Selling art

[Aquaman]

I inherited some art from a wealthy aunt. My wife and I like some of it but there are a couple pieces that we would rather sell and use the money for the kiddies' college fund.

Thus, my question is how should I go about selling this stuff? I have absolutely no experience in this area and don't have a clue on how much it is worth. Should I contact all the dealers/galleries/sellers I can find on the internet with pictures, descriptions, my back story? It seems that I have the consignment option? Is an apprasial in order?

A little more background: The painting I would like to unload first is from an "early-California" artist who seems to be relatively famous in her genre. From my limited research, seemingly typical pieces by this artist run anywhere from $5k to $15k. There are many websites from California that specifically note this artist and state that they buy her stuff. I'm in Texas by the way...

I am really at a loss, thus I call on my HF comrades. Any thoughts greatly appreciated!!!

 

[fratboy_legend]

are you in houston by chance? i would suggest the Harris Gallery as a good place to start.

713-522-9116

 

[jimmyjazz]

I know nothing about selling art, but I wonder if you couldn't just email some prominent galleries that feature this artist's work, attach digital photos of the pieces you have, and ask them point blank price and commission? Take the best offer. It wouldn't be a guarantee -- they'll probably have to haggle the price with customers -- but I bet you'd get close. (You could demand a minimum, too.)

 

[Aquaman]

Thanks for the replies. As of right now, that is the plan: send pictures to all of the galleries professing to buy this artist's work. Then I will go from there. I surmise that the galleries will want to examine the piece before making an offer--therefore complicating the process.

Any other ideas?

 

[Do I Make You Horny?]

There is a Heritage Auction house based out of Dallas. Mainly collectibles but also some fine art. Contact them to get some idea about the process. Here is a link with some info.

 

[Aquaman]

Thanks Horny. Link seems legit--I will be contacting them!