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Sell a painting

Paintings are the largest part of the auction market. Whether it is an oil you inherited or a watercolor bought on holiday, the route to a sale is the same: find comparable results, get an estimate, and consign it to the right sale.

How it works

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

What affects the price of a painting

  • The artist and how often their works appear at auction
  • Medium and support: oil on canvas usually sells above works on paper by the same artist
  • Size, subject and period within the artist’s career
  • Condition: tears, flaking paint, discolored varnish or heavy restoration lower the price
  • Provenance and exhibition history, with documents
  • A signature, and whether the work is recorded in a catalogue raisonné where one exists

Photos to send

  • The whole painting straight on, frame included
  • The signature, close up
  • The back of the canvas or panel, including the stretcher and any labels or stamps
  • Any damage, close up

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

  1. 1. Your work
  2. 2. A few details (optional)
Your work

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Popular artists: painting prices and selling

Questions

How do I sell an oil painting?

Send photos and the size for a free auction estimate. If the estimate suits you, consign the painting to a suitable sale under a written agreement; the house catalogues, markets and sells it, then pays you after the buyer pays.

Should I clean or reframe a painting before selling?

No. Leave cleaning and restoration to the buyer or a conservator; amateur cleaning can permanently damage a painting. Keep the existing frame, which may itself be of interest.

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.

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