Archibald John Motley Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Archibald John Motley Art Value Price Guide

Apr. 16, 2026
ARCHIBALD J. MOTLEY, JR. (1891-1981). After Fiesta, Remorse, Siesta. oil on
Est: $400,000 - $600,000
ARCHIBALD J. MOTLEY, JR. (1891-1981). After Fiesta, Remorse, Siesta. oil on canvas29 x 34 1/8 in. (73.7 x 86.7 cm.).
Christie's
Sep. 26, 2025
Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Kikuyu God of Fire
Est: $200,000 - $300,000
Archibald J. Motley, Jr. Kikuyu God of Fire 1927 oil on canvas 36.125 h x 44.125 w in (92 x 112 cm) Signed and dated to lower right 'A.J. Motley Jr. 1927'. Provenance: The Artist | Thence by descent to Judge Norma Y. Dotson | Private Collection, Chicago Exhibited: Exhibition of Paintings by Archibald John Motley, Jr., 25 February - 10 March 1928, New Gallery, New York | One-person exhibition, January 1933, Chicago Women's Club, Chicago | The African American Negro Exhibition, 1933, Knights of Pythias Temple, Chicago | Homage to Archibald J. Motley, Jr., February - March 1988, Your Heritage House, Incorporated, Detroit, 1988 | Three Masters: Eldzier Cortor, Hughie Lee-Smith, Archibald J. Motley, Jr., 22 May - 17 July 1988, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York | The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr., 23 October 1991 - 17 March 1992 (traveling exhibition) Literature: "Representing Race: Disjunctures in the Work of Archibald J. Motley, Jr.", Mooney, Museum Studies, The Art Institute of Chicago, vo. 24, no. 2, pg. 36, fig. 6 The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Robinson and Greenhouse, pg. 81 Homage to Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Hunter, unpaginated "The Art of Archibald John Motley, Jr.: A Notable Anniversary for a Pioneer", Robinson, Three Masters: Eldzier Cortor, Hughie Lee-Smith, Archibald John Motley, Jr., Kenekeleba Gallery exhibition catalog, unpaginated Archibald J. Motley, Jr.: American Artist of the Afro-American People 1891-1928, Woodall, no. 15 This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Dec. 04, 2024
MOTLEY JR., Archibald (American, 1891-1981. Two Panel Banner for the Chicago Historical Society Exhibition, “Archibald Motley Jr.”.
Est: $400 - $600
MOTLEY JR., Archibald (American, 1891-1981. Two Panel Banner for the Chicago Historical Society Exhibition, “Archibald Motley Jr.”. [1991-2]. A two-panel double-sided banner on canvas. Approximately 99 x 31” each. When put together they create a total visual work 99 x 62”. Fading and marks from exposure to the elements. One small tear at lower dowel rod loop. Good condition.
Potter & Potter Auctions Inc.
Jun. 26, 2024
MOTLEY JR., Archibald (American, 1891-1981. Two Panel Banne...
Est: $400 - $600
MOTLEY JR., Archibald (American, 1891-1981. Two Panel Banner for the Chicago Historical Society Exhibition, “Archibald Motley Jr.”. [1991-2]. A two-panel double-sided banner on canvas. Approximately 99 x 31” each. When put together they create a total visual work 99 x 62”. Fading and marks from exposure to the elements. Good condition.
Potter & Potter Auctions Inc.
May. 11, 2022
Archibald John Motley, Jr. American, 1891-1981 Be My Sweetheart
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Archibald John Motley, Jr. American, 1891-1981 Be My Sweetheart Signed A.J. Motley, Jr (lr) Oil on canvas 14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm) Provenance: The Estate of Kathleen Nagel Thence by descent C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jan. 25, 2020
Motley, Archibald J. (American, 1891–1981). The Art of Archibald Motley Jr. Street Light Pole Banners.
Est: $200 - $300
Motley, Archibald J. (American, 1891–1981). The Art of Archibald Motley Jr. Street Light Pole Banners. Chicago, 1991/1992. Pair of canvas banners advertising the art exhibition of Motley Jr. at the Chicago Historical Society. 98 ½ x 33”. Scattered creasing to image with occasional weathering.
Potter & Potter Auctions Inc.
Oct. 21, 2018
ARCHIBALD JOHN MOTLEY JR - "NIGHT LIFE"
Est: $25 - $50
ARCHIBALD JOHN MOTLEY JR - "NIGHT LIFE", 1943
Bruce Teleky Inc.
