The Speculator's List: Most Undervalued Artists of 2025
Fine art remains one of the most overlooked asset classes. While investors often focus on the stock market, real estate, or gold and silver - the art world has quietly produced returns that would surprise many. In fact, over the past decade, several artists’ markets have not only held their own but have outright obliterated the S&P 500’s averaged return.
This simple observation raises a most interesting discussion: who are these artists? -And should investors consider adding fine-art to their portfolios? Without further ado, here's my list.
1. Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgranges 1877-1958
A neo-impressionism painter, Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange’s paintings remain astonishingly overlooked. Later in life, she became the protégé—and eventually the partner—of Paul Signac, the legendary pointillist whose canvases can fetch $20 million or more at auction. By contrast, her works hover in the $4,000–$40,000 range. Her canvases are exceptional, not only echoing elements of Signac’s style but also achieving something unique within the pointillism genre.
Why her market has lagged is something I still puzzle over. Perhaps Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange devoted too much of her energy to promoting Signac’s gallery presence and, in turn, allowed her own painting to remain in the background. Without museum exposure, her profile missed the critical visibility that often propels an artist’s market forward. Yet, this is often the case with artists - as only a few achieve success during their lifetimes. Whatever the reason, her canvases deserve renewed attention. Not only are they technically masterful, but they also offer a perspective exceedingly rare within pointillism—as female voices were almost entirely absent from the movement. This feminine sensibility and perspective, woven through her art, makes her work historically significant in itself.
And then there is the atmosphere of her paintings- a mood of serenity that seems to radiate outward. Whether through luminous gardens in full bloom, quiet windowsill arrangements, or secluded retreats bathed in pure light, her canvases exude calm rather than turbulence. Look further into the backgrounds, and you find gentle idylls carrying the viewer deeper into her world—a world that feels timeless, contemplative, and quietly profound.
About 6 or 7 years ago, I did bid on one her paintings unsuccessfully. Whether or not purchasing her paintings in 2025 still holds merit is a bit complicated as her paintings have already appreciated around 50% since I first started following her artwork. So, I’m not sure if her paintings are still bargains.
Nevertheless, I remain convinced that her masterpieces will one day cross the $100,000 mark. There just still seems to be an untapped catalyst in how her art naturally extends Signac’s—which I’m not sure the art market has fully recognized. In any case, to hang one of her canvases in a dining or living room would be to invite a soft, glimmering charm- the kind of quiet influence few works are capable of so effortlessly imparting.
2. Ernest Quost 1842-1931
In my view, Ernest Quost is the most undervalued painter within the celebrated circle of French Impressionism—this, despite the genuine esteem he enjoyed from his contemporaries. Best known for flowers, he did far more than paint routine still lifes. His roses spill across the canvas, lilacs seem to bow under the weight of their perfume, poppies ignite whole fields. His brushwork gives each bloom a living presence, as if you were leaning into a summer garden at its peak.
And yet, while his art carries all the poetry and light of late-19th-century floral Impressionism, his finest canvases can still be acquired for a mere $30,000—a fraction of what comparable works by Monet, Renoir, or Pissarro command. Many good paintings trade in the $10,000–$15,000 range, and his watercolors and smallest studies sometimes fall under $1,000–$2,000. In market terms, Quost is priced in pauper pennies next to his more famous peers, even though those peers often regarded him as their equal.
Consider the record: Claude Monet himself admired Quost’s flower paintings. Van Gogh, writing to his brother Theo in February 1890, praised Quost’s “magnificent and so-complete hollyhocks and his yellow irises,” and later urged Theo to purchase one of his works—now housed in the Van Gogh Museum, still bearing Quost’s personal inscription to him on the reverse. Therefore, if two of the greatest artists of all time singled out his work, surely the art market will follow?
No. The public hasn’t echoed this recognition. Collectors and institutions have tended to leave Quost at the periphery, overshadowed by better-branded names. The result is a striking imbalance: critical compliments at the highest level and prices that don’t reflect them. For the patient collector, such a gap looks like opportunity. To acquire a Quost masterpiece today is to secure not only a work of rare, wholesome-artistry, but one of the last genuine bargains of French Impressionism—a chance to own brilliance for cents on the dollar.
