How to sell art from an estate

Settling an estate often means deciding quickly what to do with art you didn't choose. A few hours of organizing before anything leaves the house usually makes the difference between selling well and selling everything as decor.

Of the 201,185 oil and acrylic paintings sold at auction since 2021 in the ArtSell database, half brought between $425 and $6,520, the median was $1,463, and 28% sold for under $500.

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What these works sell for

Oil and acrylic paintings

$1,463

median · middle half $425–$6,520 · 201,185 sales since 2021

Works on paper

$749

median · middle half $225–$2,912 · 115,635 sales since 2021

Prints

$658

median · middle half $231–$2,293 · 112,297 sales since 2021

Recent examples

Håkon Bleken, “Uten tittel”: $2,640 (Blomqvist, Oct 14, 2026)
Axel Ender, “Uten tittel”: $1,689 (Blomqvist, Oct 14, 2026)
Even Ulving, “Uten tittel”: $1,267 (Blomqvist, Oct 14, 2026)
Madeleine Pyk, “Sjörövare”: $528 (Blomqvist, Oct 14, 2026)
Xan Krohn, “Bøverkinnhalsen”: $507 (Blomqvist, Oct 14, 2026)

1. Take stock before anything is sold, donated or divided

Number each work and photograph the front, the signature and the back
Note the size and the room it hung in
Keep receipts, gallery invoices, letters, catalogues and old insurance schedules together
Don't let estate-sale companies or relatives remove signed works before they're looked at

2. Sort what to research first

Start with signed works, anything with a gallery label on the back, original paintings and sculpture, and prints that are pencil-signed and numbered. Decorative reproductions and unsigned framed posters can usually be sold together later.

3. Know what kind of value the estate needs

The estate may need a formal written appraisal (date-of-death value for tax, or values for dividing property). An auction estimate is different: it's an opinion of what a work could bring if sold now. Many executors get an appraisal for the estate and free auction estimates to decide what to sell.

Written appraisals for estates → · Appraisal vs. auction estimate →

4. Sell the best works individually, group the rest

Works by artists with an auction record are usually consigned one by one; lesser works from the same estate can often be offered together in group lots. Agree commission, fees and any reserves in writing before anything leaves the house.

Selling 10 or more works? Send the whole collection →

Send photos of the estate's best works for a free auction estimate. A specialist looks at every request and answers within 72 hours. Free, with no obligation to sell.

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Artists whose oil and acrylic paintings sell most often

George Weissbort (median $89) · Emerson Woelffer (median $1,638) · Lowell Nesbitt (median $875) · Graham Knuttel (median $3,139) · Richard Rogers (median $190) · Damien Hirst (median $4,410) · A. Y. Jackson (median $21,610) · George Sherwood Hunter (median $162)

Figures are recorded auction results (price including buyer’s premium where published, converted to USD) in the ArtSell database for the last five years, refreshed twice a day. They describe past sales, not a valuation of any particular work.