Please note that the provenance in auction catalogs is sometimes incorrect, although it can be a good starting point. The best way to confirm provenance is to directly contact previous owners and/or their family members in addition to any dealers who may have sold the work.
Dealer, gallery, artist, or collector archives are a great resource if those papers are publicly available.
Another way to learn about previous owners is to check collection credit lines or exhibition records. These often indicate who owned a work during that time frame and then you can track backwards/forwards from there.
Auction sales database covering sales results from major auction houses worldwide (especially North America and Europe) from 1985 to the present. Searchable only by the artist’s name. Includes color images of many works.
Electronic resource, available on site only
Database of auction sale results, from about 1995 to the present, for antiques and collectible objects; includes some coverage of fine arts. Includes color images of many works. Unlike ArtNet, this database can be searched without knowing an artist's name.
Electronic resource, available on site only - ask at the Reference desk for logon help
Online database of Gordon's Print Price Annual (see below). Covers international auction sales records of print sales from 1985 to the present.
Electronic resource, available on site only - ask at the Reference desk for logon help
Gordon’s Print Price Annual. Phoenix: Gordon’s Art Reference, 1978-.
Annual record of prints sold at the most important European and American auction houses during the year. Sale information includes auction house, sale date, lot number, price in local currency, and price in $US. For sales after 1985 see the online database, above.
Offsite Storage, Stacks N8645 G67 2004 (Library has 1978-1991, 1993- present. 1978-1985 is in the Stacks.)