3. Edgar Payne 1883-1947
Edgar Payne—the American Impressionist of sweeping Sierra Nevada and Old West vistas—has occupied a slow and steady ascending position in the art market. His scenes feel almost cinematic, distilled from the archetypal Western landscape. Payne’s self-published manual, Composition of Outdoor Painting, remains a gold mine for new oil painters; his clear, rigorous guidance on perspective is a frequent point of praise. As his reputation compounds, his following grows in lockstep and demand for his art follows suit. A number of top works have already sold into the $100,000 range, with the record around $500,000—so why include him on a value list?
It’s true, the obvious trophies are largely spoken for. Many of the grand panoramas now reside in museums or major private collections. When strong examples do appear, the auction price jumps from five figures into six and keep marching upward. Supply is thin and premiums are high at this top tier. (By the way, if you’re in Minnesota, the Minneapolis Institute of Art holds an excellent Payne in its permanent collection.)
No, the play isn’t to chase his signature panoramas; instead, I recommend taking a look at the bottom third of his market: smaller sized studies, tightly cropped scenes, intimate landscapes that still carry two or three of his famous hallmarks—assured brushwork, luminous skies, academically-praised- vantage points, rugged terrain—simply distilled down into a smaller format. Museums tend to only chase the big vistas and overlook these, which might be to our advantage. Today this tier often trades around $15,000–$20,000, offering a practical foothold where the top end is already out of reach—without sacrificing quality.
While his greatest canvases have effectively ascended into their own asset class, Payne’s more modest works remain ripe for reevaluation. As museums continue to secure his grand panoramas—removing them from circulation forever—the market’s attention will inevitably pivot to his smaller oils. When that shift occurs, I believe collectors will take a far more favorable second look at his remaining pieces, some of which explore subjects just as engaging as his vast landscapes. In any case, his reputation is now so deeply rooted, and his collector base so broad, that even his small works have become collectible. Looking ahead, should his masterpieces reach the million-dollar threshold—as seems entirely plausible—a new $50,000 to $60,000 floor for his smaller canvases would be a natural adjustment.
4. Arthur Streeton 1867-1943
Arthur Streeton stands as a cornerstone of Australian Impressionism, celebrated for his sweeping vistas of Sydney Harbor, the boundless Australian bush, and more intimate landscape studies. He was the greatest painter Australia has produced. — And if judged by a focused subset of his best work, would arguably warrant inclusion among the greatest landscape painters of the last 150 years.
Though I have never set foot in Australia, nearly all of his masterpieces remain locked away there—in national museums and private collections—seldom surfacing abroad except for those who know exactly where to look. This geographic concentration has kept Streeton underexposed—and underappreciated—by much of the international art world, but this is changing fast.
From an economic standpoint, Streeton’s market remains in its adolescence—young in global reach, yet already vigorous at home. His greatest masterpieces and mid-tier oils have already soared beyond the reach of most collectors, commanding prices that no longer merit practical discussion. These figures may suggest full maturity, but in reality they are sustained almost entirely by Australian buyers—a devoted yet comparatively small segment of the global art market. With all due respect, Australia does not represent the lion’s share of the art world’s collecting power or wealth. And so, when one steps back to ask how it can be that the only accessible tier left of Streeton’s oil paintings trades between $50,000 and $75,000? - the answer is undeniable: Australians are not enamored by a favorite local artist but by a world class one.
Yet even these prices will not last. His low-tier landscapes will inevitably climb into the $200,000–$250,000 range, a fact already conceded among seasoned experts. The justification is plain: collectors often compare him to John Singer Sargent. Like Sargent, Streeton transformed seemingly ordinary landscapes into visions elevated by elegance, poise, and uncanny realism balanced with looseness. Yet while Sargent’s landscapes generally begin at $250,000 and can go into the millions, many of Sargent’s collectors quietly admit a small preference for Streeton’s. That acknowledgment alone signals where his market is heading.
Which brings us to strategy. Acquiring a Streeton in 2025 will be no easy task. The opportunity window is narrowing, and demand is stirring. One can’t simply don a blindfold and toss a dart at the next painting that surfaces at Sotheby’s or Christie’s. His market rewards nuance. For example, while his early career in Australia produced luminous harbors and bush scenes, his move to Great Britain marked an interlude—years devoted to still lifes, interiors, and infrequent outdoor landscapes—before his triumphant return to Australia, where he recaptured his signature brilliance.
