Decoding Art Indices: MAB100 vs. Traditional Resources
MAB100 Print Market Index © MyArtBroker 2023 
Market Reports
Art indices have long served as benchmarks for market performance, used by investors, wealth managers, and collectors alike. Platforms like ArtNet, ArtPrice, and Sotheby’s Mei Moses have provided tools to track the movement of artist markets over time. But these resources often come with limitations: opaque methodologies, paywalls, and a focus on artist-level data rather than specific artworks. In an increasingly data-driven and democratised market, a new kind of index is needed.
Introducing the MAB100: A Print-Focused, Work-Level Index
The MAB100 is a dedicated index for the Modern & Contemporary print market, developed by MyArtBroker. Unlike other art indices that track overall artist performance, the MAB100 ranks the top 100 individual editioned prints based on value, demand, and repeat sales data.
Because editioned prints share consistent characteristics across impressions, the MAB100 enables meaningful, apples-to-apples comparisons—a challenge that has long limited traditional indices. The focus on individual artworks (rather than artists) provides sharper insight into what collectors are actually buying, holding, and selling.
Methodology: RSR Technology with a Broader Dataset
At the core of the MAB100 is a refined Repeat Sales Regression (RSR) model. Unlike legacy RSR systems that rely solely on auction data, the MAB100 incorporates over 400 auction houses alongside private sales, unsold lots, and valuation inputs. This is particularly important for editioned works, where private transactions often outnumber public ones.
To account for limited sales data on rare or single-sale prints, the MAB100 uses “grouped comparables,” factoring in data from similar works in the same series, colourway, or proof category. This allows for accurate value predictions even when direct repeat sales are unavailable.
Weighting: Why Equal Weighting Beats Market-Cap Models
Most traditional indices, like the ArtPrice100, use a market capitalisation approach – meaning higher-value works or artists disproportionately shape the index, which can skew market perception. The MAB100 uses an equal-weighted model: each data point contributes equally, preventing a few high-value sales from distorting overall trends.
Accessibility and Transparency
Whereas legacy indices often sit behind paywalls or require custom requests, the MAB100 is free to access. It includes detailed individual pages for each print, showing real-time value estimates, sales history, buyer-paid prices, and seller returns. No filtering or paid reports required.
How MAB100 Compares to Traditional Art Indices
ArtNet: Founded in 1989, ArtNet is best known for its auction result database, which contains millions of results dating back to 1985. It also offers bespoke reports and analytics for paying clients. While ArtNet historically experimented with indices, including artist rankings and market trends, it currently does not maintain a public-facing, standalone price index. Instead, its tools are geared toward advanced users who manually analyse artist performance. The platform averages sales at the artist level, which may obscure price fluctuations between individual works or series.
ArtPrice: ArtPrice launched the ArtPrice100 index in 2018 to benchmark the performance of top-tier blue chip artists. The index is based on auction data from the prior five years and uses a market-cap weighting method, meaning artists with higher auction turnover exert more influence on the index value. This structure is useful for tracking general blue chip market confidence but can be distorted by a small number of headline sales. Artist selection and inclusion are also reviewed periodically, so the index reflects broader trends rather than specific object-level behaviour.
Sotheby’s Mei Moses: The Mei Moses Index, developed in 2002 and acquired by Sotheby’s in 2016, is one of the earliest applications of RSR in the art market. It tracks repeat sales of the same object at auction, aiming to remove subjectivity and better reflect true appreciation. However, it only includes public auction results from Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips, and does not incorporate private sales or wider market data. The index is not publicly accessible, and limited visibility into methodology has made it harder to apply for dynamic valuation needs.
Compared to all three, the MAB100 focuses exclusively on editioned prints, incorporates a broader dataset, and makes its methodology and results openly available.
MAB100 Print Market Index © MyArtBroker 2023 Why This Matters for Collectors and Advisors
For collectors, the MAB100 offers a clear, real-time view of the most valuable and active works in the print market. For wealth advisors, it creates a reference point for portfolio valuation and reporting – especially useful given the liquidity and repeat-sale nature of prints.
By tracking individual works, not just artists, the MAB100 captures nuances that traditional indices overlook. It reflects true market behaviour and provides better tools for forecasting, benchmarking, and strategic acquisition. The MAB100 is a tool designed for the way the print market actually works. It reflects the real distribution of sales, values, and collector interest. In doing so, it provides a much-needed upgrade to the way we analyse, value, and track performance in today’s evolving art market.
FAQs: Using the MAB100 and MyPortfolio
Q: How does the MAB100 help me understand value?
Each work has a dedicated page showing historic sales, live estimated values, and buyer/seller breakdowns. Data includes private sales and proof variants, giving a complete picture of price behaviour.
Q: Can I track my own collection?
Yes. MyPortfolio lets you input your collection and track its real-time value using the same RSR model. You can monitor past sales, estimated growth, and time to sale based on similar works.
Q: What if I want to buy or sell a work?
The MAB100 links directly to MyArtBroker’s live Trading Floor, where buyers and sellers are matched. Listings show estimated value, AAGR (Average Annual Growth Rate), and past sales history – giving collectors confidence and context when entering or exiting the market.