May Stevens Paintings & Artwork for Sale | May Stevens Art Value Price Guide

Mar. 11, 2026
May Stevens, American (1924-2019), Big Daddy with Hats, 1971, serigraph, 23"H x 22 1/4"W
Est: $200 - $400
May Stevens American, (1924-2019) Big Daddy with Hats, 1971 serigraph Pencil signed and numbered 18/100 lower left. Biography from the Archives of askART: Feminist* artist, poet, and writer May Stevens was born in 1924 in Quincy, Massachusetts. She became a painter of large-scale acrylic canvases that express her view on a variety of social issues, especially those dealing with racism and women's roles in society. Many of her works have symbolic figures "painted in a kind of brilliant hued, post-Pop realism." (Rubinstein 399). One of these figures, Big Daddy, is depicted with a bullet, phallic-shaped head and no shirt and is intended to represent imperialism, racism, and sexism. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, her artwork seemed generally perceived by critics as propaganda, which in that era was not popular, and some critics described her symbolic figures demeaningly as caricatures. However, as women's issues and racial matters came increasingly to the fore of public thinking, her work has gained in popular appeal. In the 1950s and 1960s, her work involved racial themes and the civil rights movement, including freedom riders and Malcolm X in his casket. In the 1970s, her emphasis moved to feminism, and she often used photographs of her family in the creation of paintings, photo-montages and murals. In Ordinary/Extraordinary, Stevens contrasts her mother with the revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg, and this juxtaposition was similar to what she had done in the 1960s with her father and the issues of racism. Stevens focus on these issues resulted from her childhood with a mother whom she perceived to be highly repressed by poverty and expectations in a male-dominated society. Her father was a shipyard worker whom she resented because of his bigotry and racism, especially his beliefs in Germanic superiority. Stevens studied in Boston at the Massachusetts College of Art in 1946 and in New York City at the Art Students League* in 1948. She married artist Rudolf Baranik, and the couple went to Paris where he was studying on a G.I. Bill. She studied briefly at the Academy Julian* but quit with the burden of her pregnancy. However, she continued painting and exhibited her work at the Galerie Huit. She received favorable reviews, although a frequent theme of critics toward her work was their distaste for political subjects. Returning to New York City in 1951, she taught for five years at the High School of Music and Art, and then taught in various places such as the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design*, while painting and working on exhibitions. She also founded the feminist journal, Heresies. Her first New York City exhibition was in 1955 at the Galerie Moderne, after a show in 1951 in Paris. She also showed at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, and the Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, Germany; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sao Paolo, Brazil; Indochina Arts Project; and the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, among many others. She received a New York State Council on the Arts Creative Public Service Award in graphics in 1974; a painting grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983; and a painting fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation* in 1986. May Stevens' works are in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Brooklyn Museum, New York City, among others. Sources: Jules and Nancy Heller, North American Women Artists of the 20th Century Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein, American Women Artists
Ripley Auctions
Jan. 13, 2026
May Stevens (American, 1924-2019) "Big Daddy" Serigraph
Est: $200 - $500
May Stevens (American, 1924-2019) "Big Daddy" Serigraph 1970, USA A serigraph by May Stevens (American, b. 1924 d. 2019) titled "Big Daddy". Signed by artist in lower right corner and dated '70, marked edition 90/115 in bottom left. Frame marked on back with "Joy Rubins Art Emporium" label, indicating the following: Title: "Big Daddy" Artist: May Stevens Medium: Serigraph Gallery No. 1649 Chrome frame.