The key risk lies in paying top-tier prices for second-tier categories—or even acquiring a good painting, but at too high a cost. Harbor scenes, for instance, almost always carry an inflated premium regardless of size, rendering one of his most desirable motifs financially out of reach. Meanwhile, his still lifes and interiors stray too far from what makes Streeton quintessential; they’re curiosities, not cornerstones. And while his watercolors and sketches have charm, it’s his oil paintings that command the highest level of connoisseurship and institutional interest.
Therefore, the most strategic approach is to target Streeton’s Australian bush landscapes—whether an early or late career work—which embodies his most sublime nature motifs: matte-blurry trees in pastoral expanses, ideally anchored by a water element. Even a smaller canvas, $50,000-$60,000, that captures these qualities is likely to appreciate in step with his mid-tier works, offering a compelling entry point without overexposure.
In one sense, I could stop here. The case for Streeton almost makes itself. Yet there’s one more dimension worth mentioning—something even seasoned collectors tend to overlook. Beyond standard appreciation lies a secondary form of return: cultural yield. A Streeton—even a modest $60,000 landscape—is a museum-grade painting, and ownership carries a latent potential for passive income through institutional loans.
Once the painting is in your possession, a crucial question emerges: will it simply grace your walls, quietly appreciating in value, or will it begin to work for you? Many university art museums are eager to borrow important works for study, research papers, and local exhibition, often paying $500–$1,000 per year for the privilege. Few of these institutions possess true masterpieces, so the chance to display a mid-tier work by an artist of enduring cultural relevance is an exciting opportunity for most small museums/ university art department museums. Though exact figures are seldom publicized, many university museums maintain 30–40 paintings on loan at any given time, which may equate to $40,000 in loan payouts—a cost roughly equivalent to a single student’s annual tuition, and by their standards, an excellent return on investment to the vitality of their art department.
Over a five-year horizon, even a lower-tier Streeton could yield between $2,500 - $10,000 in passive income—contingent, of course, on circumstance. This isn’t mere speculation but a quiet reality for those who own culturally significant art. The greatest windfalls, however, come when a curator from a major museum notices you own the Streeton at the smaller museum and extends an invitation to include it in a large-scale traveling exhibition—paying you handsomely for the display rights. Yet, only exemplar examples of the artist receive an invitation, but this is no hurdle as exemplar examples of Streeton’s motifs are the only paintings I would recommend buying.
So, in conclusion, a $60,000 Streeton today is probably the deal of the decade for those bold and/or fortunate enough to secure one in what’s getting to be a crowded auction room.
5. Angelica Garnett 1918-2012
Angelica Garnett was the daughter of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and the only one of Bell’s children to pursue painting herself. Her life and art occupy a curious position—forever tied to the Bloomsbury Group, yet never entirely defined by it.
It’s worth pausing here. To speak of the Bloomsbury Group is to broach a complicated topic. The comparison that comes to mind is Oscar Wilde. His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray regularly appears on “Top 100” lists, a work of undeniable brilliance. And yet, when one looks into Wilde’s personal character, the brilliance is clouded by contradictions, leaving admirers to celebrate the art while remaining uneasy about the man. Bloomsbury inspires the same tension: undeniably great art, yet reputations that remain tangled.
On the one hand, the so-called Bloomsbury artists—Vanessa Bell’s luminous domestic scenes, Duncan Grant’s vibrant still lifes, and Roger Fry’s relaxed portraits—stands among the best British paintings of the early 20th century. On the other hand, the personal entanglements and moral inconsistencies of its members complicate any unreserved praise. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend collecting Bloomsbury - and it’s a real shame.
It's probably for the best though as Vanessa Bell herself has already risen far beyond the reach of most collectors. A single floral abstraction, once estimated at $20,000, hammered at over $250,000 and recalibrated her entire market a few years ago. Since then, Bell’s paintings have become impossible to predict, often receiving unexpected, high bids.
