Most frequently asked questions about the artnet Price Database
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1. What is the artnet Price Database?
The artnet Price Database is the leading illustrated archive of auction records dating back to 1985 for Fine Art, such as photography, sculpture, and works on paper, Design, such as architectural properties, furniture, and lighting, and Decorative Art, such as antiques, jewelry, textiles, and silver.
The following information is available for each Fine Art and Design auction lot:
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Artist's name
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Title
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Year of the work
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Medium
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Size
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Marking information (signature, for example)
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Provenance, description, literature when available
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Auction house with possibility to contact them
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Sale date
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Lot number
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Estimates for the Work
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Hammer price
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Illustration(s) of the artwork (except for the not-illustrated Researcher Yearly subscription)
The following information is available for each Decorative Art auction lot:
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Title
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Description
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Maker
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Size
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Year
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Edition
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Marking information (signature, for example)
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Edition, casting, printing, or publishing information (if relevant)
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Provenance, description, literature when available
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Auction house with possibility to contact them
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Sale date
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Lot number
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Miscellaneous information (signature, for example)
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Estimates of the work
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Hammer price
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Illustration(s) of the artwork
2. How do I subscribe to the artnet Price Database?
Choose a subscription level, and then click the “Get Access Now” button.
Review Your Order
If you wish to remove a subscription, simply click the corresponding “X” in the “Remove” column, and click ”Remove” again when the pop-up asks if you are sure. If you wish to make further purchases, click “Add Another Product” at the bottom of the screen, and select from the list. When you have reviewed your final selection, click “Checkout.”
Then follow the 3 steps of the sign-up process.
For more details on the sign-up steps, visit the My Account FAQ.
*Note: If you already have a username and password and wish to purchase another subscription, simply log in with your existing username and password and click on the type of subscription that you want under “Add Another Product;” this will take you through a similar sign-up process, but without requiring you to create a new username and password.
3. Can I have one subscription that covers both the Fine Art and Decorative Art databases?
No. Because of the different ways they must compile, sort, and display data, the databases require separate subscriptions.
However, you may use the same username for multiple subscriptions.
4. How do I search the artnet Price Database?
The best way to perform a Fine Art and Design or Decorative Art search is to enter the least amount of information possible, and then narrow the search as needed.
Searching the artnet Price Database Fine Art and Design:
Step 1:
For Fine Art and Design searches, the two basic criteria are either an artist’s name or the name of an auction house; the artist’s name may be entered in full, or only partially.
Upon entering the third character in the artist or auction house field, a list of suggestions will appear that match the text you’ve entered. As you enter more characters, the list of suggestions will narrow. Click the name you are interested in when it appears in the list.
Step 2:
Narrow your search (Optional). If you have additional, exact information, you may enter it. Then click “Check the Number of Results” before searching to decide if you wish to refine your criteria.
*Note: 100 results are displayed per page; clicking to additional pages of results counts as additional searches. Keep this in mind when narrowing your search criteria.
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Media: Search all Fine Art and Design lots, or select a specific media; you may search multiple media in a single search. Be sure any media you manually enter is spelled exactly as it appears in the auction catalog.
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Title/Lot Description: Enter one or more words, separated by spaces. Titles do not have to be written in full, but words entered must be exact; for example, for "Reclining Figure," enter “Reclining,” “Figure,” or both, but do not enter “figurative.” If you think the title may be listed in a foreign language, be sure to have its spelling correct for the language it is written in.
*Note: Do not include punctuation or any words fewer than three characters; title searches may not be complete, as there are many instances where multiple languages have been used to identify the same work. You may enter in an unlimited number of characters.
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Year of Work: The year or range of years in which the artist created the work. If you enter in one field only, such as "from," it will start the search from that year forward, and show results through the present day.
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Size: The dimensions of the work (in inches or centimeters), as listed by the auction house. Using a range of sizes is often the best way to find what you are looking for.
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Catalogue Raisonné Author and Number:The author and catalog raisonné reference number can be entered for prints and photos only. This field is useful for works in numerous editions.
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Sale Date: Enter the date or range for when the artwork was sold from the auction house; for the exact date, enter the same date in both fields.
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Price Range: A range of prices that the work sold for in US dollars. For works sold in Euros, the price will automatically be converted based on the conversion rates of the date it sold.
*Note: The price of some works is listed as "Bought In," which means they did not meet their reserve price and therefore will not appear in your results as a price parameter.
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Sale Title: One or more words separated by spaces that appear exactly in the sale title, such as Abstract and Contemporary Art, Important Modern and Impressionist paintings, etc.
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Sale Number: The number used by the auction house to designate the sale.
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Lot: Use these two fields to search within a range of lot numbers. To view a single lot, enter the lot number in both of the fields.
Step 3:
Select how you’d like your results displayed, and click “View First 100 Results” to initiate the search.
Completing a Decorative Art search:
Step 1:
In order to keep the results at a manageable level, you are required to enter at least one of the following fields:
Collecting Categories: Click the box matching the group you wish to search. This will reveal specific categories available. To search any of the categories, check the appropriate box, or select “All” to search all categories within the collection.
Title/Lot Description: One or more words separated by spaces that appear in the title of the work. For example, for "Louis XV console," you may enter “Louis XV,” “console,” or both. If you think the title may be listed in a foreign language, be sure to have its spelling correct for the language it is written in.
*Note: Do not include punctuation or any words fewer than three characters; title searches may not be complete, as there are many instances where multiple languages have been used to identify the same work. You may enter in an unlimited number of characters.
Year of Work: The year or range of years in which the artist created the work. If you enter in one field only, such as "from," it will start the search from that year forward, and show results through the present day.
