Auction catalogs
Major American and British auction houses include Bonham's, Christie's, Phillips De Pury, Sotheby's, Swann Galleries, and Tajan, but there are many, many others. The Cornell Library does not collect auction catalogs (with the exception of collections donated to the library, as in the Bertram Rosen Collection, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections), although it does hold quite a few. Here's how to find them in the catalog:
Subject keywords:
Art dealers--Periodicals.
(substitute geographical information):
Art objects, African --Catalogs.
Try a publisher search for the auction house name, such as:
advanced search for
publisher=Sotheby and
keyword=Africa
Marketing Guides
There are many manuals for artists on marketing artwork. Try these subject headings:
Photography > Business methods
Benezit
Cornell researchers have access to Bénézit via Oxford Art Online.
Bénézit includes some auction records in biographical entries on individual artists.
- Benezit (via Oxford Art)The Benezit Dictionary of Artists offers nearly 170,000 entries on artists from antiquity to the present day and featuring regular updates. Benezit contains thousands of auction records, museum holdings, and bibliographies. In addition to its outstanding scope and depth, two features in particular make Benezit unique among art reference works: its coverage of obscure artists and the inclusion of images of artists’ signatures, monograms, and stamps.
Reference Works
Davenport’s art reference & price guideCall Number: Fine Arts Library Reference (Non-Circulating) N8675 .D38 2004ISBN: 0931036445Publication Date: 2004- Guide MayerCall Number: Fine Arts Library N8670 .I61Publication Date: 1995-Volumes 2003-2005 at Rand; Volumes 1995-1998 at Annex. Succeeded by Artvalue.com
Preceded by International auction records (1967-1994) - Blouin Art + AuctionCall Number: Fine Arts Library N8602 .A78Although it began in 1979, Cornell does not have a complete collection (we hold most issues since 2007). Use ILL to request other issues.
- Kunstpreis-JahrbuchCall Number: Library Annex N8670 .K96Annual publication, 1970-1998. Cornell holds issues from 1980-1998 (Vols. 35-53) at the Annex.
Succeeded by: Auktionspreise im Kunstpreis Jahrbuch (for which Cornell holds most volumes, 1999-2010). - Art-price annualCall Number: Annex N8670 .A78We hold v.19-34 (1963/1964-1978/1979) at the Annex
English edition of Kunstpreis-Verzeichnis, -1968/69; Kunstpreis-Jahrbuch, 1969/70- - Printworld directory of contemporary prints & pricesCall Number: NE491 .P96Publication Date: 1983 to present
- World Collectors AnnuaryCall Number: Annex ND47 .W92Publication Date: v. 1- 1946/49-Library has: v.19-47 (1967-1996/1997)
Indexes: v.25/26-v.31/33 (1975/1974-1979/1981)
Historical sales information
Archival Material: Auction Catalogs, Dealers' & Gallery Records
Archives of American Art. Guide to Commercial Art Gallery Records. Many of these collections contain financial records, correspondence, and photographic documentation of objects acquired and sold in the twentieth century.
Getty: Duveen Brothers Archive Finding Guide.
Records and Research at the National Archives and Records Administration. A descriptive guide to records on holocaust-era assets at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. Includes links to related resources at other institutions.
Other Web sites
- Universes-in-universe.orgVisual arts from Africa, Asia, the Americas in the international art context
- Artvalue.comPartially searchable without a subscription. Includes Mayer's Guide, a database of 150,000 artists and over 45,000 sales from 950 auction houses 1987 to the present.
- Artron.netAn interactive online community devoted to Chinese works of art.
- ArtsyLinks to current high-profile live auctions and recent auctions
Fee-based Market Resources
- ArtTacticArtTactic provides unbiased art market research, analysis and advice for art collectors, art professionals, art institutions and art funds. ArtTactic has developed methodologies and analytical frameworks for the art market often used by economists and people in the financial markets. By combining both qualitative and quantitative research tools with an in-depth knowledge of how the art market works.
- Art Capital GroupArt Capital Group offers financial and consulting services to assist art owners in creating liquidity from art assets. ACG is recognized as the only independent source of art lending, and our clients are assured of discretion, flexibility, and responsiveness to their financing needs. Combining expertise in finance and fine art, we provide customized solutions to the fine and decorative art world.