Artsy Auto-Scraper Chrome Extension

A Chrome extension that automatically scrapes artwork listings from Artsy.net, with a focus on Shepard Fairey and other contemporary street artists.

Features

• Auto-scraping - Runs automatically when you visit Artsy pages
• Multi-page support - Automatically navigates through paginated results
• Real-time counter - Floating panel shows progress
• Dual export - Downloads both JSON and CSV formats
• Batch downloads - Auto-saves every 1000 items
• Duplicate detection - Tracks seen items to avoid duplicates
• Rate limiting - Random delays (4-7s) between pages to avoid detection

Supported Pages

Page Type	URL Pattern	What It Scrapes
Search	/search?q=...	Search results
Artist	/artist/shepard-fairey	Artist's works
Collect	/collect	Browse marketplace
Auction Results	/auction-results	Past auction sales

Installation

1. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable Developer mode (toggle in top right)
3. Click Load unpacked
4. Select this artsy-extension folder
5. Navigate to Artsy.net - the extension activates automatically

Usage

Automatic Mode

1. Go to any supported Artsy page (search, artist, collect, auction-results)
2. The scraper starts automatically after 2 seconds
3. Watch the floating panel in the bottom-right corner
4. Items are saved to localStorage and auto-downloaded at milestones

Manual Controls (Console)

artsyDownload()  // Download all scraped items
artsyClear()     // Clear saved items
artsyStatus()    // View current item count

Panel Buttons

• Save - Download current items as JSON + CSV
• Stop - Halt scraping and page navigation
• Clear - Reset all saved data

Data Output

JSON Fields

{
  "image": "https://d32dm0rphc51dk.cloudfront.net/...",
  "line1": "Artist Name",
  "line2": "Artwork Title",
  "line3": "Gallery/Price",
  "price1": "$1,500",
  "title": "Hope (Red)",
  "date": "2008",
  "auctionHouse": "Christie's",
  "page": 1,
  "scrapedAt": "2025-02-09T01:30:00.000Z",
  "rawText": "Full text from listing card..."
}

CSV Columns

Column	Source
title	line2 or extracted title
artist	line1
gallery	line3
price	price1
date	Extracted year
medium	From listing
image	Cloudfront URL
url	Source page

Configuration

Edit these values in content.js:

var BATCH_SIZE = 1000;    // Auto-download threshold
var DELAY_MIN = 4000;     // Minimum delay (ms)
var DELAY_MAX = 7000;     // Maximum delay (ms)
var STORAGE_KEY = 'artsy_scraper_v3';  // localStorage key

Files

File	Purpose
manifest.json	Chrome extension configuration
content.js	Main scraping logic

Architecture

Page Load → Check URL Pattern → Wait 2s → Scrape Images
    ↓
Find Price Containers → Extract Data → Deduplicate
    ↓
Save to localStorage → Update Panel → Wait 4-7s → Next Page
    ↓
Repeat until no new items → Auto-download final results

Auction Houses Detected

• Christie's
• Sotheby's
• Phillips
• Bonhams
• Heritage Auctions
• Forum Auctions

Tips

1. Start on page 1 - The scraper works best from the beginning
2. Let it run - Don't interact with the page while scraping
3. Check localStorage - Items persist between sessions
4. Clear before new search - Use the Clear button for fresh scrapes

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Not starting	Check you're on a supported page type
Missing items	Some items may not have cloudfront images
Duplicates	Clear localStorage and start fresh
Rate limited	Increase DELAY_MIN and DELAY_MAX

Use Cases

• Track Shepard Fairey print prices across auctions
• Build a database of Mr. Brainwash works
• Monitor market trends for street art
• Research pricing for inventory management

Legal

This tool is for personal research only. Respect Artsy's Terms of Service. Do not use for commercial scraping or to overwhelm their servers.

License

MIT

Author

JJ Shay - Art dealer specializing in Shepard Fairey and Mr. Brainwash prints