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Pricing and rankings, explained
The formulas, weights and data behind every estimate and every ranking position.
- How does The Art of Price estimate an artwork's price?
- Each artwork is priced as height x width in inches, multiplied by the artist's cofactor and by factors for medium and edition size. The result is shown as a central estimate with a low and high range, never as a guaranteed sale price.
- What is the cofactor and how is it calculated?
- The cofactor is a price-per-square-inch multiplier derived from the artist's credential score with the formula 1.5 + 2.4 x the square root of the score. It grows quickly for emerging artists and flattens at the top of the market, matching how prices behave in practice.
- Which credentials influence the score, and how are they weighted?
- Museum exhibitions weigh 9 points each, museum collections 6, books 4, gallery representation 4, solo exhibitions 3.5, scholarly articles 2.5, group exhibitions 1, private collections 0.6 and press mentions 0.5. The weighted sum is the credential score behind every cofactor and ranking.
- How does medium and edition size change the estimate?
- Paintings and photographs use a factor of 1, works on paper 0.55 and sculptures or objects 1.35. Editions scale the price too: unique works are multiplied by 1.8, editions of 2-3 by 1.6, 4-5 by 1.4, 6-10 by 1.2, up to 25 by 1 and larger editions by 0.8. Photography also uses size brackets based on the longest side.
- How are the rankings ordered?
- You can rank up to 500 artists by cofactor, credential score, reference value, museum exhibitions, institutional collections, private collections, gallery representation, press, scholarly articles, auction record or name. Every ranking view has its own shareable page and can be exported to CSV, PDF, XLSX or a ZIP bundle.
- What is the reference value used in the rankings?
- Reference value prices every artist on the same hypothetical painting, using the reference size you choose in the ranking controls. It makes prices directly comparable between artists because only the credentials differ.
- Where does the data come from?
- Credentials are gathered from open museum APIs, public registries, gallery and institution records, press archives and AI research across multiple sources. The Transparency page lists every source, the weight of each credential and the passages used to build each CV.
- How often is the data updated?
- Artist records are refreshed automatically and every profile shows when it was last refreshed. You can also trigger a refresh for a single artist, and watchlist artists are scanned for new lots and results at Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips.
- Can I correct an artist's credentials?
- Yes. Each artist has a credential review screen where counts, collections and galleries can be edited, with the cofactor and estimated price updating live. Every change is written to an audit log.
- Is the estimate an appraisal?
- No. The estimate is an evidence-based reference built from public credentials and market precedent. It supports negotiation, insurance conversations and collection planning, but it is not a formal appraisal or a market guarantee.
Want the source list behind each number? See Data Transparency, or go straight to the rankings.