Appraisal Guide · Updated July 2026

How to Get Art Appraised: 6 Steps to Find Out What Your Art Is Worth

Document the piece, figure out what you have, then match the appraisal to the purpose. If you're selling, a free evaluation is all you need; insurance, estates, and IRS donations require a credentialed appraiser.

By the Austin Gallery editors · July 2, 2026

Getting art appraised is a six-step process: document the piece, identify what you have, decide why you need a value, choose the right professional for that purpose, sit for the appraisal, and check that the report contains what it should. The step people skip — deciding why they need a value — is the one that determines everything else, including whether you should pay anything at all. Selling doesn't require a formal appraisal; insurance and taxes do. Here is the whole process, in order.

Do you even need a paid appraisal?

Start here, because the answer is often no. You don't need a paid appraisal to sell art — you need one for insurance, estates, and IRS purposes. A formal written appraisal is a legal document built for a specific use; if nobody is going to demand that document (an insurer, the IRS, a court), a free evaluation from a gallery or auction house answers the “what is my art worth” question at no cost.

The value type matters as much as the document: insurance appraisals use replacement value (retail cost to replace), while estate and tax appraisals use fair market value (what a willing buyer would actually pay) — two honest numbers for the same piece that can sit far apart. Our guide to how art is valued unpacks the difference.

Step 1: Document the piece

Before you contact anyone, build a record. Every appraiser, gallery, and auction house will ask for the same things, so gathering them once saves every later step:

Photograph the front, the back, the signature, and any labels. Shoot in even daylight, straight-on, without flash. The back matters more than people expect — gallery labels, exhibition stickers, stamps, inscriptions, and even the style of stretcher bars or framing hardware all help date and attribute a work. Add close-ups of the signature, any edition numbering, and any damage. Then measure the piece (height × width, unframed if you can see the edge, and framed) and gather the paperwork: receipts, certificates of authenticity, old appraisals, letters from the artist, auction records — anything that traces where the piece came from. That chain of ownership is the provenance, and strong provenance can move value more than condition does.

Step 2: Identify what you have

You don't need to become an expert — you need enough identification to point the right expert at the piece.

Read the signature

Search the signature as written, plus variations if it's hard to read. Artist signature databases, auction records, and even a reverse image search of the work can surface the artist or the print it reproduces. If the signature is illegible, photograph it large and let the professionals work on it — that is genuinely part of their job.

Original, print, or reproduction?

This is the single biggest fork in value. Look at the surface at an angle and under magnification: an oil or acrylic has real texture and irregular brushwork; a hand-pulled print (etching, lithograph, screenprint) has plate marks or ink sitting on the paper; an offset reproduction shows a uniform dot pattern like a magazine page. A pencil-signed, numbered edition (like “12/150”) is a limited-edition print; a printed signature usually means a reproduction. Numbered editions from known artists can carry real value — posters and open reproductions rarely do.

Step 3: Decide why you need the value

Now commit to a purpose, because the purpose picks the professional. An appraisal is only valid for the use it was written for — an insurance appraisal doesn't work for a donation, and a verbal estimate from a dealer doesn't work for an estate. If you're selling, skip to a free evaluation. If an institution will scrutinize the number — insurer, IRS, court — you need a formal appraisal from a credentialed appraiser, and for donations over $5,000 the IRS specifically requires a “qualified appraisal” from a “qualified appraiser.”

Step 4: Choose the right professional

For a formal appraisal, look for a credentialed member of one of the three major U.S. professional bodies — the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the Appraisers Association of America (AAA), or the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) — who works to USPAP, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Ask what they specialize in: an appraiser who knows contemporary prints may not be the right examiner for 19th-century portraits. For a selling evaluation, go to the market itself: auction houses review photo submissions for consignment at no charge, and galleries that handle consignment — ours included — do the same.

One rule protects you in every case: a legitimate appraiser charges for time, never a percentage of the value. USPAP's ethics rules — and the IRS, for tax appraisals — prohibit contingent fees, because an appraiser paid a cut of the number has an obvious incentive to inflate it. Anyone who offers to appraise your art for a share of its value, or who appraises it and then offers to buy it, is describing a conflict of interest, not a service.

