Guide To Selling Fine Art At Auction

 

The first step to selling with Halls Fine Art Auctioneers is to request a valuation.  We offer free auction advice and estimates, without obligation, to help you make the right decision.  We also offer a full valuation service to include sales for silver, jewellery, pictures, works of art, ceramics, glass and furniture. Follow the link for free fine art valuation and pre sales advice about selling an art collection or a single items with Halls.

 

Selling Art Collections & Estates

Halls Fine Art has a proven track record of handling sensitively and successfully selling single owner collections of fine art.  For example, the single owner private collection of Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe artwork (hammer total £43,400) on the 15th of September 2021 and another private collection that included the portrait of Princess Mary, Circle of Sir Peter Lely that sold for a hammer price of £22,000 and a Sir Kyffin Williams that made £13,000 on the 18th of March 2020. 

In other disciplines we were pleased to offer The David Bowie Collection of Artist Edward Bell.
 

Marketing Campaign

A wide campaign including the national / international newspaper, the Antique Trade Gazette (ATG) and any other relevant periodicals and newspapers depending on the nature of the collection.  Editorial will be sought too, with the Midlands press and magazines being targeted, but also other specialist publications such as the Apollo and the Art Newspaper.  Halls provides regular editorial to Shropshire Life and other similar publications.

Promotion on the Halls website including banner image and a news feature with highlights from the collection.  Cross-marketing in Halls’ eight regional offices across the West Midlands.

E-shot all our prospective buyers and bidders promoting the sale. We can also liaise with you on other contacts and interested parties you would like notifying, subject to GDPR compliance.

Public Relations

Depending on the nature and size of the collection, Halls often hold an evening/weekend viewing at our Fine Art salerooms in Shrewsbury, in combination with a reception/talk for invited guests and VIPs.  Normal viewing days (Monday and Tuesday before the sale on a Wednesday).

 

Photography

Halls Fine Art prides itself on high standards of photography, regularly praised by our vendors and buyers.  Our vendor Lindsey Knapp (Victoria Gallery) expressed how impressed she was with our efforts regarding her own collection. Halls has invested heavily in this area, upgrading the cameras, lighting and studio equipment to help produce the desired results, and this work continues. Please see below; the drawing by John Constable that sold for £31,000.

Every lot is illustrated online, with multiple images where needed, and a high proportion of selected lots are illustrated in the printed catalogues for our quarterly Fine Sales.

 

Internet

All Halls’ sales are hosted on ATGs the-saleroom.com as well as Barnaby’s. Additional investment in this area provides targeted email campaigns utilising ATGs unrivalled audience segmentation, and we would add this to the marketing package for your fine art collection, aimed at fine art collectors internationally.

Online bidding is growing exponentially, with approximately 70% of sold works at Halls being bought by online bidders, the majority of whom have not attended the sale. This is a trend that is only going one way and is why accurate condition reports and good images are vital.

 

Cataloguing

Each specialist at Halls routinely researches their works and always includes footnotes and provenance where necessary.  We aim for the highest level of cataloguing in terms of house style, mindful of a demanding international audience.

Halls holds quarterly Fine Art, Antiques and Jewellery sales, which include good paintings, furniture, ceramics, works of art, jewellery, watches and silver. These sales have the advantage of cross-marketing and for collections we would illustrate every lot in the A4-size catalogue.

 

Summary

Halls has the expertise and experience to handle good collections. Combined with the best internet platform, ATG (the-saleroom)’s marketing prowess and reach (including targeted e-shot segmentation) and public relations event will ensure that the collection is well publicised and promoted.

 

Testimonials

When I decided to sell my collection back in June, my first thought was Halls Fine Art.  I have bought a number of items from them in the past. I was immediately put through to Paintings Specialist Abigail Molenaar who asked all of the right questions and was very enthusiastic about evaluating what I had. I immediately knew that I had found the right place to sell my collection and arranged to come in and see her.

Abigail has kept me informed of the impressive promotional work over the past few months and I am sure the results of the two recent auctions, which have far exceeded my expectations, are due to her enthusiasm and attention to detail. I can't thank her enough.

Mr N, Liverpool

 

‘My late husband and I had great fun accumulating a vast quantity of children antique tea sets, dating from c1810- 1870.  Over a period of 20+ years, we thoroughly enjoyed a shared passion for searching for these little pots and the subsequent detective work to identify the manufacture.  When my husband died collecting wasn’t the same, and I moved to a much smaller house.   Our two children didn’t share our interest, so I had no-one to pass them on to. 

After researching and talking to representatives of the many auction houses, I chose Halls to auction off what, to me, are very precious items.  Each one packed with fond memories and interest.

Caroline Dennard instinctively realised how difficult parting with these items was going to be, and helped me through-out the process with support and good advice.  Recommending an excellent carrier to collect these precious items, ideas on how best to lot them, selected appropriate lots, and saw the collection through the inner workings of Halls Auctioneers to the final sale date.

Sadley, I wasn’t the easiest of customers, fretting over how they would be lotted, taking out and adding items, concerned to achieve the best outcome as these were always going to be part of our pension scheme.  Caroline always responded to my questions promptly and sensitively, taking on board my suggestions, and was as delighted as I was when the majority of pieces sold and I achieved a good outcome.

I would thoroughly recommend Halls as the auctioneer of choice.  Well organised, prompt attention to the clients need, and, without fail very supportive.’

EM of Buckingham

 

I’d never bought at auction before and to be honest found the idea of it incredibly daunting!  I didn’t need to be worried though.  Your team made the process so exciting and held my hand through telephone bidding to making the payment on my dresser once I’d won!  I’ve now got the bug.  Thank you for taking me from nervous bidder to experienced bidder!

Miss N, Ludlow