Charles Biederman

Charles Biederman knew Mondrian, Léger, Miró and Brancusi, wrote a book that changed how a generation of British artists thought about abstraction, and did nearly all of it from a farmhouse outside Red Wing, Minnesota. He is the most internationally significant artist the state has quietly housed, and he is still underpriced. Revere Auctions holds both of his highest auction results.

Who Was Charles Biederman?

Charles Biederman (1906 to 2004) was born in Cleveland to Czech immigrant parents and trained at the Art Institute of Chicago. He moved to New York in the mid-1930s, and then, in 1936, to Paris, which is where his life turned.

In roughly a year he met Piet Mondrian, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Jean Arp, Antoine Pevsner and Constantin Brancusi. He came away convinced that painting on a flat surface was a dead end, and that the future of abstract art was three-dimensional and constructed. He spent the next sixty-five years proving it.

In 1942 he moved to Red Wing, Minnesota, and stayed for the rest of his life. From there, in 1948, he published Art as the Evolution of Visual Knowledge, a dense, self-published theoretical work that found its way to Britain and became foundational for the British constructivists, Victor Pasmore and Anthony Hill among them. He was, from rural Minnesota, an argument that people in London were having.

Charles Biederman, “New York #7”, Structurist Relief, 1938. Sold $32,000 by Revere Auctions, the highest price paid for his work at auction.

What Is a Structurist Relief?

Biederman called his own invention the Structurist Relief, and it is what collectors want. They are constructed wall works, usually painted aluminium or wood, in which flat coloured planes project out from a backing board so the piece casts real shadows and changes as you move past it.

The idea is that colour and structure should behave the way they do in nature rather than being illustrated on a flat surface. He numbered them by place and sequence, which is why they carry titles like “New York #7” or “Work No. 37”.

Around the reliefs there is a body of earlier and supporting work that also comes to auction: paintings from the 1930s in New York and Paris, gouache and watercolour studies, ink drawings, later steel abstractions, and his correspondence. His archive of letters is genuinely interesting, given who he was writing to.

Charles Biederman, “New York, October 1935”. Sold $14,000 by Revere Auctions. This is Biederman before the reliefs, working flat and still close to Miró and Arp.

How Much Is My Charles Biederman Worth?

This is a market with a very wide spread, and the single question that sets the price is whether the work is a relief.

Structurist reliefs are the market. They have sold here from the low five figures to $32,000, and the early ones from the late 1930s are the most sought after of all.

Paintings and works on paper from the 1930s are considerably less, though the Paris and New York material has real historical interest and sells in the low thousands.

Later works, studies and archive material are modest, sometimes only a few hundred dollars.

Revere Auctions results, hammer prices before buyer’s premium.

Condition is unusually important here. The reliefs depend on crisp edges and clean paint, and chipping, overpainting or a warped backing board are all serious. They should never be cleaned with anything before being looked at.

Charles Biederman Appraisals

An auction estimate and a formal appraisal answer different questions.

A free auction estimate tells you what a piece would likely sell for at auction. It costs nothing and it is usually enough to decide whether to sell. Send photographs including the base and we will respond with a range.

A formal written appraisal is a signed document stating a value for a stated purpose: insurance, estate settlement and probate, or charitable donation. It is a paid service written to a different standard of value, and insurance appraisals in particular are normally higher than the auction estimate for the same piece.

Revere Auctions provides both through our appraisal and valuation services team. If you are not sure which you need, ask for the free auction estimate first.

How to Sell Charles Biederman

The strongest results for a Charles Biederman come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related guides: Minnesota artists, George Morrison, Cameron Booth, our fine art department.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Charles Biederman: Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Charles Biederman?

Charles Biederman (1906-2004) was an American abstract artist and theorist. He met Mondrian, Léger, Miró and Brancusi in Paris in 1936, moved to Red Wing, Minnesota in 1942, and in 1948 published Art as the Evolution of Visual Knowledge, which became foundational for the British constructivist artists.

What is a Structurist Relief?

It is Biederman’s own invention: a constructed wall work, usually in painted aluminium or wood, in which flat coloured planes project from a backing board so the piece casts real shadows and shifts as the viewer moves. He numbered them by place and sequence, giving titles such as “New York #7”.

How much is a Charles Biederman worth?

The reliefs carry the market. Revere Auctions has sold Structurist Reliefs from the low five figures up to $32,000, with the late 1930s examples the most sought after. Paintings and works on paper from the 1930s sell in the low thousands, and studies and archive material for considerably less.

Where can I sell a Charles Biederman?

Revere Auctions holds both of the highest prices paid for Biederman at auction, $32,000 and $30,000, and sells his work regularly. Photograph the face straight on, the edges and the reverse, and send them for a free auction estimate. Do not clean a relief before it is assessed.

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