William Saroyan Paintings & Artwork for Sale | William Saroyan Art Value Price Guide

Apr. 19, 2024
William Saroyan (American/California, 1908-1981)
Est: $800 - $1,200
William Saroyan (American/California, 1908-1981), "Fresno Friday April 10 1970 8 p.m. #1", 1970, watercolor on paper, signed lower left, titled and dated lower center, 22 in. x 33 7/8 in., framed, overall 27 1/8 in. x 39 in. x 2 3/4 in. Provenance: Property of the Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL, sold to benefit their Collections, Care and Acquisitions Fund; Neal Auction, Dec. 9, 2021, lot 225.
Neal Auction Company
Sep. 11, 2023
William Saroyan. Morris Hirshfield
Est: - €20
William Saroyan. Morris Hirshfield Franco Maria Ricci, Parma 1975 Starting Bid: €20
Gliubich Casa d'Aste
Sep. 21, 2022
William Saroyan (1908-1981, Armenian/American) "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze," 1934
Est: $200 - $300
William Saroyan (1908-1981, Armenian/American) "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze," 1934 Saroyan, William. "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories." New York: Random House, 1934 Hardcover book First edition, signed by the author, and pasted photograph of the author to the front endpaper The small quarto hardcover bound in light grey cloth with black spine and gilt label, in dust jacket 9.25" H x 5.75" W x 1.25" D Provenance: The Residential Property of Thomas and Erika Girardi, Pasadena, CA Notes: From the library.
John Moran Auctioneers
Dec. 09, 2021
William Saroyan (American/Californiam 1908-1981)
Est: $800 - $1,200
William Saroyan (American/California, 1908-1981) , "Fresno Friday April 10 1970 8 p.m. #1", 1970, watercolor on paper, signed lower left, titled and dated lower center, 22 in. x 33 7/8 in., framed Provenance: Property of the Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL, sold to benefit their Collections, Care and Acquisitions Fund. Condition: Overall fair condition. Ext. Frame: 27 in. x 39 in. x 2 in
Neal Auction Company
Sep. 24, 2021
William Saroyan (American 1908-1981), Crazy Red Sunset over Manhattan and The Christmas Card: Double-Sided Work, 30 x 40 inches
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
William Saroyan (American 1908-1981) Crazy Red Sunset over Manhattan and The Christmas Card: A Double-Sided Work The first, signed, titled, dated and located May 14, 1963 NYC along top edge; and the second, signed, dated and located along bottom edge Each gouache on paperboard; with minor toning along perimeter. Framed. Sheet size: 30 x 40 in (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
Weschler's
Aug. 26, 2021
Al Hirschfeld & William Saroyan , (American, 1903-2003) (American, 1908-1981), Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld, with Text by William Sa...
Est: $400 - $600
Al Hirschfeld & William Saroyan (American, 1903-2003) (American, 1908-1981) Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld, with Text by William Saroyan, 1941 (24 works) color lithograph signed in plate edition of 1000 published by Hyperion Press, New York, New York lithograph (each): 11 7/8" x 9"; folio: 18 1/4" x 14"
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Feb. 18, 2021
Gene Kelly and Betsy Blair.- Saroyan (William) The Beautiful People, first edition, presentation inscription to Gene Kelly and Betsy Blair, 1941.
Est: £150 - £200
NO RESERVE Saroyan (William) The Beautiful People, first edition, presentation inscription to Gene Kelly and Betsy Blair from the author to front free endpaper, endpapers lightly browned, original cloth, very small stain to upper cover, spine lightly faded, dust-jacket, price-clipped, spine lightly faded and very light creasing to spine ends but overall an excellent copy, 8vo, 1941. ⁂ Inscribed "To Gene & Betsy - Sweeney & St. Agnes - with all the good wishes of Bill - 7 Nov 1941". Betsy Blair played the role of Agnes Webster in the film adaptation, and at the time Gene was negotiating the leading role of Sweeney in the Trees. Kelly was a friend and admirer of Saroyan, describing him as "a big bruiser, as regular as they come, and looks like a contended iceman".