Akiba Galleries
May. 16, 2025
MAY STEVENS (1924-2019) 'BIG DADDY' SERIES PAINTING, 'MAN HIDING BEHIND FLAG'
Est: $100 - $200
Framed gouache painting with ink drawing and inscriptions on paper, "Man Hiding Behind Flag/ National Security Security Blanket," signed lower left May Stevens (Massachusetts, New York, 1924-2019), titled upper left, dated August 1973, from the "Big Daddy" series, inscribed by the artist at right side "To Carol Rabel, remembering Syracuse April 1975, May Stevens," sheet: approx 5.5"h, 8.25"w, sight: approx 7.5"h, 9.5"w, overall: approx 8.25"h, 10.25"w, 2lbs **Note: May Stevens (Massachusetts, New York, 1924-2019) was an influential feminist artist, political activist, educator, and author, whose work was often divided into thematic series. Spanning 1967-1976, Stevens' "Big Daddy" series began as a response to the United States involvement in the Vietnam war, later taking inspiration from Pop Art to explore themes of patriarchy and imperialism.**
Austin Auction Gallery
Jan. 16, 2025
May Stevens Rosa Luxembourg Screenprint
Est: $200 - $400
May Stevens (American, 1924-2019), Untitled (Rosa Luxembourg), Screenprint, 1982, signed in pencil, dated, and numbered edition "61/75" to bottom edge, from "A Portfolio of Prints to Commemorate the Conversion of New York City's Second Avenue Courthouse Building to the new Home Anthology Film Archives...", printed by Anthology Film Archives. Sheet: 30" H x 22.25" W. Provenance: From a Manhattan Townhouse. Keywords: Prints, Multiples, Serigraph, Monochromatic, Figural, Figurative, Portrait, Portraiture, Feminist Art Movement, Contemporary Art, Women Artists
Auctions at Showplace
Jun. 08, 2024
Two: May Stevens (American 1924-2019)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Two: May Stevens (American 1924-2019) "Indigo" (Atlantic Coast of Maine) 1998 Lithograph, edition 18 Signed lower right May Stevens 22" x 30" along with "Atlantic (Coast of Maine)" Acrylic on unstretched canvas Signed lower right 58" x 83" Provenance: Stroock & Stroock & Lavan Condition: Good condition, "Atlantic" having undulation This is a quick condition report, please call or email for any additional information
Nadeau's Auction Gallery
Dec. 06, 2023
May Stevens (1924-2019)
Est: $500 - $700
UNTITLED (ROSA LUXEMBURG) Screenprint, 1982, on wove paper, signed, dated and numbered 19/75 in pencil, from A Portfolio of Thirteen Prints to Commemorate the Conversion of New York City's Second Avenue Courthouse Building to the New Home of Anthology Film Archives, the First Museum Dedicated to Avant-garde Film and Video, printed by Porter-Wiener Studio, New York, published by Anthology Film Archives, New York, with full margins, unframed. Image 17 x 23 7/8 inches; 432 x 606 mm. Sheet 22 1/8 x 30 inches; 562 x 762 mm.
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jun. 24, 2022
May Stevens, oil on canvas
Est: $100 - $150
May Stevens (American, 1924-2019), "Reclining Nude", signed "May Stevens" at upper left, signed and titled on stretcher verso, 34.25"h x 48"w (canvas), 35.5"h x 49.5"w (frame)
Millea Bros Ltd
Mar. 01, 2022
May Stevens (1924 - 2019) "Queen's Anne Lace" Acrylic / Canvas. New York, Massachusetts.
Est: $400 - $600
May Stevens (1924 - 2019) "Queen's Anne Lace" Acrylic / Canvas. New York, Massachusetts. Stevens painted often to express her view of racism and women's roles in society, her works can be found in museum collections including the Whitney and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 32" x 54"
Bill Hood & Sons Arts & Antiques Auctions
May. 14, 2020
Tamarind Institute. 3 Lithos. By Resident Artists.
Est: $300 - $500
Tamarind Insitute. 3 lithographs by resident artists. (1) Getulio Moreira (Brazlian, 20th c.). "Untitled." 1994. Edition 12 of 18. Signed in pencil l.c., editioned l.l., dated l.r. (2) Alex Cerveny (Brazilian, 20th c.). "Ars Longa-Vita Brevi." (3) Stevens, May (American, 1924-2019). "The Beach at Connemara." 1997. Edition 6 of 22. Signed in pencil l.r., editioned l.r. Sheet: 21 3/4" x 30". Largest frame: 27 1/4" x 35 1/4". Condition All near fine. 2 under glass, not examined out of frame.
