How to Sell an Artwork You Own

|Josh Stein
Two people examining a large framed landscape painting closely

By Josh Stein · Founder, Art of NOMA · writing on the emerging-art market since 2023

Almost nobody writes this guide, because galleries would rather talk about buying. Here is the straight answer: most work by emerging artists is difficult to resell, and you should assume you will not get your money back. That is not a warning about quality. It is a fact about how thin the secondary market is for artists who do not yet have one.

If you still want to sell — because you are moving, because your taste changed, because a piece no longer fits — there are four routes, and they suit very different works. This explains which is which and what each actually costs.

The honest starting position

A secondary market exists when enough people want to buy an artist's work that a resale price can be discovered. For most living artists at an early career stage, that condition simply is not met. There is no auction record, no dealer specialising in them, and no queue of collectors.

The consequence is uncomfortable but worth stating plainly: a work you bought for two thousand may realistically be worth what one interested person will pay, which could be considerably less, and finding that person is your problem rather than the market's.

This is why we say, repeatedly and against our own short-term interest, that emerging art should not be bought as an investment. Buy work you want to live with, at a price you are comfortable never recovering. Then resale becomes an occasional practical problem rather than a failed thesis.

The upside is real, though, and worth naming: when an artist does develop a market, the people holding early work are the ones who benefit. That outcome is uncommon and it cannot be predicted reliably. Treat it as a bonus, not a plan.

What is your work actually worth?

Before approaching anyone, do three things.

Check for auction results. If the artist has sold at auction, those prices are public and are the closest thing to an objective benchmark. No results is the common case and tells you the market is untested rather than that the work is bad.

Check the artist's current primary prices. What does their gallery charge today for comparable size and medium? If prices have risen since you bought, that is genuinely encouraging. If the artist has stopped exhibiting, that is the more common and less encouraging signal.

Be honest about the specific work. Within any artist's output some pieces are stronger, and the market is unsentimental about it. Signature subject, good size, strong period and excellent condition sell. An atypical small work from a year the artist was experimenting does not, at any price you would like.

For anything of real value, a formal appraisal from a qualified appraiser is worth the fee, and you will need one anyway for insurance. Note that appraisals distinguish fair market value from replacement value, and the second is always higher. For selling, the first is the relevant number. Our guide to how galleries price artwork covers the underlying mechanics.

The four routes, and what they cost

Route Best for Typical cost to you Speed
Auction Artists with an existing auction record Seller's commission, plus photography, insurance and transport Months
Dealer / gallery consignment Work by artists a gallery already handles A commission share, commonly comparable to a primary-market split Months to years
Private sale When you already know the buyer Little or nothing Fast, if the buyer exists
Online marketplace Modest-value work, prints and editions Platform fee, plus your own shipping and packing Variable

Auction is the only route with genuine price discovery, and it is unforgiving. Houses set a reserve with you and charge the seller a commission; the buyer separately pays a premium on top of the hammer price, which is why the total cost of an auction transaction is much larger than the seller's commission alone suggests. For a work worth a few hundred, the economics do not work and a house will usually decline it.

Consignment to a dealer or gallery is the best route for emerging work, and it is underused. The gallery that originally sold you the piece knows exactly which of their collectors admires that artist. They also have a real incentive for the work to go somewhere good rather than appear cheaply online, because a weak public resale price damages the artist they represent. Approach them first — politely, and without an inflated expectation.

A private sale is the cleanest and cheapest option and depends entirely on already knowing an interested person. Put the terms in writing anyway: work, price, who pays shipping, and when title passes.

Online marketplaces suit prints, editions and lower-value pieces where fees would swallow a dealer's involvement. Expect to do the photography, packing and shipping yourself, and expect that to be more work than it sounds — shipping a stretched canvas safely is a genuine skill.

Why a failed auction lot hurts

If a work goes to auction and does not reach its reserve, it is bought in — unsold. That result is recorded and visible in the price databases the trade uses.

The damage is that it now has a public history of failing to sell at a known level. The next buyer, and the next auction house, can see it. Dealers call a work that has been shopped around unsuccessfully burned, and the term is accurate: it is materially harder to sell afterwards than it was before.