Oct. 15, 2016
Archibald Motley Jr., (American; 1891 - 1981), still life, oil on canvasboard (manufactured in Chicago), 24" x 18".
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Archibald Motley Jr. (American; 1891 - 1981) still life oil on canvasboard (manufactured in Chicago) c. 1915-1920 signed verso (see detail image for handwriting example) housed in original frame made by fellow Art Institute of Chicago student, Joseph Tomanek. This is most likely a student work executed while Motley was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago between 1915 and 1920. The photograph may have been taken in Tomanek's studio in 1921. Motley is holding the umbrella in back, and Tomanek is most likely holding the violin at the far left (he was a prize-winning fiddler who had carved his own instrument). ' While at the Art Institute, Motley became very close friends with two other students: Russian born William Schwartz and Czechoslovakian born Joseph Tomanek. Known as 'The Big Three', the young art students were very supportive of each other, and they often worked together on weekends and holidays at Tomanek's studio. Tomanek made frames for Motley's paintings and encouraged him to submit his Portrait of My Mother to the annual exhibition of Chicago area artists when Motley's own confidence in his work flagged. (The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Jontyle Theresa Robinson and Wendy Greenhouse, p. 5). 24" x 18".
Ripley Auctions
Jun. 06, 2015
Archibald Motley Jr., (American, 1891-1981), Guanajuato, Mexico, 1957, oil on canvas, 9" x 12"
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Archibald Motley Jr. (American, 1891-1981) Guanajuato, Mexico, 1957 oil on canvas signed and dated 9" x 12" Exhibitions: The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr. Originating from The Chicago Historical Society (Oct 23, 1991-Mar 17, 1992) and traveling to the Studio Museum of Harlem (NYC), High Museum (Atlanta), and the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, DC). Illustrated in accompanying catalog, p. 136. Other Notes: Archibald Motley, Jr. was born in New Orleans and raised in Chicago. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and exhibited there in the early 1920s. He became the second African American artist to have a solo exhibition of his work in New York City in 1928, at the New Galleries. He won the Harmon Foundation Gold Medal the same year for his portrait, Octaroon Girl. He traveled to Paris on a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1929. He worked for the WPA Easel Division in Chicago and was active at the Southside Community Art Center in the 1940s. Following his wife's death in 1945, Motley was forced to give up painting and take a job at Styletone, Inc., a company that made hand-painted shower curtains, in order to support his mother and son. He worked there for eight years, from 1949-1957. Motley visited his nephew, Willard, an acclaimed novelist, in Mexico twice in the 1950s, the first time from 1953-1954, and again in 1957, after being laid off from his job at Styletone, Inc. Most of his time in Mexico was spent in Cuernavaca, which is just south of Mexico City, and Guanajuato state, which is northwest of the city. In the catalog entry for the painting in The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr., it states: 'Motley's small views of places he visited in Mexico were his first work in the genre of landscape painting since his images of Arkansas scenery painted in 1928. Closely based on tinted postcards of the sites, Motley's Mexican landscapes are themselves like postcards recording the artist's nostalgic memory of his Mexican sojourn…Motley worked in bright pastel colors and daytime effects inspired by Mexico's bright natural light and the sunny hues of its architecture.' Motley's work is featured in an exhibition currently at the Chicago Cultural Center: Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist (this exhibition originated at the Nasher Museum at Duke University, then traveled to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and will go on to the Whitney Museum of American Art when it leaves Chicago on August 31st)
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Apr. 24, 2010
Archibald Motley Jr., Creole woman, O/C
Est: $10,000 - $20,000
Archibald Motley Jr. (1891-1981), Creole woman, o/c, 1933, 22" x 25", 26" x 29" framed, signed and dated.
Kaminski Auctions
Mar. 06, 2008
Archibald John Motley 1891-1980 , Portrait of a woman with red scarf oil on canvas
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
signed A.J. Motley Jr. and dated 1933, l.l. oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Sep. 19, 2005
Archibald J. Motley, Jr., (American, 1891-1981), Guanajuato, Mexico
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Archibald J. Motley, Jr. (American, 1891-1981) Guanajuato, Mexico oil on canvas signed "Motley, 57" (lower left) 9 x 12 inches.
Hindman