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Jim Lane wrote:
Friends,
I am in the process of building a fine arts reference collection and would
appreciate some guidance from others regarding what art sales indexes a
public art library should have. Given inevitable budget limitations, I
have to be careful not to needlessly duplicate information between
references. My plan is to put a select few on standing order. Below are
the titles of indexes that are currently in my collection. Any advise on
possible exclusions or additions would be most helpful.
Sotheby's Art at Auction: the Year in Review
Leonard's Annual Price Index of Art Auctions
Leonard's Annual Price Index of Prints, Posters and Photographs
Gordon's Print Price Annual
Art Price Index International
PrintWorld Directory
Art Market Guide: Contemporary American Art
Art at Auction in America
Fine Art Identification and Price Guide
Annuaire des Cotes/International/Art Price Annual
Prints, Posters and Photographs, Identification and Price Guide
Auction Prices of American Artists
Currier's Price Guide to European Artists 1545-1945
Currier's Price Guide to American and European Prints
Currier's Price Guide to American Artists 1645-1945
Phew! Now I need to sort out the wheat from the chaff or make additions
(Gasp!) Thanks for any input.
Jim Lane, [log in to unmask]
Fine Arts Librarian
Sahara West Library
9002 West Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89117
(702) 228-1942
REPLY:
Without touching base with my colleagues, I can offer a couple of titles we
have which have proven very useful (you subscribe to more than we!- Your list
is interesting.)
International auction records / Enrique Mayer
[known affectionately as "Mayer"]
Annual, offers sales information byfive headings: Prints, Drawings,
Watercolors, Paintings, and Sculpture. Some illustrations.
Davenport's art reference & price guide / R.J. Davenport
Especially helpful when researching sales of lesser known artists. It
also offers biographical sources.
Gordon's print price Annual / Martin Gordon Inc.
Annual, especially helpful for prints.
We review our purchases yearly. The recent addition of _Art price index_, at
the suggestion of a local gallery owner, has been wonderful. It is especially
helpful because it lists those works which DID NOT sell (were "bought in").
Through use we can tell which ones are most helpful; but one does not cover
them all. Some we order alternating years rather than every year, in the
interests of saving money.
Hope this helps!
Heather Brodhead
Staff Librarian, Music & Art Department
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
telephone: (412)622-3105, or 622-3109
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