How to sell a work by a Polish artist
A painting a grandparent brought from Poland, a print bought decades ago, a sculpture from a parent's flat. This guide goes step by step through finding out what you have, what it may be worth and which way to sell it. Including when that way does not lead to me.
Identify the work
This decides the price more than the name does. The same artist can have paintings worth hundreds of thousands and prints worth a few hundred. Before you ask anyone for a price, try to answer four questions.
Original or reproduction?
Under a magnifying glass (10× is enough) a printed reproduction shows a regular grid of coloured dots. Paint on an original lies evenly, often with a texture you can feel. Many "paintings" on family walls are framed reproductions, bought in good faith.
What technique?
Oil, tempera, gouache, watercolour, drawing, print (lithograph, screenprint, woodcut), sculpture. A unique work and a sheet from an edition are different price categories, even by the same artist.
Who is the artist?
The signature may be in a corner, on the reverse or on the stretcher. Polish names are often written without their accents on foreign labels and in catalogues: Stryjenska for Stryjeńska, Hofmann for Hofman. A missing signature does not rule a work out, and a visible name does not settle it.
Where did it come from?
A gallery receipt, an exhibition catalogue, an old label, a stamp, a dedication, a family memory. Every trace helps. Remove nothing from the reverse and do not clean the work before it is valued.
Check prices yourself
For Polish artists the most useful auction archives are Polish. The sites are in Polish, but names, dates and prices in złoty (PLN) can be read without the language, and a browser will translate the rest. In my experience Polish artists usually find their keenest buyers in Poland.
DESA Unicum →
Poland's largest auction house, with artist pages and an archive of results.
Agra-Art →
A long price history, searchable by artist.
OneBid →
Gathers the sales of many smaller Polish houses; good for prints and works on paper.
Artinfo →
A Polish art-market portal with a search of auction results.
When comparing prices, look at three things:
- Estimate or price achieved? The starting price is only a starting point. What counts is what a work actually sold for, and some works do not sell at all.
- With or without the premium? Published results often include the buyer's premium. The seller receives the hammer price less their own commission.
- Is it really comparable? The same technique, a similar size, period and condition. An artist's record is usually for their best painting, not a typical work.
Choose how to sell
I am a collector buying for my own collection, so I have an interest. That is why I also say plainly when another way is better.
Auction house
For: many competing bidders, usually the highest price for an outstanding work; a professional catalogue description.
Against: the seller's commission, waiting for the sale (often months), no guarantee of a sale. Ask for the contract and the full table of charges before consigning, including insurance, photography and the return of unsold work.
Gallery or dealer
For: an outright purchase or sale on consignment, with no auction date to wait for.
Against: the dealer has to make money on the resale, so an outright offer is usually below the price the work will later hang at. On consignment you are paid only when it sells.
Private collector
For: no commission or fees, a definite figure straight away, prompt payment, complete discretion.
Against: one buyer instead of a whole saleroom. For a truly outstanding work an auction may bring more, which is why the prices from step 2 are worth knowing.
Online listing
For: full control over the price.
Against: few art buyers look there, and there are many scam attempts (see below). Buyers cannot check authenticity, which pushes the price down.
To be fair: for an outstanding work in good condition, a major auction is worth considering. A direct sale has the advantage for smaller works, prints, works in poorer condition, incomplete portfolios, and when time and discretion matter.
Six photographs and the size
A phone is enough for a first opinion. Photograph in daylight by a window, without flash. If the work is behind glass, leave it in the frame.
What to photograph
1. The whole work, straight on.
2. The signature, close up.
3. The whole reverse.
4. Labels, stamps, inscriptions.
5. A detail in raking light (shows the surface).
6. Any damage.
What to write
The size of the work itself, not the frame, in centimetres or inches. Where it came from (inheritance, purchase, gift) and how long it has been in the family. Everything written on the back.
Tax and export
What follows is for private owners selling a work they hold in the United Kingdom or the United States. It is a summary, not advice: for a valuable work, ask an accountant. If the work is in Poland, Polish rules apply; they are set out in the Polish version of this guide.
United Kingdom
Capital Gains Tax
A painting or sculpture sold for £6,000 or less is free of Capital Gains Tax. Above that, the taxable gain is capped at five-thirds of the amount over £6,000. For an inherited work the gain is measured from its value at the date of death, not from what the family once paid, and the annual exempt amount (£3,000 in 2025–26 and 2026–27) comes off the year's gains.
TCGA 1992 s.262 and s.62; gov.uk: rates and allowances.
Artist's resale right
Applies only when a dealer or auction house takes part in the sale, at a price of £1,000 or more, and while the artist's copyright lasts (70 years after death). The royalty is 4% up to £50,000, then lower bands, never more than £12,500 in total. The seller is liable together with the dealer. A sale from one private person to another is not covered.
Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006, reg 3, 12 and 13, Sch 1.
Sending the work to Poland
A work made more than 50 years ago needs a UK export licence to leave Great Britain for any country, EU members included. Most works are covered by an open general licence; an individual licence is needed above value thresholds that depend on the type of object. Check the current figures on the official page before shipping.
Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (Control) Order 2003, Sch 1; gov.uk: exporting objects of cultural interest.
United States
Federal income tax
A work of art is a "collectible". A gain on one held more than a year is taxed at up to 28%. For an inherited work the basis is its fair market value at the date of death, and the sale always counts as long-term, however soon after the death it happens. So the tax falls only on any rise in value since then. State income tax may also apply.
26 U.S.C. §1(h)(4)–(5), §408(m)(2), §1014(a), §1223(9); IRS Topic 409.
Resale royalty and export
No resale royalty applies to a sale in the United States. Sending an ordinary painting or print to Poland does not, as far as I can find in the regulations, need a US export licence; the controls on artworks concern sanctioned destinations.
15 CFR 732.3, 734.3.
A few rules that protect the seller
- Never hand over a work without a receipt. When leaving it for valuation or consignment, ask for written confirmation with a description, the size and a photograph of its condition.
- Do not send anything before you are paid. And do not click "receive payment" links from unknown buyers who answer online listings.
- Do not pay in advance for a "certificate of authenticity" to someone who is also offering to buy. A sound opinion does not depend on whether you sell.
- Do not split sets (print portfolios, pairs, series) before they are valued. A set is usually worth more than its parts.
- Compare at least two offers, and the auction archives, before you decide.
Who I am looking for
I buy works by the artists below. If yours is not among them, please write anyway.