Size: The dimensions of the work (in inches or centimeters), as listed by the auction house. Using a range of sizes is often the best way to find what you are looking for.
Object Type: Click the box that matches the group you wish to search. This will expand to reveal the specific categories available. To search any of the Object Types, simply check the appropriate box, or select the “All” box to search all categories within the collection. Selecting more than one Object Type will expand your search to include lots tagged to the categories selected.
Specific Object Type: If you do not find your item’s category represented in the Object Types, you may type in a specific Object Type, for example, “gueridon,” into this field.
Auction House: Search all auction houses represented in the artnet Price Database Decorative Art. Upon entering the third character, a list of suggestions will appear that match the text you’ve entered. As you enter more characters, the list of suggestions will narrow. Click the name you are interested in when it appears in the list.
Sale Date: Enter the date or range for when the artwork was sold from the auction house; for the exact date, enter the same date in both fields.
Price Range: A range of prices that the work sold for in US dollars. For works sold in Euros, the price will automatically be converted based on the conversion rates of the date it sold.
*Note: The price of some works is listed as "Bought In," which means they did not meet their reserve price and therefore will not appear in your results as a price parameter.
Sale Title: One or more words separated by spaces that appear in the sale title (e.g., British Furniture, etc.). This search field will only look for exact word matches in the sale title.
Lot Range: You may use these two search fields to search within a range of lot numbers. To view a single lot, enter the lot number in both of the fields.
Sale Number: The number used by the auction house to designate the sale.
Step 2:
Select how you’d like your results displayed, and click “View First 100 Results” to initiate the search.
5. How do I save and print my Price Database search results?
Once you get the results of your search you have the choice to save and/or print those results. Please note the small boxes to the left of each image on the results page. The lots that will be saved or printed are only those with a check mark in the box to the left of the image. You can either individually select each lot, or "Select All" to automatically put a check mark in every box. Once you have the desired lots selected, click “Save Selected Lots.” This will open a confirmation pop-up of the saved results.
If you want to print, click Print. A new window will appear with a new listing of those selected lots with a box confirming that the selections have been printed. You may close this extra window to return to your Price Database screen.
To access all saved searches, login to your artnet account or click “My Account.” Click My Saved Searches to see all searches listed alphabetically by artist, then click on View for the search you would like to see. Please note that searches can only be accessed when you have an active Price Database subscription. If you cancel and then re-subscribe at a later date with the same username and password, you will be able to access your saved searches.
6. What constitutes a search in the Price Database Fine Art and Design?
Once you have clicked on the View First 100 Results button, it counts as a search unless you have zero results.
Please be aware that sale results are displayed 100 sales per page. Each time that you scroll to the next page of 100 sales, this uses an extra search. You may wish to keep this in mind when narrowing the search criteria.
All Decorative Art subscriptions are unlimited.
7. How does the search form interpret empty fields?
The search form assumes you want to search all possible values for fields you leave blank. For example, if the only field you fill in is Artist's Name, then the search form will retrieve all auction lots for that artist regardless of other criteria, such as the auction house where that work was offered.
If you fill in only one of a pair of fields, such as in Price Range, the search will assume a minimum or maximum value for the empty field. For example, if you were to enter 2500 in Price From and nothing in To, the search form would return matching works with a list price greater than or equal to US$2500.
Generally speaking, the less information you enter in the search form, the greater the number of possible matching auction lots. It is recommended that you enter the least amount of information possible, and then slowly narrow your search by using the grey Check Number of Results button.
8. What if I can't find a particular work?
The artnet Price Database Fine Art and Design covers works of Fine Art and 20th and 21st century Design.
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Fine Art includes original paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs, prints and multiples, and installations
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Design includes 20th and 21st century Design objects with an artist and/or a manufacturer
All lots in the artnet Price Database Fine Art and Design must have the following minimum estimates to be entered:
500 USD
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Original paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs, prints and multiples, and installations with a known artist
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Contemporary mixed artist portfolios
2,000 USD
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Artists with a qualified name (e.g., after, follower of, circle of, school of)
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Artists known only by their initials, nationality, or period
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Artists known as Master or Monogrammist
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Artists known only by first or last name (for whom the full name cannot be identified)
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Anonymous artists
The following items are not included in the artnet Price Database Fine Art and Design:
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Lots with multiple artists that are not collaborations
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Anonymous Design objects
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Decorative art objects—including pre-20th century furniture, silver, porcelain, instruments—which can be found in the artnet Price Database Decorative Art
If you still have questions, please contact artnet customer support by email or at +1-212-497-9700.
9. Once I have my results, what does "Bought In" mean when it appears in the "Sold For" field?
The price of some works is listed as "Bought In," which means they did not meet their reserve price (the minimum price to sell agreed upon by the seller and the auction house) and the work either did not sell or was sold to the auction house. If this occurs the price will not appear as a price parameter.
10. In addition to my subscription monthly charge, there is a second charge of a different amount on my credit card. What is this second charge?
If you go over your allotted monthly searches (10 per month for Individual Rollover) you are automatically charged for each additional search. If you have an Individual Rollover account, it is US$3.50 for each additional search. The extra charges appearing on your credit card statement are for the previous month’s overages (i.e., your bill will show your monthly fee for the current month and the extra charges from the previous month). Local sales taxes may apply.
For more information on billing information and your account, visit the My Account FAQ
11. How do I find out more about My Account, sign-up, billing information, technical issues, or the artnet Refund Policy?
For information on Value Added Tax, or VAT ID, visit the Value Added Tax FAQ.
For questions about your account, the sign-up process, and billing information, visit the My Account FAQ.
If you have further questions, please email us at support@artnet.com or call +1-212-497-9700.
Our customer support team is available as follows:
