How much is my artwork worth?

What determines an artwork's market value?

Attribution sets the level, and comparable sales set the range. Within that range, medium, size, subject, period of the artist's career, condition and provenance move a work up or down.

• Attribution

  A work "by" an artist, "attributed to" them, from their "circle" or merely "in the manner of" them can differ in value by an order of magnitude. This is why research comes before valuation.

• Medium

  For most artists, oils sell for more than watercolors, which sell for more than drawings, which sell for more than prints. A unique work is generally worth more than an edition.

• Size and subject

  Within an artist's market, larger works and the subjects buyers associate with the artist command higher prices. A marine painter's best-known harbor scene outsells an atypical still life.

• Date within the career

  Many artists have peak periods that collectors prefer, for example the early works of some modernists or the mature works of many academic painters.

• Condition

  Tears, losses, heavy restoration, fading and staining all reduce value. A condition report from a conservator or auction house is part of any serious estimate.

• Provenance and exhibition history

  A documented history, particularly through known collections, galleries or exhibitions, increases buyer confidence and often price.

• Market freshness and demand

  Works that have not been on the market for decades tend to attract more competition than pictures that have been offered repeatedly. Demand also shifts with taste: some nineteenth-century genres sell for less in real terms today than they did a generation ago, while some regional twentieth-century schools have risen.

It also helps to be clear about which value you mean. Fair market value is the price a willing buyer and willing seller would agree on, and it is the basis for most tax purposes. Insurance replacement value is what it would cost to buy a comparable work from a retail source, usually higher. A quick-sale or liquidation value is lower still. One artwork can legitimately have all three.

How do you estimate what your artwork is worth?

Identify the work, find genuinely comparable sales, adjust for the differences, and express the result as a range rather than a single number.

1. Establish what it is

   Medium, size, subject, date and attribution. If any of these are uncertain, say so; the estimate will carry the same uncertainty.

2. Search realized auction prices

   Use auction price databases such as Artprice, artnet, MutualArt or askART, or free archives on auction aggregators such as LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable. Use hammer or sold prices, not estimates or asking prices.

3. Choose real comparables

   Pick works by the same artist in the same medium, of similar size and subject, sold recently. If the artist has no record, use similar works by comparable artists of the same school and period.

4. Adjust for differences

   Adjust for size, quality, subject, condition and provenance. Note whether results include buyer's premium; most auction results now do.

5. Express a range

   Give a low and high figure that reflects the spread of comparables and your uncertainty. Auction houses publish estimates in the same way.

6. Decide if you need a formal appraisal

   For insurance, estate tax, charitable donations or legal matters, a written appraisal by a qualified appraiser is usually required. In the US, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal for most donated property claimed at more than $5,000.

How do value estimates work in practice?

These examples show why the same-looking artwork can be worth very different amounts depending on the evidence.

• Same artist, different medium

  A Hudson River School painter's oil landscape and a pencil sketch of a similar view may differ in price many times over. Compare oils with oils.

• Attribution changes the level

  A Dutch seventeenth-century style landscape cataloged as "circle of" a known master sells in a modest range; the same picture firmly attributed to the master would be in a different market entirely.

• Condition discount

  Two similar Impressionist-style harbor scenes by the same regional painter: one clean and stable, one with a tear and flaking. The damaged one may sell for a fraction, net of restoration costs.

• Edition prints

  A hand-signed lithograph from a limited edition of 50 by a known printmaker is valued from sales of the same print, adjusted for impression quality and condition, not from the artist's paintings.

• No auction record

  A competent local painter with no auction history is valued from regional sales of comparable artists of the same period and school, typically in a modest range.

What mistakes lead to wrong art valuations?

Most wrong valuations come from poor comparables or from putting a price on an attribution that has not been established.

• Using the artist's record price

  The top result for an artist is usually the exceptional work. Typical works sell well below it.

• Using asking prices

  Gallery and marketplace asking prices are not sales. Only realized prices show what buyers paid.

• Comparing across media

  Prints, drawings and paintings by the same artist have separate markets.

• Ignoring fees and costs

  Seller's commission, photography, insurance and shipping reduce what you receive. Net proceeds are lower than hammer prices.

• Confusing value types

  Insurance replacement value, fair market value and a quick-sale price are different numbers for different purposes. Know which one you need.