Forum Auctions - UK
Jun. 13, 2020
WILLIAM SAROYAN, Pencil, Buck at Cucaracha's
Est: $200 - $400
Pencil drawing by Saroyan depicts 'Buck' in profile. Paper is in good condition with pin holes in top corners. Signed lower left. Overall paper size is 10" x 7" in a 14 3/4" x 9 1/2" frame. Provenance: From the estate of Michael Milkovich, long-time director of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Blackwell Auctions LLC
Nov. 06, 2019
[GRABHORN PRINTING]. SAROYAN, William (1908-1981). Hilltop Russians in San Francisco. San Francisco: The Grabhorn Press, 1941. LIMITED EDITION.
Est: $100 - $200
[GRABHORN PRINTING]. SAROYAN, William (1908-1981). Hilltop Russians in San Francisco. San Francisco: The Grabhorn Press, 1941. 4to. Numerous reproductions of water-colors by Pauline Vinson with printed tissue overlays. Original tan linen-backed decorative paper-covered boards, uncut; original printed dust jacket (spine sunned, small chip to top edge). LIMITED EDITION, one of 500 unnumbered copies. "This book of pictures by Miss Pauline Vinson is about some very wonderful people who life on Potrero Hill in San Francisco" (introduction). GB 364.
Hindman
Mar. 12, 2019
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Autograph Manuscript Signed twice ("William Saroyan"), 8vo, 28 pp, Omaha &c.;, October 4, 1939, being a play entitled "The Ping-Pong Game,"
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Autograph Manuscript Signed twice ("William Saroyan"), 8vo, 28 pp, Omaha &c., October 4, 1939, being a play entitled "The Ping-Pong Game," on letterhead of Los Angeles Limited and San Francisco Overland Limited railroads, first and final leaves toned and with some stains, else very good in cloth chemise and slipcase. Accompanied by a printed copy of the play.Provenance: Gene Fowler, Jr., with ALS from the celebrated Hollywood film editor describing how Saroyan presented the manuscript to him.Saroyan's short play depicts a young couple in the midst of a ping-pong game, testing their relationship with manufactured argument, bringing the play to a shocking climax. Saroyan analyzes the play in his introduction to the 1940 Samuel French printing: "the fundamentals of living make all people deeply the same. The style of their sameness is the thing that varies. All know love and hate and faith and doubt. The depth of their knowing in the thing that varies. All people are worthwhile. That is a thing no one can possibly get away from, least of all a writer."The accompanying letter from Gene Fowler describes a drunken night during second war were Fowler had teased Saroyan: "I had suggested he stick to writing for 'the Ladies Home Journal.' He was overlooking the fact that I was kidding, but he never kidded about his work." Saroyan later "gave me this mss. as proof of his writing greatness."
Bonhams
Nov. 20, 2018
[LAURENS, Henri (1885-1954)] - SAROYAN, William (1908-1981). Contes. Paris
Est: €400 - €600
[LAURENS, Henri (1885-1954)] - SAROYAN, William (1908-1981). Contes. Paris : Les 100 bibliophiles de France et d’Amérique, 1953. In-8 (280 x 202 mm), illustré de 11 bois originaux de Laurens, dont un en couverture, en feuilles, chemise et étui de l'éditeur. Tirage à 147 exemplaires sur vergé à la cuve, signés par l'artiste et la présidente de la société, celui-ci un des 47 justifés en chifres romains, n° XXXV.
Christie's
May. 24, 2016
William Saroyan, (American, 1908–1981), Fresno, #2, Monday, March 16, 1970 9pm, 1970
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William Saroyan (American, 1908–1981) Fresno, #2, Monday, March 16, 1970 9pm, 1970 watercolor signed William Saroyan (lower left) 21 x 33 inches.
Hindman
Dec. 15, 2015
William Saroyan, (American, 1908-1981), Fresno May 5 1967 #7, 1967
Est: $800 - $1,200
William Saroyan (American, 1908-1981) Fresno May 5 1967 #7, 1967 watercolor signed William Saroyan and dated (lower center) 22 x 34 inches.
