Julian Opie

£11,000-£16,000 VALUE (EST.)

$20,000-$29,000 VALUE (EST.)

$18,000-$27,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥90,000-¥130,000 VALUE (EST.)

€12,500-€18,000 VALUE (EST.)

$110,000-$150,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥1,780,000-¥2,600,000 VALUE (EST.)

$13,500-$20,000 VALUE (EST.)

-10% AAGR

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

October 2022

Sotheby's New York - United States

Sian Walking - Signed Print

July 2021

Christie's New York - United States

Sian Walking - Signed Print

October 2013

Phillips New York - United States

Sian Walking - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

Sian Walking is a signed screen print made by the critically acclaimed British artist Julian Opie in 2010. Coming in an edition size of 60 the print shows a female figure rendered from side-on who is captured in motion, walking across the composition. The title of the print indicates that the woman in the print is called Sian, however Opie intentionally removes any ways of identifying the figure as she has no facial features. Opie uses a simple circle for the woman’s head which appears to hover above her shoulders.

Opie duplicates the lower portion of the figure’s legs and arms and blurs them in order to create the illusion of movement in this print. This technique is used in many of Opie’s artworks of anonymous figures walking in urban cities, such as Jeremy Walking In Coat. Other notable collections of figures walking by Opie include Walking In London and Walking In The Rain.

Sian Walking reflects how Opie prefers to depict ordinary people who are not known by the viewer, as opposed to finding ‘iconic’ subjects who are instantly recognisable. Opie privileges his immediate surroundings, taking inspiration from daily life and the quotidian. Opie’s artworks are marked by mundane reality yet still retain an intriguing and captivating pull that seizes the viewer’s attention.