AskART is an online database containing over 185,000 artists. From its inception the focus was on American artists from the early 16th-Century through the present. However, in January of 2007 the database has expanded to include international artists' auction records.

Our website welcomes collectors, gallery owners, researchers, appraisers, museum and library personnel, artists, insurers, scholars, art aficionados -- anyone with interest in two and three-dimensional original fine art. We offer extensive biographical information about American artists as well as book and periodical references, along with International artists' auction records and images. Over 6,000 museums and dealers are also referenced. As a member of AskART, one has complete access to information about the artists’ biographies, auction records, financial graphics, magazine ads pre-1998, and images.

The story of AskART begins with Roger Dunbier, Ph.D. (1934-1998), son of Augustus William Dunbier, a successful Nebraska artist. Dr. Dunbier earned his doctorate in Economic Geography from Oxford University. In the early 1960s, he became interested in computers and databases. Employment included working for a major Arizona bank as a research programmer mapping real estate values. This focus on comparables led to his role as co-developer of the first computerized Multiple-Listing program (MLS), now used by real estate firms nationwide.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Dunbier began accumulating the extensive data that was the origin of AskART’s content. In 1983, he collaborated with programmer Chuck Lefebvre, who became AskART’s Technical Director through 2005.

After Dr. Dunbier's unexpected death in 1998, the company partnered with George Collins, (Stanford ’68) a San Francisco financial advisor, art collector and Dunbier friend, to become President and CEO in order to transform the previous publishing company onto the Internet space.

Co-founder Lonnie Dunbier, married to Roger Dunbier from 1991, has been a museum professional and art author. From Scottsdale, Arizona, she managed the research and customer service operations for the company's growing user base, and in 2006 became a consultant to the company as a Research Director.

As AskART's popularity grew, Tea Cerkvenik Gebbie joined the company as COO to handle daily operations, new site features and site improvements. Tea’s focus is serving AskART customers, and since her arrival, AskART has retained more loyal customers and attracted more new customers than similar Internet information services. Before joining AskART, Tea co-founded an e-business consulting firm after serving as a consultant for several Fortune 500 companies on major e-commerce and information system implementations. Tea continues to be one of a handful of worldwide Commerce Server MVPs selected by Microsoft.

AskART is rounded out by programming and IT experts, and customer service professionals, many whom have experience as collectors, former gallery owners, appraisers, and researchers. They all help to deliver the process of connecting your enthusiasm with the information you seek.

For more information about our site and its underlying database, please choose from the links at the top or bottom of this page.