Hindman
Jun. 16, 2015
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Archive of 51 letters (45 TLS, 6 AL
Est: -
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Archive of 51 letters (45 TLS, 6 ALS), approximately 100 pp, various sizes, various places including Paris, 1963 to 1972, his editor at Harcourt, Brace & World, William Jovanovich (one letter to Harcourt editor Hilda Lindley),
Bonhams
Jun. 16, 2015
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Mimeographed manuscript of The Huma
Est: $500 - $700
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. Mimeographed manuscript of The Human Comedy, 246 pp, February 4, 1942,
Bonhams
May. 15, 2015
William Saroyan dramatic signed photograph of the playwright at work
Est: $200 - $400
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. (1908-1981). American writer and playwright; author of The Time of Your Life for which he was awarded the 1940 Pulitzer Prize (which he rejected). SP. (“Bill Saroyan”). 1p. Small 4to. New York, September 1953. Inscribed to the president of Columbia Records, GODDARD LIEBERSON (1911-1977), best remembered for introducing the LP or long-playing microgroove record. A dramatically lit black-and-white photograph by American photojournalist Dan Weiner of a seated Saroyan at work on his typewriter with a cigarette in his mouth, a hat placed rakishly on his head, and a piano in the background. ----- “For Goddard Lieberson – Music and words, or talk (from me, that is) from the writer by the sea & I can’t figure it out, either – thanks Bill Saroyan Sept 1953 [illegible]” ----- In 1928, following the publication of his first article by Detroit’s Boulevardier, Saroyan left his native Fresno, California to seek his fortune in New York. Returning home the following year, he published poems and his first short story, The Broken Wheel, reprinted, under the pseudonym Sirak Goyan, in Edward J. O’Brien’s 1934 Best Short Stories. That same year, the appearance of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze established Saroyan’s reputation as one of the finest short-story writers of his generation. He later turned to playwriting and screenwriting, and wrote several volumes of autobiography and autobiographical fiction. Weiner, a photographer for Fortune magazine, specialized in photographs of people at work, of which ours is a fine, well composed, example. Inscription is unevenly written over a light part of the image. Archivally matted and fine. Especially uncommon in this format. ***Please note that your bid will not be activated on eBay.com until the start of the live auction at 12 noon EST on Friday, May 15. Please check back at that time to see if you've been outbid***.
Lion Heart Autographs
Jul. 31, 2014
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories
Est: $200 - $300
 Afterword by Herbert Gold. Illustrated with woodblocks by Bill Prochnow. 25x18.5 cm. (10x7½"), gilt-stamped cloth, publisher's slipcase. No. 70 of 200 copies designed by James and Carolyn Robertson.
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers
Mar. 13, 2014
Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
 Illustrated with 24 tipped-in original lithographs. 6-page introduction by Saroyan. 18x13¾, color pictorial cloth. No. 550 of 1000 copies. First Edition. 24 original lithographs by Hirschfeld, 19 of which depict Harlem residents, the other five of Balinese dancers. Hirschfeld (1903-2003) was the revered master of this type of joyful caricature.
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers
Feb. 10, 2014
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981. - Typed Letter Signed ("William Saroyan") with holograph corrections, 1 p, legal folio, June 5, 1978, Fresno, California,
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Typed Letter Signed ("William Saroyan") with holograph corrections, 1 p, legal folio, June 5, 1978, Fresno, California, to Robert M. Weintraub, folding crease, light wrinkling at corners, tiny chip to one margin. Provenance: Collection of Robert M. Weintraub. WITH AN UNPUBLISHED STORY BY SAROYAN. When ad executive Robert Weintraub sent out a request to one hundred well-known people asking for their favorite cookie story – as part of a PR campaign for Nabisco – the present letter from Saroyan was one of the few responses he received. In the letter, Saroyan relates a roughly 550 word story from his childhood in Fresno, about a local Finnish baker known for having a barrel of broken or stale cookies from which customers were invited to take for free. One day Saroyan's friend Eddie Emerian informs him that the baker is giving away the whole barrel to whoever wants it. Though he resolves to take it home himself, Saroyan misses his chance; shortly after he has the first of what becomes a frequently recurring dream about getting the barrel home. Saroyan reflects at the story's end: " The Finn baker retired, the bakery disappeared, the dream of the free barrel of cookies is still alive, even though I long ago knew that Eddie Emerian had invented the whole story, for he himself told me so before either of us became eleven years old. What does this mean? It means that art and cookies, imagination and longing, comedy and appetite, the real and the unreal are so closely related as to be virtually indistinguishable one from the other." The letter closes with requests for free cases of cookies to be sent to his sister and his son-in-law.
