How Much Is My Painting Worth?

Identify what you have first

An estimate is only as useful as the attribution behind it. Record the artist or school, approximate date, medium, dimensions, subject, signature, labels, and ownership history before comparing prices.

Do not use asking prices as if they were completed sales. Dealer and marketplace listings can remain unsold or include optimistic pricing.

Be honest about the attribution level at this stage. A painting that is “by” a listed artist, one that is “attributed to” them, and one that is “circle of” or “after” them can differ in value by a factor of ten or more. If the attribution is still uncertain, the estimate should say so and should give a range for each plausible scenario rather than silently assuming the best case.

Know which value you are looking for

There is no single “value” for a painting. Different purposes call for different figures, and confusing them is one of the most common sources of disappointment.

Fair market value is the price a willing buyer and willing seller would agree on, both reasonably informed; it is the basis for estate and tax work in many countries. An auction estimate is the range an auction house expects the hammer price to fall within. Retail replacement value — what it would cost to buy a comparable work from a gallery — is usually higher and is used for insurance. A quick-sale or liquidation value, what a dealer might pay to buy it outright today, is lower still.

• Auction estimate: expected hammer price range at a public sale
• Fair market value: informed willing-buyer, willing-seller price
• Insurance replacement value: cost to replace from a retail source
• Dealer purchase or quick-sale value: an immediate cash offer

Choose genuinely comparable sales

The strongest comparables involve the same artist and a similar medium, subject, scale, date, condition, and attribution status. A signed oil painting and an unsigned print by the same artist are not interchangeable.

Auction results also need context: buyer's premium, currency, sale date, location, and unusual provenance can all affect the apparent price.

Aim for several comparables rather than one headline result. A record price is, by definition, unusual; median results for similar works are a far better guide. Recent sales matter more than old ones, because demand for an artist can change quickly. Also check how many works by the artist were offered and failed to sell: a high unsold rate is a sign that estimates are running ahead of real demand.

Adjust for the factors that move price

Once you have a set of comparables, adjust for the ways your painting differs from them. Size matters, though not linearly: a very large canvas is not proportionally more valuable and can be harder to sell. Subject matters: within most artists' work, some subjects are consistently more sought after than others. Period matters: works from an artist's best-known phase usually achieve more than early or late works.

Condition can move value sharply. Extensive retouching, relining, tears, flaking paint, or heavy discoloured varnish all reduce value, and a condition report from a conservator may be needed to understand how much. Provenance can increase it: a documented history through known collections or exhibitions reassures buyers and can add a considerable premium. Our guide to what determines art value covers these factors in more depth.

Where to find reliable price data

Completed auction results are the most transparent source of price evidence. Major auction houses publish their results online, and price databases aggregate results from many salerooms. Some are free to search, while the most comprehensive charge a subscription. When you use them, record the hammer price and whether the published figure includes the buyer's premium, which can add a quarter or more to the hammer price at many houses.

Private and gallery sales are rarely published, so they are harder to use. Online marketplace listings are useful only as a sign of supply: many are never sold, and asking prices for unknown works are frequently far above what the market will pay.

Use a range and match it to the selling route

Art values are normally expressed as a range because the final result depends on the venue and the bidders present on the day. Auction estimates, insurance values, retail prices, and quick-sale expectations answer different questions.

Veriso provides an indicative market range, the evidence behind it, and guidance on suitable selling routes. It is a decision tool, not a formal appraisal for insurance, tax, or legal purposes.

The right venue depends on the range. A work likely to sell for a few hundred dollars will rarely justify the fees and wait of a major international sale; a regional auction house or a specialist online platform may achieve a better net result. A work with a strong attribution to a sought-after artist belongs in front of the specialists and international buyers who follow that artist.

A worked example

Suppose you have a signed oil painting of a harbour scene by a regional twentieth-century painter, about 50 by 65 centimetres, in good condition, bought from a local gallery decades ago. A sensible approach would be to search completed auction results for the same artist over the last five to ten years and set aside prints, drawings, and very different sizes.

Say the search finds fifteen oils of comparable size. Harbour and coastal scenes sold between roughly $1,200 and $2,500 at hammer, while interiors and still lifes sold for less, and two works failed to sell at higher estimates. Your painting's subject is among the artist's most popular, the condition is good, and the original gallery label adds a modest provenance point. A reasonable auction estimate might therefore be in the region of $1,500 to $2,200, with a regional auction house that has sold the artist before as a natural venue. The figures here are illustrative, but the method — filtering, adjusting, and matching to a venue — is the same at every price level.

When you need a formal appraisal

An indicative estimate is enough to decide whether a painting is worth researching further or selling. For insurance schedules, estate settlements, charitable donations, divorce proceedings, and tax filings, you will usually need a written appraisal from a qualified, independent appraiser who follows recognized professional standards and who has no interest in buying or selling the work.

Appraisers normally charge by the hour or by the item, not as a percentage of value, and a reputable appraiser will tell you in advance what the report will contain and what purpose it is written for.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

What is Veriso?

Veriso is an artwork investigation tool that analyzes photographs of an artwork together with evidence such as signatures, verso labels and inscriptions, subject, medium, technique, likely period and school, attribution clues, and market context.

Veriso's findings are research, not a certificate: it does not authenticate artworks or replace a formal appraisal, and its market estimates are indicative ranges based on comparable sales. How Veriso works

Put the clues together

Investigate your artwork with Veriso

Photograph the artwork, the signature and the back for evidence-led attribution research, a market estimate, and guidance on what to do next.

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