Her daughter -Angelica Garnett, however, offers a more accessible path into this legacy. Trained directly by her mother, her early canvases echo Bell’s style before shifting toward more contemporary modes. Yet throughout her long life—she nearly reached a century—she was often viewed less as an artist in her own right and more as the last surviving link to Bloomsbury. Collectors and historians sought her memories of Charleston Farm, her aunt Virginia Woolf, and the circle that defined an era, instead of her own art.
Yet, her own art is out there. The early works—closest in style to Vanessa Bell—carry particular resonance. Her market today is modest, typically $1,500–$4,000 when works appear at all. The challenge is scarcity: most pieces remain in family hands, rarely surfacing at auction.
For a discerning collector, this scarcity becomes opportunity. A work tied directly to her Charleston years, or one stylistically aligned with her mother, could combine pedigree, rarity, and narrative in a way that sparks serious appreciation. Garnett thus provides a quieter, more conscientious way to invest in the aura of Bloomsbury without the same biography baggage. And perhaps most compelling of all—her painting skill holds its own alongside her mother’s.
6. Oswald Poreou 1877-1955
If the question was ever asked - what’s the best oil painting one could buy with a budget of only $500? - A painting with classical appeal, yet could be acquired in 2025 for nothing? One such value artist is
Oswald Poreau.
He was a Belgian art instructor with a prolific output—perhaps more than a thousand surviving canvases spanning several decades. A dozen or so appear at auction each year, allowing collectors some discretion in selecting stronger examples. His work is characterized by a confident, painterly touch and decorative appeal, making it particularly suitable for display. Most pieces can be acquired in the $300–$500 range.
The reason why I think he is a great value pick is that his paintings trade 3 to 5 times cheaper than his comparable Belgian contemporaries. In other words, his best paintings should trade in the $1,000-$2,000 range.
The only downside is that these paintings mainly surface in Europe, meaning you’ll likely have to pay $150-$300 to ship it to the United States in addition to the winning auction price. Yet, even at $500-$800 all in, you could have a giant, full-sized classical oil painting - whereas anyone else on this list you would definitely feel the price change from small to large canvases. So, he remains a solid value pick.
7. Edouard Vuillard 1868-1940
A few years ago, I was watching an art program where a woman brought in a drawing by Modigliani—the art world’s favorite modern Italian artist. When the appraisal came back at $50,000, I nearly fell out of my chair. You had to see it to believe it; it wasn’t even a particularly good sketch.
Since then, the thought of possibly investing in artists sketches rather than their official paintings has become an idea.
Yet, while there are some sketches that might make good investments, I’ve found most sketches fall into one of two traps: they’re either just chicken scratches, inconsequential gestures and scribbles or if you do find a good sketch, it’s complete which the art market would value almost like a completed painting - eliminating any hope of acquiring one at a true bargain.
Then there’s the matter of prestige. Ideally, you’d want a sketch by a household name with real appreciation potential, but before you know it, you’re already brushing up against five-figure prices, which eliminates most of the desired candidates.
Long story short, I do have one suggestion in this category- the preliminary planning sketches of Edouard Vuillard - one of the most famous French painters of all time with an auction record around 17 million - which is an extraordinary sum for a masterpiece - but also bodes well for the collectability of his remaining work.
Why Vuillard? Because his art distills Paris at the very moment one would choose to suspend—fin-de-siècle France, the golden age of café chatter and lamplit interiors. While others painted the city from its boulevards, Vuillard painted it from within: the quiet rooms, patterned wallpapers, and unhurried rhythms of the Parisian bourgeoisie. His figures—women sewing, reading, or lost in thought—exist within a hush of filtered light that feels like memory itself. To experience Vuillard is to wander the city not as a tourist might but as one who belongs there, glimpsing the beauty of life behind its curtains.
A Vuillard painting that evokes this suspended world of deeper Paris would cost at least $250,000, perhaps far more. But here’s the opportunity: for only $2,000-$4,000, you can own a preparatory sketch, about half the size of a standard sheet of paper, by Vuillard himself—drawings that directly informed his major compositions. In other words, you could buy the “blueprint” for a masterpiece for $2,500, while the masterpiece itself would cost you $250,000.
That’s not just collecting—that’s arbitrage. It just seems like a bargain for what you’re getting.
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