Bonhams
Dec. 05, 2013
My Name is Aram
Est: $100 - $150
Illustrated by Don Freeman, including color frontispiece. 31.5x13 cm. (8½x5¼"), yellow cloth, paper cover & spine labels, color pictorial jacket with same design as the frontispiece. First Edition.
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers
Jan. 31, 2013
WILLIAM SAROYAN
Est: $150 - $200
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life (Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. Lot of two original dark pencil sketches on octavo sheets, cubist-style images each initialed "W" at lower right. Ex: David Schulson Autographs. Very good. Saroyan was also a visual artist of drawings and watercolors which he never sold nor exhibited. His abstract work was influenced by Chinese brush drawing, Jackson Pollock, and the calligraphic work of Mark Tobey.
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Feb. 26, 2011
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) ITEMS
Est: $20 - $2,000
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) ITEMS Those who write them and those who collect them ...' by Saroyan as published by Black Archer Press of Chicago in a limited first edition of 50 copies. Very good with minor blemishes. Plus a typescript of 'A Western Awakening' a two-act play by William Saroyan. Dated May 22, 1950. Covers are tattered but text is complete. The play was never produced under that title.
Dirk Soulis Auctions
May. 23, 2010
Don Freeman (American, 1908-1978) "Impression of
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Don Freeman (American, 1908-1978) "Impression of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life'," c. 1940, oil on board, 26.5" x 38.5", signed upper right, signed and titled on verso, framed
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Nov. 18, 2007
Saroyan, William (1908-1981), Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld, New York: The Hyperion Press, 1941, numb...
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Saroyan, William (1908-1981), Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld, New York: The Hyperion Press, 1941, numbered 614 of an edition of 1000, with twenty-four original lithograph plates by Al Hirschfeld, original pictorial cloth, folio, (cover soiled, lightly bumped and chipped with small edge tear, toning, scattered spotting, minor staining from adhesive on spine edge of plates).
Skinner
Jun. 20, 2007
SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 1908-1981.
Est: $600 - $900
5 Typed Letters Signed ("Bill Saroyan" and "Bill"), 5 pp, quarto, Fresno, CA, May 5. 1965 to January 19, 1966, to his agent H.N. Swanson, with annotations in Saroyan's hand, fine. Novelist and playwright William Saroyan writes a series of chatty, newsy letters to his agent, discussing his long-running feud with M-G-M stemming from their production of The Human Comedy . From May 6, 1965: " I believe at one time you had great expectations, so to put it, for a novel serialized in the Post?Mama Girl, I Love You, which the Post shortened to Mama, I Love You, which was the title the book publisher used?the wrong title I may say. Now, Metro phoned me and wanted to make a deal but I drove them off, because Mayer cheated me on The Human Comedy, and because the new mob there refused to release TV rights in the book to me, and so on and so forth. Drove them off by saying I wanted a percentage and a quarter of a million dollars. O.K., the hell with it: now, though, may just be the time to make a deal on this novel ." In other letters, Saroyan described a project he is trying to get off the ground documenting the rapidly disappearing historical districts of his native Fresno. When he tried to ask his movie friends for a little help, he gets nowhere. From June 9, 1965: " Dear Swanie: How come nobody connected in any way with the movie business knows anything about the camera. That's what the things are made with, and I have got to make me a little 5-hour movie about Fresno before the best part of it is torn down and forgotten, and that's happening right now. "
Bonhams
Feb. 25, 2007
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $40 - $60
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life(Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. First edition copy of his work The Adventures of Wesley Jackson Harcourt Brace and Company, New York: 1946; signed and inscribed to the Lyons family on the front endpaper. Loose spine, and stains on the inside front page and half-title page, otherwise good. $40-60
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Feb. 25, 2007
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $50 - $75
