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One of the questions most frequently asked of reference librarians is "I've found (or inherited) a painting; what's it worth?" Librarians are not authorized to appraise art objects, but there are several reference tools at the Highland Park Public Library you could use before turning to an appraiser.
Examine the piece carefully. If it is framed, you will probably need to remove it from its frame. Next, you will want to find out who the artist is. If authorship has not already been established, perhaps it can be determined through the signature. Don't despair if the artist's signature is hard to read, or the artist used his initials. You might be able to identify the artist by using such directories as H.H. Caplan's The Classified Directory of Artists' Signatures, Symbols & Monograms.
After you've established the artist's name, you might wish to have biographical information. Well-known artists such as Rembrandt or Van Gogh would be listed in the library's online catalog. However, if the artist is obscure, or not documented in individual monographs, use one of these sources:
Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers
also available online in Who's Who On the Web (log in with your HPPL card needed; please log out when done).
Art prices are more or less determined by the auction market. To ascertain the worth of an artist's work, consult auction records. It's best to track activity over a number of successive years. You will sometimes find that auction records are the only source of information available on an artist. There are many routes for checking auction prices (including the Internet and various databases). The following guide is available at the Highland Park Public Library:
This is only a sampling, there may be additional sites.
ART LIBRARY ONLINE
http://www.artlibrary.com
ADEC ART PRICE ANNUAL & FALK'S ART PRICE INDEX
http://www.artpriceindicator.com/
INTERNET AUCTION LIST
http://www.internetauctionlist.com
CURIOSCAPE: THE INTERNET'S EXCLUSIVE ANTIQUING & COLLECTING
DIRECTORY
http://www.curioscape.com
Art in America's annual Guide to Galleries, Museums,Artists will help you to locate a dealer handling a given artist's work. If no dealer is handling it, then there's little or no demand for it, and it isn't selling.
Check these other websites for information on the artist in question:
ARTCYCLOPEDIA
http://www.artcyclopedia.com
"The Fine Art Search Engine." A comprehensive database of more than 6,500
different artists represented by 19,000 links directly to an estimated 75,000
works at hundreds of museum sites, image archives, and other online resources.
Search by artist, artwork or museum, or browse artists by movement, medium,
subject, nationality or name.
ASK ART
http://www.askart.com
This site is listed as "The Artist's Bluebook" with extensive information about
more than 6,000 American artists, including biographies, auction prices and a
directory that serves the collector. This site is particularly useful for
information on artists currently working in America.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEM (SIRIS)
http://www.siris.si.edu
The online catalog of resources held by the Institution's libraries, archives,
and other specialized research centers. Including Art Inventories, which
provides information on over 335,000 artworks in public and private collections
worldwide; a large photographic archive that documents the work of approximately
10,000 American artists in 127,000 black-and-white images; manuscripts and
specialized bibliographies.
UNION LIST OF ARTIST'S NAMES (ULAN)
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/ulan/index.html
The ULAN currently contains some 200,000 names representing approximately
100,000 individual artists (or "creators," including performance artists,
decorative artists, etc.) and architects, cumulated from nine participating
Getty documentation projects.
PROFESSIONAL APPRAISER & DEALER SOCIETIES
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
APPRAISERS
Local chapter: 847-568-0222
National office: 1-800-272-8258
APPRAISERS ASSOCIATION
OF AMERICA
212-889-5404
ART DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICA
212-940-8590
04/02 HN
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