Step 5: What happens in the appraisal

The appraiser examines the work — in person for significant pieces, from your photographs and documents for many others. They verify what it is (artist, medium, date, edition), assess condition, and review the provenance you assembled in Step 1. Then comes the part you don't see: researching comparable sales. Value in art is established the way it is in real estate — by what genuinely similar works have actually sold for, weighted for size, period, subject, condition, and where they sold. The examination itself is usually under an hour per piece; the research and written report typically take one to several weeks.

Step 6: What the report should contain

A formal appraisal is a signed document, and you should check it before you file it. It should identify the appraiser and their qualifications; describe the work fully (artist, title, medium, dimensions, date, edition, condition, provenance); state the purpose of the appraisal and the type of value used (replacement value or fair market value); explain the valuation approach and the comparable sales relied on; include photographs; and carry the effective date and the appraiser's signature. A number on letterhead with none of that behind it isn't an appraisal — and an insurer or the IRS will treat it accordingly.

What an art appraisal costs

Professional appraisers typically charge by the hour — commonly in the range of $150 to $300 — or a flat per-item fee, with minimums that often land a single-piece formal appraisal at a few hundred dollars. Complex attributions, large collections, and court-ready work cost more. That price buys the research and the defensible document; it's money well spent when an institution requires the paper, and money wasted when one doesn't. Which brings us back to the table above: if you're selling, the evaluation is free.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an art appraisal online?

Yes, for most purposes. Many credentialed appraisers work remotely from photographs and documentation, and galleries and auction houses routinely give free selling evaluations from photos. The exceptions are high-value works and anything with an authenticity question, where in-person examination of the surface, edges, and back is usually necessary. If you're looking for someone local instead, our guide to finding an art appraiser near you covers where to look.

How long does an appraisal take?

The examination is usually under an hour per piece; the research and written report typically take one to several weeks, depending on how hard the artist and market are to research. Free photo evaluations are faster — often a few days.

Should I clean or restore the piece first?

No — ask first. Cleaning or restoring artwork before an appraisal can permanently reduce its value. Original surfaces and old varnish carry evidence of age and authenticity that appraisers and conservators rely on, and amateur cleaning is one of the most common ways owners accidentally damage valuable work. Present the piece as-is; if conservation makes sense, the appraiser will say so.

What if the appraiser offers to buy it?

Red flag. An appraiser who wants to buy the piece has a financial incentive to value it low — the mirror image of the contingent-fee problem — which is why professional ethics require appraisers to be disinterested and to disclose conflicts. A dealer or gallery can absolutely make you an offer; just understand that an offer is a bid, not an appraisal, and it's reasonable to get a second opinion before accepting one.

How do I handle inherited art?

Document and identify each piece the same way, but note that estates often trigger the formal-appraisal requirement: estate tax filings and divisions among heirs generally need a fair-market-value appraisal from a qualified appraiser. If the question is simply whether inherited pieces are worth selling, start with a free evaluation. Our guide to selling inherited art covers the whole process, from sorting a collection to choosing where to sell.

The bottom line

Document first, identify second, and let the purpose pick the professional. Pay for an appraisal when an institution will demand the document; use a free evaluation when you just need to know what your art is worth. Either way, never restore before asking, and never accept a valuation from someone with a stake in the number. If selling is where you're headed, we'll evaluate your piece for free and tell you honestly whether it's a fit for consignment.

This guide reflects standard appraisal-trade practice — USPAP, the major U.S. appraisal organizations (ASA, AAA, ISA), and IRS requirements for qualified appraisals — as of July 2026, compiled by Austin Gallery's editors. Fee ranges are typical published figures and vary by appraiser, region, and complexity. Nothing here is legal, tax, or insurance advice; for estate, donation, or coverage decisions, confirm requirements with your attorney, tax professional, or insurer. Austin Gallery's free evaluations are market opinions for selling and consigning, not certified appraisals.