London-based art advisor
What an art advisor does, when one is worth having, and how we work.
Whitebank Fine Art is an independent art advisory in London, working across Contemporary and Post-War, Modernist, Impressionist and Old Master art, photography and street art for more than fifteen years. We are not affiliated with any auction house, which is the point: we compare them on your behalf.
What an art advisor does
An advisor acts for one side of a transaction. When you are selling, that means finding out what the work is and what it is realistically worth, deciding between auction, a private sale and an outright sale, putting it to the houses that suit it, and negotiating the commission, the unsold fee and the reserve rather than accepting a rate card. The contract and the remittance stay in your name throughout. Selling at auction sets out every charge that comes off a hammer price.
When you are buying, it means finding the work, checking its condition, provenance and paperwork before you commit, and negotiating with a dealer or another collector, or bidding at auction on your behalf. Collecting covers that side in full.
Advisor, dealer, broker or consultant?
The words are used loosely, and the difference that matters is whose side each is on.
- Art advisor
- Acts for one side of a transaction, yours, and is paid for advice and negotiation rather than for owning the work. The advisor's interest is in the terms, not in the object changing hands at any price.
- Art dealer
- Buys and sells from stock. A dealer offering to buy your work is a buyer, and the margin they need to carry, market and resell it is inside the price they offer.
- Art broker
- Arranges a sale between two parties for a commission, usually without owning the work. Close to an advisor in practice; the question worth asking is whose side the broker is on.
- Art consultant
- In everyday use the word overlaps with advisor. It is also used for firms that source art for offices, hotels and interiors, which is a different job from acting in a sale.
When an advisor is worth having
When there is something to negotiate and a real choice to make. A work that could go to more than one saleroom, or to a private buyer instead, is where comparing and negotiating changes the result. So is a work with a question over its paperwork, where the wrong first move closes doors.
Not every work needs one. For decorative pieces of modest value the cost of handling them properly can outweigh anything an advisor would add, and we would rather say so at the photograph stage. Finding out costs nothing: a valuation is free and commits you to nothing, and how to sell explains what happens after it.
Questions about art advisors
What does an art advisor do?
Acts for you in buying or selling art. For a seller that means establishing what a work is and what it is worth, choosing between auction, private sale and an outright sale, comparing the houses, and negotiating the terms. For a buyer it means finding the work, checking condition, provenance and paperwork, and negotiating the price or bidding on your behalf.
How much does an art advisor cost?
For sellers, our fees are typically 0%. On rare occasions we may need to charge a 2.5% to 10% commission where the sale is complex, and because we negotiate reduced seller's rates on your behalf, the overall cost is usually the same or lower than consigning directly. For buyers, terms are agreed before any work starts.
Do I need an art advisor to sell at auction?
No. Anyone can consign directly. An advisor earns their place by comparing houses you would not otherwise approach and negotiating terms you would otherwise accept as published. For a low-value decorative work that rarely makes a difference, and we will say so.
Is Whitebank Fine Art an art dealer?
We are an advisory and a gallery. Most of what we do is act for sellers and buyers, and some works are offered directly through our own catalogue. We tell you which of those we are proposing before you decide anything, because they are not the same transaction.
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house. Nothing here is investment advice.
