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Art At Auction
IN
America
1991 EDITION
Thecomprehensive, up-to-dateannualart
priceguidetoover 5000 artists and 20,000works
ofartsoldatAmerica's majorauction houses
fromAugust 1989 throughAugust 1990.
KREXPRESS
10169NewHampshireAve./Suite 195
MD
SilverSpring, 20903
Copyright 1990 by Ernest R. Beyard
Publisher
KREXPRESS
All rights reserved. The reproduction ofany part ofthis
book in any form or by any means is strictly prohibited
without the written consent ofthe publisher. This includes
photocopying, recording in information computer systems,
or the like. Use ofexamples ofthe text for the purposes of
a legitimate review are permissible.
Library ofCongress ISSN 1046-4999
ISBN 0-9624926-1-2
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Ifadditional copies ofthis valuable art collecting tool are
needed they can be ordered directly from the publisher at
$27.95 per copy plus $2.50 handling and shipping. For
quantity orders of5 or more copies please contact the
publisher by mail or phone.
KREXPRESS
10169 New Hampshire Ave./# 195
MD
Silver Spring, 20903
(301)445-6009
Coverreproduction:JohnF.Francis(American 1808-1886)
Strawberries
OilonCanvas
8"xl2"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction/Disclaimer 5
Important Features of Art At Auction in America 7
Important Factors Affecting Art Values 9
The Artist 9
The Mediums Used 10
The Size ofthe Work 11
The Subject Matter 12
The Date Painted 14
The Auction House or Dealer 14
The Date of Sale 15
The Condition ofthe Piece 15
The Authenticity 16
The "Attractiveness" or Quality ofPiece 16
The Provenance 17
Historical Considerations 17
Other Suggested Resources Relating
to the Auction Market 18
Explanation of Pricing 19
Keys To Using This Guide 21
Artists and Auction Prices 27
INTRODUCTION
The 1991 Edition of Art At Auction in America follows the
extraordinarily successful introduction last year of our 1990
Premiere Edition. Collectors, dealers, auctioneers, appraisers, and
book reviewers were all very complimentary about the benefits of
owning this guide. The 1991 Edition retains all of the innovative
features which made the 1990 Premiere Edition a landmark
—
publication including the portable size and affordable price, both
of which remain unchanged. Efforts to continually improve with
age resulted in several exciting changes in the 1991 Edition of Art
At Auction in America. These include the addition of auction
ME
houses representing Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, and
Toronto; and the retention of those important artists listed in the
1990 Premiere Edition, but whose works did not sell during this past
auction season. This means that those artists' names will never be
eliminated from Art At Auction in America.
If you are unfamiliar with this important publication. Art At
Auction in America is designed to give both the novice and the
expert the power of portable knowledge so that they can be more
informed and confident art collectors. The listings contain the key
data pertinent to each work's value with the exception of subjective
aspects such as condition and "attractiveness" or quality ofthe piece.
The art sales information has been collected from major auction
houses in the United States and Canada, and includes both foreign
and American artists. Much art, of course, is also sold through
dealers, galleries and brokers. These sales represent the art retail
market and actual selling prices are rarely available to the public.
The auction market, on the other hand, represents the art wholesale
market to a large degree. This being said, it is important that
beginning collectors and investors understand that prices paid at
auction for a particular artist's work are only a guide and can be
somewhat different than those quoted by a dealer. These reasons
include: 1) The auction market is generally less susceptible to (but
—
not immune from) artificial manipulation of prices particularly for
the works ofcontemporary artists. 2) Dealers and brokers obviously
must make a profit on a sale, whereas an auction house
automatically receives a commission on each painting sold ranging
from 20% to 30% ofthe selling price. Also, many dealers guarantee
the authenticity oftheir inventory, in effect providing you insurance.
Most auction houses do too, but have many disclaimers in their
terms of sale. 3) The auction market will often reflect up and down
price swings in an artist's value before the retail market shows a
similar trend. Many a dealer has run back to his gallery to reprice
stock immediately after auction results have set new records.
It is not practical or possible to provide the novice a complete
background with regard to art values in the limited space available
here. However, it is important to briefly review some general
observations about how certain factors affect the value of a work of
art. Although it may not be new information forexperienced dealers
and collectors, it will be ofvalue to most others.
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the
information included here. However, in a mass ofdata this large, all
of it initially compiled by auction houses outside our control, a few
errors are inevitable. Ifyou question any information, please contact
us or the auction house involved for corroboration before relying on
it. We do, in fact, encourage you to notify us of any errors you may
find since this information will all be retained in an historical data
bank.
Additionally, as is explained in more detail in the text of this
guide, many factors may contribute to the value of a particular
artwork. Therefore, you should not rely upon these ranges to
purchase a particular piece of artwork, but should instead obtain an
appraisal from a reputable dealer or art professional. The Publisher
and Writer accept no responsibility and/or liability for any purchase
of a work of art which is later appraised at a value less than the
values set forth in this guide. This guide is provided for
informational purposes only.
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF
Art At Auction in America
Art At Auction in America is the most comprehensive portable
guide available.
Any work by any artist which sells for twenty-five dollars
or more is included.
Art At Auction in America is easy to use.
Prioritizes works of art within each artist's listing by
descending price which allows you to see what effect
variables such as medium, size, subject, auction house
and date ofsale may have on a painting's value.
Art At Auction in America includes only practical
information.
Artists are listed alphabetically without regard to
nationality or painting style. However, nationalities and
birth and death dates are indicated whenever available.
Paintings identified by subjective attributions such as
"attributed to," "circle of," "style of," "manner of," or
"school of are not included.
Art At Auction in America is user friendly.
A
key to the abbreviations in the listings is included in
two places, near the end of the introductory material, and
also on the handy flip-out data flap inside the back cover.
Art At Auction in America retains all original titles of
art work.
Titles provided by the auction house in the language of
the artist, usually French, Spanish, German or Italian, are
retained as referenced in the original auction catalogue.
Each succeeding edition ofArt At Auction in America will
include an expanded list ofartists.
If there are no current sales of works by an important
artist who was listed in the 1990 Premiere edition, the
artist's name will still be included in the 1991 Edition. An
asterisk will follow the artist's name, nationality and dates
indicating that auction information is available in the
1990 Premiere Edition. There are 1500 such artists listed
this year.
Art At Auction in America lists all sales prices in U.S. Dollars.
Canadian auction prices have already been converted for
you at 1.0 Canadian Dollars = 0.85 U.S. Dollars.
Art At Auction in America includes private sales ofauction
houses.
Occasionally, auction house price lists indicate that some
paintings, which did not sell at auction, were sold
privately after the sale. These sales, while not strictly an
auction price, are ofuseful reference value and have been
included in this book.
