How the record is kept

What the Collection is

The Collection lists works sold at public auction, each with its Catalogue number, the sale that set its price and, where we have it, its provenance. We do not own the works. The numbering is ours.

What a price means

A price is what the work fetched at public auction, buyer’s premium included, in US dollars at the time of sale. Where a sale was in another currency, the work’s own page gives that figure, the rate and its source. Sales from before buyer’s premiums existed are marked as hammer prices. Private sales are not recorded.

On the Record Book, the figure under each price is the same amount in today’s money, adjusted with US consumer prices and labelled as such. It is an extra, never the price.

Confirmed by two sources

A work carries this mark when its price and sale have been confirmed by two independent reputable sources: an auction-house page or release, a museum record, or a major news outlet.

Works without the mark are listed from published reports that have not yet been checked against a second source. We are checking them in batches, and each work that passes receives the mark. If you spot a difference, please correct the record.

How the entries are made

Entries are researched and drafted with AI assistance, then checked against auction-house records, museum collections and the major press. Each entry lists its sources. Where a detail is reported but unproven, or still argued over, the entry says so. The narration in our Reels is AI-generated.

Sensitive histories

Looting, theft and restitution are written neutrally and sourced. Works tied to open claims say so.

Correct the record

Use “Correct the record” at the foot of any work’s page, or the contact form. Our corrections policy says how we respond.