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Whitebank Fine Art
David Teniers the Younger, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his picture gallery in Brussels, about 1651

Independent art auction advisory

We represent your side of the transaction: valuing, negotiating and placing art across the world's salerooms.

Fifteen years placing contemporary, modernist and photographic art, alongside major street artists such as Banksy, with the right saleroom, at the right moment.

Contact us for unbiased buying & selling advice

Works consigned to and acquired through

  • Sotheby's
  • Christie's
  • Phillips
  • Bonhams
  • Heritage
  • Artnet
  • Artsy
  • Grisebach
  • Tateward
  • Julien's LA

Where we can help

  • Auction advisory

    We put your work to the salerooms that suit it, international and regional, and compare what each would offer. Then we negotiate a lower seller's rate on the one you choose.

    • Estimates and sale dates side by side
    • Seller's commission compared across houses, then negotiated
    • Paperwork and payment in your name
  • Private sales

    We place art directly with galleries and collectors, and find works for buyers through our network worldwide.

    • Confidential, with no public sale
    • For sellers and for buyers
    • Your name not shared without consent
  • Locations

    We act for sellers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and consign each work to the market where it is likely to do best.

    • Photographs are enough to begin
    • Shipping, insurance and customs arranged
    • No obligation to sell

Art news

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Frequently asked

What does an art auction advisor actually do?

We represent the seller rather than the auction house. That means comparing houses and sale dates, negotiating seller's commission and unsold fees, agreeing estimates and reserves, and handling shipping, insurance and settlement. The paperwork and remittance stay in your name. More on what an art advisor does.

Can you help me decide which auction house to use?

That is most of the job. We put a work to the houses that suit it, whether international, specialist or regional, and compare what each comes back with: the estimate, which sale, the commission, the unsold fee and when you would be paid. You see the answers side by side and choose, and we negotiate the terms of the one you pick. The full account is on which auction house to use.

Why should we go through Whitebank Fine Art?

We compare pricing estimates and structures from all the best auction houses and offer you this as feedback to make your own decision. Our services are usually free of charge and all contractual paperwork and remittance remains in your name.

What do you charge?

Our fees are typically 0%. On rare occasions we may need to charge a 2.5% - 10% commission due to the complexity of the sale. Even in these cases, because we negotiate reduced seller rates on your behalf, the overall cost of selling is usually the same or lower than consigning directly.

Can you help me reduce fees?

Yes. Seller's commission is the most negotiable number in an auction sale: every house publishes a rate card, and for anything of consequence the published rate is not the one that gets agreed. We negotiate reduced seller's rates on your behalf, and unsold and marketing fees can usually be avoided too. With our own fees typically at 0%, the overall cost of selling is usually the same as or lower than consigning directly. For every fee, see what selling at auction costs.

Which auction houses do you work with?

We have extensive experience working with all major auction houses. On choosing between them, see which auction house to use.

Can you value a work before I decide to sell?

Yes. Send details and images and we will advise on likely pricing using results from a specialist art price database, with no obligation to proceed.

Do you handle Banksy and street art?

Yes. We are specialists in Pest Control documentation, Banksy valuations and shipping through the artist's preferred courier, and have negotiated original and print sales at the major houses with significant reductions in seller's fees. For what prints actually sell for, see Banksy prices.

Which locations do you cover?

We act for sellers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and the work does not have to come to us to be valued: photographs of the piece, its reverse and its signature are enough to begin. Where a category performs better in another market, that is where we consign it, with shipping, insurance and customs arranged on your behalf.

How to sell

Three steps, and the first one takes a few minutes with a phone.

  1. A visitor standing close to a framed painting in a gallery, with the work's printed wall label on the wall beside it

    01Send photographs

    The work itself, the reverse, the signature and any numbering, and any labels on the frame or backing board. Phone photographs are fine. This is enough to begin on almost every work we are sent.

  2. Visitors talking in front of a framed Picasso hung alone on a white gallery wall at a pre-sale view

    02We identify it and value it in writing

    What it is, which edition or period it belongs to, and a realistic range with the comparable results behind it — so you can see the reasoning rather than take a figure on trust. No charge, and no obligation to go further.

  3. A porter in an apron and white gloves steadying a framed portrait on a plinth in a packed saleroom, with rows of seated bidders in front of him and a large framed painting on the wall behind

    03You choose the route, we negotiate it

    Auction or private sale, and if auction, which house and which sale. We compare the terms rather than accept a rate card, and the paperwork and remittance stay in your name throughout.

Considering a sale, or looking for a particular work?

Whitebank Fine Art is a London art advisory and gallery. A photograph and a few details are enough to begin — a valuation carries no obligation to proceed.

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