ART SALES AND AUCTION INFORMATION GUIDE

• Major Sources
• Library Catalogs of Sale Catalogues
• Other Sales Information
• Microfiche Collections
• Current Sale Information

MAJOR SOURCES

• Fredericksen, Burton B. The Index of Paintings Sold in the British Isles During the Nineteenth Century. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1988+

An ongoing project from the Provenance Index of the Getty Art History Information Project. Includes place, auctioneer, title/subject, seller, buyer, and indicates the presence of annotations in the sales catalogues.
• Index of Art Sales Catalogs 1981-1985: A Union List from the SCIPIO Database. Boston: G.K.Hall, 1987.

Arranged chronologically with a broad subject index. Entries contain date and place of sale, auction house, title, collectors, sellers, and libraries holding the catalogue.
• Lancour, Harold American Art Auction Catalogues 1785-1942: A Union List. New York: New York Public Library, 1962.

Arranged by date of sale, and contains title, auction house/auctioneer, collector/collection, and location of catalogues. No access by artists' names. Numbers from the index are often referred to in provenance lists as "Lancour number."
• Lugt, Frits Repertoire des catalogues de ventes publiques interessant d'art ou la curiosite.... The Hague: Nijhoff, 1938-1988.

Catalogues listed chronologically; indexed by date of sale, subdivided by place of sale. No access by individual artists or works of art. Index numbers often referred to in provenance lists as "Lugt number."

• Harvard University Fine Arts Library. Catalog of Auction Sales Catalogues. Boston: G.K.Hall, 1971.

Volume 15 is the auction record. Arranged by auction house, subdivided by date.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Sales Catalogues. Boston: G.K.Hall, 1960, vol. 24-25, and Supp. 1962-1977.

Arranged by auction house, subdivided by date of sale. Annotations are indicated. International in scope and dates from the mid-19th century.
• Bibliotheque Forney Catalogues de ventes d'art. Boston: G.K.Hall, 1972.

Arranged by collectors, place of sale, or date of sale. International in scope with emphasis on 20th-century French titles. Annotations indicated.

• Benezit, Emmanuel Dictionnaire critique et documentaire de peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs, et graveurs. Paris; Librairie Grund, 1976.

Included, within the biographical dictionary, is a partial list of important sales of many artist' work under the heading prix. Includes date and place of sale, title of work and price paid in the monetary unit of the country in which sold. Volume 1 contains an adjustment table for the franc from 1901- 1973.
• Graves, Algernon Art Sales From Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the Twentieth Century. Reprint ed., New York: Burt Franklin, 1970.

English auction sales arranged by artist.

• Christie's Pictorial Archive.

An internal reference source for the auction house, covering sales from 1910 to 1980 and excluding confidential information. Primarily a picture archive, but occasionally a short bibliography or description of the work is included. Order numbers are provided for purchase of photographic reproductions. Printed artist index.
• Knoedler Library on Microfiche. The Sales Catalogues.

Art Library holds the microfiche catalogues for the New York sales at the American Art Association, American Art Galleries and Anderson Galleries, 1884-1939. Lugt and Lancour numbers are provided, when appropriate. Many are annotated with prices and/or buyers names.

• Mayer, Enrique International Auction Records. New York: Editions Publisol, 1967 +.

Annual listing of international sales by artist name. Divided by medium, and includes artist dates, title of work, size, and price in the currency of the country of sale as well as in dollars.

• Auctions On Line
• Bonhams Auction House
• Christies
• Sothebys