What should you check before buying art?

Who represents whom in this transaction?

Establish whether the seller owns the work or acts as a gallery or agent, and what authorizes them to receive payment and arrange delivery. The beneficial owner, contact person and payment recipient may differ. That does not itself establish wrongdoing, but their roles and relationships need explanation.

HMRC’s guidance for regulated UK art-market participants highlights customer identity, beneficial ownership and transaction arrangements. A useful lesson for any reader is that familiarity should not replace records. Specific verification duties depend on jurisdiction, the business’s role and the transaction.

Turn it over and connect the object with its records

Where safe and permitted, inspect photographs of the reverse, underside or mounting. Stamps, labels, numbers and repairs offer clues to compare with provenance records, catalogues and older images. Identical titles do not establish identical objects: dimensions, media, edition numbers and distinctive details should correspond.

Separate authenticity, condition and ownership. A conservation report does not necessarily establish who may sell, and an exhibition record is not a complete proof of title. Record who produced each document, when and which question it answers, leaving unsupported parts open for further investigation.

Does buying the object include rights to its image?

Ownership of a physical work and copyright should be considered separately. UK official guidance explains that buying a copyright-protected painting does not automatically grant the right to reproduce it on a book cover. Publishing, merchandising or commercial projects call for a separate check of the rights holder and permission.

Fictional exercise: you buy a contemporary print and want to reproduce it on an event poster. List the print run, distribution, territory and duration, then establish who can authorize it and whether an existing open licence or legal exception applies. Keep the permission and its conditions rather than assuming that purchasing the print settles the question.

The paperwork must travel with the object

For cross-border movement, ask separately whether the sale is lawful, export is permitted and import documentation is required. Paying the price or shipping bill does not settle the other questions. Destination, object category and the circumstances of creation or excavation help determine which authorities to consult.

For example, the European Commission’s 2025 notice describes import licences or importer statements for certain cultural goods, not one identical document for every artwork. Before shipment, provide the object details and planned route to art shippers and customs specialists familiar with the category, and establish the applicable requirements.

Leave a record the next caretaker can understand

Create a folder linked to the object’s identifier for photographs, invoices, agreements, provenance, condition and delivery records. Before proceeding, understand the total cost, additional charges, delivery arrangements and agreed ways to address disputes. Afterwards, add evidence of what was actually paid and delivered.

If something does not match, describe the issue precisely: dimensions, authority to act, or missing border documentation? Asking questions, gathering evidence or pausing a decision is more useful than explaining away the gap. A well-kept record gives future loans, conservation and transfers a traceable starting point.

As a readability exercise, ask someone unfamiliar with the transaction to read your record. Can they identify the object, each party’s commitments and the open questions? If the explanation depends on your memory, the record still needs work.