but he was noticed by critics during his lifetime. His work blends Eastern and Western influences, which today is highly appreciated by the art market. Today, most of his works are held by private collectors.

Today, the artist stands out on the international auction scene, and in recent years his works have fetched record sums.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Mai Thu usually signs her works in French and Chinese, and marks her watercolors with a seal. However, it is essential to have your work appraised to be sure of its originality. There are, of course, many copies.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Mai Thu, 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 wish to sell your work of art, our specialists will also be on hand to offer you alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market trends.