The catalogue raisonne and art auction prices: the case of Berthe Morisot

摘要

The relation between the authentication source for artworks, thecatalogue raisonne, and art prices is examined.Catalogue raisonneinformation such as the illustration page space allocated to each artwork and the use of color illustrations and plates in publications are viewed as measures of the quality or importance of artworks and hence may relate to prices. Empirically, instrumental variables sample selection models are used for the analysis of art auction data which recognizes non-sales and the measurement error associated with using catalogue raisonneinformation as measures of latent quality or importance. The approach is applied to oil painting auction data for the late nineteenth-century impressionist Berthe Morisot. After controlling for the effects of exhibitions, cited literature, painting size, the use of color, signed paintings, presence of females, early career paintings and fixed auction year effects on prices, the illustration page space allocated to a painting is found to importantly relate to prices for acatalogue raisonneof Berthe Morisot.