Art auctions near you: how to find one in London and the UK

How to find an art auction near you

Four places to look:

1. An online bidding platform. Most UK salerooms list their catalogues on one or more bidding websites, which bring thousands of sales together. Search for paintings or fine art, limit the results to the UK and sort by date.
2. Google Maps. Search for "fine art auctioneers" or "auction house" on the map, then open each saleroom's own calendar. Many general auctioneers hold a fine art sale only a few times a year, so the next one may be months away.
3. The trade bodies. NAVA Propertymark and the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers both list their members.
4. The trade press. The Antiques Trade Gazette publishes a calendar of UK sales.

Read the title of the sale before you travel. A "fine art" or "pictures" sale is catalogued by a specialist. An "antiques and interiors" sale will have some art among the furniture. A "general" sale is mostly house contents with little research behind each lot, which is where overlooked pictures sometimes turn up. A "timed" sale is held online only, with no room to sit in, though many salerooms still let you see the lots beforehand.

Art auctions in London

London is the largest art auction market in Europe. The major international houses are in St James's and Mayfair, with more salerooms in Knightsbridge, Chiswick, Battersea, Islington and West Norwood. Between them there is a sale of some kind almost every week.

The largest sales fall in a few weeks of the year: modern and contemporary art in spring, early summer and around the Frieze art fair in October, and Old Masters in July and December. Viewings are free and open to anyone, at the major houses too, where you can walk in off the street and ask a specialist about a work. The biggest evening sales may need a ticket, which you can request from the saleroom.

Art auctions in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Scotland has a strong market of its own, and both cities have fine art salerooms that hold sales of Scottish paintings several times a year. The Scottish Colourists, among them Samuel Peploe, Francis Cadell and J. D. Fergusson, have a dedicated following here, as do Anne Redpath, Joan Eardley and Jack Vettriano.

Art auctions elsewhere in the UK

Regional salerooms tend to know what their own buyers collect, which is worth remembering if you own a picture with a local following.

• Manchester and the North West. Salerooms in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire, where L. S. Lowry and the northern painters of industrial life are keenly collected.
• Yorkshire and the North East. Salerooms across Yorkshire and on Tyneside, with a strong following in the North East for Norman Cornish and the Pitmen Painters.
• Bristol, Bath and the South West. Salerooms in Bristol, Bath, Devon and Cornwall, with buyers who look out for the Newlyn and St Ives painters, such as Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron and Alfred Wallis.
• The Midlands. Salerooms in Birmingham, Nottingham and Derbyshire, with pictures usually sold within wider fine art sales.
• East Anglia. Salerooms in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge, where the Norwich School, Edward Seago and Alfred Munnings have a long local following.
• The South East. Salerooms in Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Berkshire, many of them within easy reach of the London trade.
• Wales. Salerooms in Cardiff and North Wales, with a strong market for Kyffin Williams and other Welsh painters.
• Northern Ireland. Salerooms in Belfast, with Dublin close by, and a shared market for Irish painters such as Paul Henry and Jack B. Yeats.

Going to an art auction

Viewing. Almost every sale has viewing days beforehand, free to anyone. Look at the back of the picture and the frame as well as the front, and ask for a condition report, since auction lots are usually sold as seen.

Registering. To bid, you register with the saleroom first, usually with photo ID and proof of address, at the desk or online.

Bidding. You can bid in the room, online, by telephone where the saleroom offers it, or by leaving a commission bid: the highest figure you are willing to pay, which the auctioneer bids on your behalf.

What you pay. The saleroom adds a buyer's premium to the hammer price, with VAT, and some charge more for bidding through an online platform. Set your limit as a total. Auction fees explained covers each charge.

Selling: is your nearest saleroom the right one?

It can be. For modest pictures and for artists with a local following, a nearby saleroom may do as well as anywhere, and it costs less to get the work there. For other work, distance matters far less than whether the right buyers will see it, and a painting can reach the right sale from anywhere in the UK: the valuation is made from photographs, and the work only travels once terms are agreed.

It is worth asking more than one house, because estimates, commission and unsold fees all differ. Which auction house to use sets out what to compare, and selling at auction covers every charge.

Quick answers

How do I find an art auction near me? Search an online bidding platform for paintings or fine art in the UK and sort by date, or search for fine art auctioneers on Google Maps and check each saleroom's calendar. Most counties have at least one saleroom that holds regular picture sales.

Are art auctions open to the public? Yes. Anyone can view the lots and attend most sales without charge, including at the major London houses. The biggest evening sales may need a ticket, and you must register before you can bid.

Can I bid without going to the auction? Yes. Most salerooms take bids online, by telephone or as a commission bid left in advance, so you can buy from a sale anywhere in the UK.

Should I sell at my local auction house or in London? It depends on the work. London reaches the widest audience for major names. A regional saleroom can do as well or better for modest pictures and for artists collected locally, often at lower cost.

Can a local auction house value my painting? Most will give a free auction estimate from photographs or at a valuation day. An estimate is a guide to what the work may make in that house's own sale, so it is worth comparing more than one.

Is Whitebank Fine Art an auction house? No. We are an independent art advisory and gallery. We do not hold sales: we help sellers choose a saleroom and negotiate its terms. Our fees are typically 0%, and on rare occasions 2.5% to 10% where a sale is complex.

How Whitebank Fine Art can help

We are an independent art advisory in London and work with sellers across the UK. We do not hold sales ourselves. We compare what the salerooms suited to your work would offer and negotiate the terms, with the contract in your name. Send us photographs for a free valuation. There is no obligation to sell, and we act for you rather than for the saleroom.