Quinn's Auction Galleries
May. 10, 2020
May Stevens, Artemisia, Lithograph
Est: $600 - $950
Artist: May Stevens, American (1924 - ) Title: Artemisia Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: AP Size: 39 x 23 in. (99.06 x 58.42 cm)
RoGallery
Nov. 20, 2019
May Stevens, Artemisia, Lithograph
Est: $800 - $1,000
Artist: May Stevens, American (1924 - ) Title: Artemisia Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: AP Image Size: 39 x 23 in. (99.06 x 58.42 cm)
RoGallery
May. 12, 2018
May Stevens, Artemisia, Serigraph
Est: $700 - $900
Artist: May Stevens, American (1924 - ) Title: Artemisia Year: 1979 Medium: Serigraph, signed in pencil Edition: AP Size: 39 x 23 in. (99.06 x 58.42 cm)
RoGallery
Mar. 24, 2018
Print, May Stevens
Est: $100 - $200
May Stevens (American, b. 19245), Rowing, lithograph in colors, pencil signed lower right, edition 4/20, overall (with grame): 33"h x 41"w
Clars Auctions
May. 24, 2017
May Stevens, Artemisia, Serigraph
Est: $700 - $900
Artist: May Stevens, American (1924 - ) Title: Artemisia Year: 1979 Medium: Serigraph, signed in pencil Edition: AP Size: 39 x 23 in. (99.06 x 58.42 cm)
RoGallery
Jun. 20, 2016
May Stevens (b. 1924) BIG DADDY PAPER DOLL Color screenprint
Est: $200 - $400
May Stevens (b. 1924) BIG DADDY PAPER DOLL Color screenprint, signed and inscribed 25/25 in pencil. Sheet 28 3/4 x 43 x 1/8 inches (73.02 x 109.22 x 0.31 cm) Unframed C The Collection of Joachim Neugroschel
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Apr. 28, 2016
May Stevens, Artemisia, Serigraph
Est: $900 - $1,200
Artist: May Stevens, American (1924 - ) Title: Artemisia Year: 1979 Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: AP Size: 39 x 23 in. (99.06 x 58.42 cm)
RoGallery
Jun. 24, 2015
May Stevens, (American, b. 1924), The Remains of the Day, 1993
Est: $20 - $40
May Stevens (American, b. 1924) The Remains of the Day, 1993 lithograph edition 16/20, signed May Stevens, titled and dated 22 x 29 3/4 inches.
Hindman
Feb. 25, 2014
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame)
Est: $75 - $100
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame) Framed; unsigned
Potomack Company
Dec. 10, 2013
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame)
Est: $150 - $200
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-)ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame)Framed; unsignedProvenance: Property of Josephine Withers
Potomack Company
Oct. 06, 2013
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame)
Est: $150 - $200
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI Lithograph: 39 x 23 in. (sight) 49 x 31 3/4 in. (frame) Framed; unsigned Provenance: Property of Josephine Withers
Potomack Company
Oct. 06, 2013
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) MYSTERIES IN POLITICS, 1993 Mixed media collage: 28 1/2 x 34 1/2 in. (sight) 31 1/4 x 37 3/4 in. (fram...
Est: $400 - $600
MAY STEVENS (AMERICAN, 1924-) MYSTERIES IN POLITICS, 1993 Mixed media collage: 28 1/2 x 34 1/2 in. (sight) 31 1/4 x 37 3/4 in. (frame) Framed; lower right signed: May Stevens Provenance: Property of Josephine Withers
Potomack Company
Apr. 18, 2013
* May Stevens, (American, b. 1924), Artemisia Gentileschi
Est: $200 - $400
May Stevens (American, b. 1924) Artemisia Gentileschi handcolored lithograph 41 x 29 inches.
Hindman
Jan. 24, 2013
May Stevens, (b.1924), Untitled, Silkscreen on Rives BFK paper., 22" x 30"
Est: $300 - $500
May Stevens (b.1924) Untitled Silkscreen on Rives BFK paper. Signed and dated 1982 LR. Numbered (21/75) LL. From a limited edition of seventy five portfolios published by Anthology Film Archives, New York City. Included in the original portfolio were thirteen works by Raimund Abraham, Carl Andre, Rudolf Baranik, Joseph Beuys, Alice Neel, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, Harry Smith, May Stevens, Andy Warhol and William Wegman. 22" x 30"
Ripley Auctions