Skillful surrealists and multi-artform artists like Joan Miró can be counted in fingers, so invest in his work. The sooner you acquire one of his works, the more it increases in value over time. This article will help you learn more about him, his works, and where to sell them.

Joan Miró’s persistence as an artist made him a prominent art figure. He continued his passion despite initially receiving disapproval from his parents and became triumphant in the end. If you are looking forward to getting a Miró, you should certainly read on.

About Joan Miró

Joan Miró Ferrà or Joan Miró of Barcelona is world-renowned for his aesthetic that leans toward Surrealism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. His work spawns to paintings, sculptures, and ceramics. Miró was inspired by Fauve and Cubist exhibitions in his country. He started drawing when he was a child and had attended Barcelona’s School of Industrial and Fine Arts at the age of fourteen. Miró pursued landscape and decorative art; however, his family wanted him to finish a more practical course.  In 1912, he went to an art academy. He was trained in a “draw by touch” way. His teacher Francisco Galí back then would have him blindfolded for Miró to have a spatial understanding of objects relying on his intuition.

By 1918, Miró had his first solo show in Barcelona. He received heavy criticism, and none of his works were sold. After the unfortunate event, Miró decided to go to Paris. Such a move had allowed him to meet some of the greatest artists in the world, such as Pablo Picasso, Tristan Tzara, Anderé Masson, and Max Jacob. When Miró returned to his home on the Montroig farm, he began filling up canvases. Since then, Miró acknowledged how his life at home and in Paris gave him different inspirations. As to this, he decided to go back and forth every six months.

Soon, Miró had the opportunity to exhibit in Paris and Salon d’Automne in the 1920s. He had rubbed shoulders with famous artists from Dada and those from the Surrealist industry.

Movements and Mediums

The works of Miró were deemed as “abstract schematics” or “pictorial signs and gestures” because they have fluid representations. He didn’t want to be caged in traditional ways, exploring varied art forms. His works took a turn on abstraction when he met Surrealists who encouraged him in his craft. Miró became spontaneous and at the same time reached a certain level of automatism.  His works were colored boldly and expressively. As to this, he became one of the most influential figures in the fields of Abstract Expressionism and Color Field Painting.

Apart from being a skilled artist, Miró is a prolific poet, which further added to his creative prowess and increased the movement on “painting-poetry.” According to him, his style is an “assassination of painting.”  He denounces the production of traditional painting, which is amplified by the bourgeois society. Therefore he created pieces that are upfront radical.  Miró then made his studio in Paris as a place where he could explore art. There was a time when Miró incorporated politics in his works to express his support to Spain’s Republican Government. He crafted The Reaper (Catalan Peasant in Revolt) painting which showcases the semi-abstract figure wielding a sickle. In-depth, the weapon represents the “rebellious peasant” who “heroically” joined in the revolt.

Collecting as an Investment

Miro’s “Femme au chapeau rouge,” created in 1927, was sold for $28.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction. The painting is an abstraction that uses muted bold colors and emphasizes vanishing-like lines to form what seemed like a silhouette of a woman. It was deemed one of the top seven most expensive surrealist paintings. Previously, in 2015, Miró’s Femme au chapeau rouge piece was sold for $9.8 million by the same auction house. This shows how Miró’s work increases in value as time passes by on top of its already expensive pricing.

More than $10 million was accumulated from above 17 Miró art pieces.  There are also 47 works bought for at least $5 million and up. About 1100 Miró artworks were also sold and had a cumulative value of $97.7 million. Since the 1920s, surrealist paintings have been in-demand, they have pricey tags.

Collection examples

The Farm

This is the first masterpiece that Miró considers that he had made. He crafted this in 1922, and it serves as the reflection of his life during his stay in Mon-roig. The piece shows farm elements like outbuildings, domestic animals, crops, and equipment. It was well-detailed. Said painting was once shown at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. American writer Ernest Hemingway’s widow then owned Miró’s painting. Hemingway stayed for a while Miró in the Mont-roig farm, and they became friends.

Blue I-III

Miró did three large-format paintings in the 1960s at his Mallorca studio, Blue I-III. Similar to their namesake, the paintings strongly use the color blue. He also included bold colors such as red and black for the painting’s elements. As an abstraction, lines and dots were mainly utilized, showcasing his spontaneity as an artist.  Miró rendered a simplified way of describing the “movement of objects.” The paintings are often associated with Miró’s three trips to the United States and his exhibition stints in Paris and New York, where he was able further to nurture his artistic talent.

Where to Buy Joan Miró?

To buy a Miró, you can attend a live auction or bid online. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s are known auction houses that we’re able to sell Miró’s art pieces to a high price. Sotheby’s most notable sale is Femme au chapeau rouge painting for $28.7 million. In comparison, Christie’s has sold more than eighty of Miro’s work and can earn at least a five-figure paycheck from each one. Apart from Sotheby’s and Christie’s, you can reach out to Mutual Art, where you can find some of Miro’s art pieces.  Mutual Art has recorded over 500 exhibitions related to Miró’.

Meanwhile, some of the marketplaces you can visit online are invaluable.com, and liveacuctioneers.com. The said websites allow you to place a bid on the individual Miró art piece you want to acquire. They also provide a brief description of Miró, his life, and his work as an artist. An online art marketplace works with auction houses and features a great selection of art pieces. It allows you to overview the current Miró art piece that you can acquire.