How to sell your art at auction
If you own a painting, print or sculpture you no longer want, auction is often the most transparent way to sell it: the price is set by bidders competing in public, and the result is published. Here is how it works, what it costs and how to start.
How it works
- Send photos for a free estimate. A photo of the front, plus the signature, the back and any labels if you can. Add the size and anything you know about where the work came from.
- Get an auction estimate. A specialist compares the work with recorded auction results and replies with an estimate range: what the work could reasonably bring at auction, not a guarantee or a formal appraisal.
- Agree terms and a reserve. If you decide to sell, you sign a consignment agreement that sets the commission, any fees and the reserve (the confidential minimum price below which the work will not sell).
- Ship or hand over the work. The work goes to the house for inspection, cataloguing and photography. Condition and authorship are checked before it is offered.
- The sale. The work is offered in a scheduled sale, online or in the room. Buyers pay a buyer’s premium on top of the hammer price; that is the buyer’s cost, not yours.
- Get paid. After the buyer pays, the house settles with you: the hammer price minus the seller’s commission and any agreed fees.
Typical timeline
- Estimate: usually a few days after you send photos.
- Consignment to sale: commonly 6–12 weeks, because houses build sales around themes and seasons and need time to catalogue and market each lot.
- Payment: usually about 30–35 days after the sale, once the buyer has paid.
What selling costs
- Seller’s commission: a percentage of the hammer price. At many houses it falls roughly between 10% and 25%, often lower for higher-value works, and it is frequently negotiable.
- Possible fees: some houses charge for photography, insurance, shipping or an unsold-lot fee. Ask which apply before you sign.
- Buyer’s premium: paid by the buyer on top of the hammer price. Prices in our results include it where the house publishes it.
Is my art worth selling at auction?
Start by looking up the artist. If ArtSell has recorded auction results for them, you can see what comparable works sold for, how often their works sell, and at which houses. Works by artists with a steady auction record are usually the easiest to consign.
If the artist has no recorded results, or you can’t read the signature, a specialist can still look at photos. Decorative pictures and unsigned works can sell, but often in lower-value sales or as part of a group.
Auction, gallery, dealer or online: which is right?
- Auction: public competition and a published price; commission and timing set by the house; best for works with a recorded market.
- Dealer or gallery: a faster private sale or consignment on the gallery’s walls; the price is negotiated, and dealers need room for their margin.
- Online marketplaces: you list and handle buyers, shipping and payment yourself; best for lower-value works.
- Selling to a friend or collector: no fees, but no market test of the price.
Appraisal or auction estimate?
An auction estimate is a specialist’s opinion of the range a work could reasonably bring in a sale, based on comparable auction results; it is free and is meant to help you decide whether and where to sell. A formal appraisal is a signed written report, usually paid by the hour or per item, prepared for insurance, estate tax, charitable donation or division of property, and often states a different kind of value (for example replacement value for insurance).
What to have ready
- A straight-on photo of the whole front, in daylight, without glare (frame on is fine)
- A close-up of the signature, monogram or any stamp
- The back: canvas or board, stretcher, labels, gallery or exhibition stickers, inscriptions
- Height and width (and depth for sculpture), without the frame if you can
- Medium if you know it: oil, acrylic, watercolor, print, bronze…
- How you acquired it: purchase receipts, gallery invoices, letters, family history, past appraisals
- Condition notes: tears, flaking, stains, restoration, foxing on paper
- For prints: the edition number (e.g. 23/100) and any blindstamp
Free auction estimate
Popular artists at auction
- Sell Pablo Picasso · price guide
- Sell Andy Warhol · price guide
- Sell Tiffany Studios · price guide
- Sell Meissen · price guide
- Sell Salvador Dalí · price guide
- Sell René Lalique · price guide
- Sell Joan Miró · price guide
- Sell Marc Chagall · price guide
- Sell Alexander Joseph von Steuben · price guide
- Sell Damien Hirst · price guide
- Sell Charles and Ray Eames · price guide
- Sell George Nakashima · price guide
- Sell Gerhard Richter · price guide
- Sell David Hockney · price guide
- Sell Roy Lichtenstein · price guide
- Sell Sidney Nolan · price guide
- Sell Markey Robinson · price guide
- Sell Daum · price guide
- Sell Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur Berlin Kpm · price guide
- Sell Takashi Murakami · price guide
- Sell Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · price guide
- Sell Sam Francis · price guide
- Sell Joseph Beuys · price guide
- Sell Len Castle · price guide
Questions
Where can I sell my painting?
At auction (through a consignment agreement with an auction house), through a dealer or gallery, on an online marketplace, or privately. For works by artists with a recorded auction market, auction usually gives the most transparent price.
How much does it cost to sell art at auction?
The seller pays a commission on the hammer price, at many houses roughly 10% to 25% and often lower or negotiable for higher-value works, plus any agreed fees such as photography, insurance or shipping. The buyer pays a separate buyer’s premium.
How do I find out what my art is worth?
Look up past auction results for the artist on ArtSell, then send photos for a free auction estimate. The estimate is based on comparable results; it is not a formal appraisal or a guarantee of price.
Past auction results on ArtSell are not valuations or guarantees; an estimate is an opinion of the likely auction range, and authorship is confirmed by the house before any work is offered.
More seller guides
Sell a paintingSell a printSell a sculptureSelling inherited art and estatesHow to photograph art for an estimateAppraisal vs. auction estimateWhere to sell artArt appraisal for insurance