The practical rule follows directly. Do not send a work to auction speculatively, and do not set a reserve at the number you wish it were worth. A conservative reserve that sells beats an optimistic one that does not, because the failure is permanent and the discount is not.

The paperwork that decides everything

The difference between a work that can be sold and one that cannot is very often just documentation.

  • The original invoice — proof of what you paid, when, and from whom. It establishes provenance in one document, and provenance is what a buyer is really checking.
  • The certificate of authenticity, if there is one, and it matters who signed it.
  • Exhibition history — if the work has been shown publicly, that is provenance and it adds value. Keep the catalogue.
  • Good photographs — flat, evenly lit, colour-accurate, with detail shots of signature and any condition issues. Almost every failed online sale is a photography problem.
  • Condition honesty — disclose damage and restoration. A buyer who finds an undisclosed problem will unwind the sale, and reputation in this market is small and long.

If you have lost the invoice, contact the gallery you bought from. Most keep records for years and will reissue one.

Buying in a way that protects you later

The best time to make a work sellable is the day you buy it.

  • Keep every document in one place, digitally as well as on paper.
  • Photograph the work when it arrives, in good condition, so you have a dated baseline.
  • Buy from galleries that will still exist. A gallery with a real programme is a permanent record of provenance; an anonymous marketplace seller is not.
  • Prefer strong, characteristic works. The piece that best represents what an artist does is both more satisfying to own and far easier to sell.
  • Frame and store properly. Condition is the one variable entirely within your control, and it is the fastest way to lose value. Caring for paintings at home covers it.
  • Insure anything significant, on a scheduled item basis. See how to insure original art.

Art of NOMA sells on the primary market: we represent artists and sell their work for the first time. We do not run a resale desk, and if you own something by an artist we represent and are thinking of selling, the honest advice is to write to us — we may know the right home for it, and we would rather it went there than nowhere.

Verified 25 August 2026. Commission structures vary by house, dealer and country and are described here in general terms rather than as fixed rates — confirm current terms directly before consigning anything. Resale royalties and tax treatment differ by jurisdiction.

Art of NOMA is an official Artsy partner gallery based in Mexico City, representing around forty contemporary artists and more than 250 original works across painting, photography, print and sculpture.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell art by an emerging artist?
Often only with difficulty. A secondary market exists when enough buyers want an artist's work for a resale price to be discovered, and for most artists early in their careers that condition is not met. You should assume you may not recover what you paid, which is the main reason to buy work you actually want to live with.
What is the best way to resell an artwork?
For emerging work, consignment to a dealer or to the gallery that originally sold it is usually best, because they know which collectors follow that artist. Auction suits artists with an existing auction record. A private sale is cheapest if you already know a buyer, and online marketplaces suit prints, editions and lower-value pieces.
How much does it cost to sell art at auction?
The house charges the seller a commission on the hammer price and the buyer separately pays a premium on top, so the total cost of the transaction is considerably higher than the seller's rate alone. Photography, insurance and transport are usually additional. Rates vary by house and by the value of the work, so confirm terms before consigning.
What does bought in mean at auction?
It means the work failed to reach its reserve and went unsold. The result is recorded in the price databases the trade uses, so the work carries a public history of failing to sell at a known level. Dealers describe such a work as burned, and it is materially harder to sell afterwards.
Should I contact the gallery I bought the work from?
Yes, first. They know which of their collectors admire that artist, they can often reissue a lost invoice, and they have a genuine interest in the work being placed well rather than appearing cheaply online, because a weak public resale price damages the artist they represent.
What paperwork do I need to sell an artwork?
The original invoice, the certificate of authenticity if one exists, any exhibition history, and good flat colour-accurate photographs including details of the signature and any condition issues. Damage and restoration must be disclosed. Missing documentation is one of the most common reasons a work cannot be sold at all.

Sources

Buying rather than selling? Art of NOMA represents around forty artists across Mexico and internationally, and every work ships with full documentation. Start with the roster.