USE THE LIBRARY’S ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS CATALOG to search for books on the subject of your collectible or on the artist for your work of art. Hint: do a keyword search in the catalog and add the term ‘collecting’ to get citations to books that include values and identification. Do a keyword search on the artists name to see if the library has a book on the artist).
USE PERIODICAL INDEXES, either online or in bound volumes to search for journal article citations on the subject of your collectible or artist.
- Reader’s Guide, Proquest and Searchbank are good starting places.
- Wilson Art Index provides specialized search capabilities.
- Art Index is available online from 1985 to the present offering full text of selected titles and from 1929 to 1984 with citations only.
- Artbibliographies Modern is a good online source to use for artists of the 20th. century.
Early years of these titles are also available in bound volumes in the Art Department at Central Library as well as indexes that cover years prior to 1929 such as the Art Institute of Chicago series, the Fricke Library series and the Index to Nineteenth Century Art Periodicals. These volumes are shelved on the west wall of the Art Department Reading Room.
USE REFERENCE BOOKS in the Room Reference stacks in the Art Department to search for the subject of your collectible.
| Official Price Guide to Antiques and Collectibles | 749.01 O32 | |||
| Tony Hyman's I'll Buy That | 749.01 H995 | |||
| Signatures and Monograms | 709.73F191-1 | |||
| Ceramic Marks | 738.08 | |||
| Silver Marks | 739.1 O325 | |||
| American Book Prices Current | 019.3 A512 | |||
| Price guides for coins 737, toys 747.2, dolls 749.7 and trading cards | 41.68 | |||
| Sources to identify artists by name include the | ||||
| Sauer biography series | 703 A43552 | |||
| Groves Dictionary of Art And Artists | 703 D554 | |||
| Also available from LAPL Home Page/DATABASES/ Art, Music & Recreation | ||||
| Benezit Dictionary of Painters, Sculptors and Engravers | 709 B465 | |||
| Older editions of | ||||
| Who was Who in American Art | 709.73 F191 | |||
| Who is Who in American Art | 709.73 W628 | |||
USE RESOURCE DIRECTORIES at the Art Department Reference Desk to find collectors, dealers, appraisers and auction houses.
| Maloney's Collectible Resource Directory | 749.01 M257 | ||
| Where To Sell | 749.01 H996 | ||
| The Appraisers Directory | 709.73 A6525 | ||
| Also available online https://www.appraisers.org/ | |||
Most artist biography indexes are also located at the Reference Desk.
Identify an artist’s name in:
| Davenport's Art Reference & Price Guide | 702.9 D247 | ||
| Art Biography Master Index | 709.02 A7915 | ||
| Biography & Genealogy Master Index (Gale) | |||
| Art in America's Annual Gallery Guide | 708.1 A7845 | ||
| Latin American Art at Auction | 709.8 L5815 | ||
| Getty Union List of Artists Names | 709.03 U495 | ||
| Current editions of | |||
| Who was Who in American Art | 709.73 F191 | ||
| Who is Who in American Art | 709.73 W628 | ||
| California artists resources | |||
| Hughes, Edan. Artists in California, 1786-1940 | 709.794 H893 | ||
| Moure, Nancy. Publications in Southern California Art | 709.794 M931-4 | ||
| Dawdy, Doris. Artists of the American West | 759.1 D269-1 | ||
| Samuels, Peggy. Samuels' Enc. of Artists of the American West | 709.78 S193 | ||
USE CLIPPINGS FILES for information on local artists.
The Art Department has maintained clippings for many years. There are indexes to these files to search for artists by name.(Selected entries are also accessible from the California Index). If the artist is not a West Coast artist, there is an index to the microfiche copy of the New York Public Library Artists File located at the Art Reference Desk.
USE AUCTION RECORDS to research values and provenance of your collectible.
| Mayer's International Auction Records | 705 I615 |
| Christie's Art at Auction | 705 C555 |
| Sotheby's | 705A783 |
| Leonard's Auction Prices | 749.01 L5815 |
| Miller's | 749.01 M6525 |
| Gordon's Print Prices | 760.5 G655 |
| Photographic Art Market | 707.8 P5753 |
| Hint: Davenport's Art Reference & Price Guide | 702.9 D247 |
| Acts as an index to many fine art auctions. |
Artfact online is an auction record database for higher priced fine art available from the databases on the library web page.
Book auction records
| American Book Prices Current | 019.3 A512 |
| Book Auction Records | 019.3 B7235 |
| Bookman's Price Index | 019.4 B724 |
| Mandeville's Used Book Price Guide | 019.4 U84 |
| Huxford's Old Book Value Guide | 019.4 H9865 |
Older editions of these titles are shelved in the library’s Rare Books Department.
USE WEB LINKS to access online auction sources.
You can search more broadly using auction search engines
Antique Malls are also searchable
Book values can be searched
California artist information including auction prices
Biographical information on artists
Found online through the Web Links provided from the LAPL homepage by selecting Art & Music. For example,
The Getty
UCLA Arts
World Wide Art Resources
NOTE: Official appraisals can only be provided by certified appraisers. Insurance or legal requirements often can only be satisfied by an official appraisal.
To locate an appraiser
Appraiser’s Directory
709.73 A6525
https://www.appraisers.org/
Referral to a local auction house such as
Butterfield and Butterfield
Sotheby’s