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life(Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. First edition copy of his book, My Heart's in the Heartland, Harcourt Brace and Company, New York: 1939; signed and inscribed on the front endpaper. With dustjacket. There is a T.L.S. "Bill Saroyan", 1p. 4to., San Francisco, Sept. 20, 1938, to Leonard Lyons with good and humorous content regarding upcoming projects, taped to the title page. $50-75
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Feb. 25, 2007
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $50 - $75
WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life(Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. First edition copy his book, Get Away Old Man, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York: 1944. With dustjacket. Small tear on half-title page where a mounted card has come loose. With an A.L.S. "Bill", 1p. 4to., Oct. 17, 1948, mounted to inside front cover sending thanks for a party to Leonard Lyons. Dark mounting stain at top center of letter. $50-75
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Oct. 15, 2006
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $75 - $100
1516. WILLIAM SAROYAN Signed copy of his play Jim Dandy, Fat Man in Famine, Harcourt Brace & Co., New York: 1947, signed and inscribed to New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons and his wife. Possibly a first edition, with dustjacket. $75-100
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Oct. 15, 2006
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $75 - $100
1517. WILLIAM SAROYAN A signed paperback copy of his book Peace It's Wonderful, Modern Age Books, New York: 1939; signed and inscribed on the dedication page: " for Leonard Lyons & against Time which is doomed Bill NY 1939". Large stain on half-title page and facing page, otherwise good. $75-100
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Oct. 15, 2006
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $75 - $100
1515. WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life (Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. Paperback copy of his book Love Here is My Heart, Modern Age Books, New York: 1938; signed and inscribed on the title page: "For Leonard Lyons, American writer, with eagerness to see Ticket To Broadway, Bill Saroyan NY 1939". Fragile spine, good. $75-100
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Oct. 14, 2006
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $200 - $300
561. WILLIAM SAROYAN (1908-1981) American author and playwright of such pieces as The Time of Your Life (Pulitzer Prize winner) and The Human Comedy. Great content T.L.S. "Bill Saroyan", 1p. oblong 8vo., San Francisco, Dec. 5, 1949, to New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons regarding an upcoming visit to New York and requesting Lyons' help in getting in touch with producers. In part: "If you run into Jed anywhere and he's got any ideas about producing one or another of my plays, give him my address and tell him to write, wire or phone...Or any other producer. I need to get back to the theatre, that's all. Or let me put it this way: I need the money. An all-night drunk staggers into a church just in time to hear the preacher say, `The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.' `Now there's a square fucking deal,' the drunk says, `or I'll kiss your ass.'" Small tear and paper clip stain at top, otherwise very good. Sold with an unsigned copy of Saroyan's book Don't Go Away Mad and Two Other Plays, Harcourt Brace Company, New York: 1949. $200-300
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Oct. 30, 2005
Saroyan, William (1908-1981) and Al Hirschfeld
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld, New York: The Hyperion Press, [1941], numbered 369 of 1000, cloth, twenty-four tipped in color lithographs, folio, (cocked, toning, slip-case worn and chipped).
Skinner
Dec. 19, 2004
William Saroyan
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William Saroyan American, 1908-1981 The Christmas Card, 1963 Signed, titled and dated l.c: William Saroyan, The Christma s Card, May 14, 1963 Watercolor on paper 30 x 37 inches ( 76.2 x 94.0 cm ) Provenance: The William Saroyan Foundation
Bonhams
Jun. 18, 2004
SAROYAN, WILLIAM
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
The Human Comedy. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1943 In 8s (8 1/2 x 5 5/8 in.; 215 x 143 mm). Illustrations by Don Freeman. Publisher's pictorial cloth; some wear. Original dust jacket; some wear.
Sotheby's
Apr. 22, 2004
Harlem as Seen by Hirschfeld
Est: -
Illustrated with 24 tipped-in original lithographs. 6-page introduction by Saroyan. 18x13 3/4, color pictorial cloth. No. 856 of 1000 copies. 24 original lithographs by Hirschfeld, 19 of which depict Harlem residents, the other five of Balinese dancers. Hirschfeld (1903-2003) was the revered master of this type of joyful caricature.
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers