The fee is agreed in writing before the engagement begins and comes from a single source, the client. Appraisal, art advisory and collection management are paid for in different ways: an appraisal is paid on a time or fixed-fee basis and collection management by the hour, by project or by retainer, never as a percentage of the value of the works, while for art advisory the preferred formula is a retainer or a time-based fee. The roles are never combined on the same object.

Guide · 5 min read · reviewed in 2026
For whom: private owners and heirs · collectors · family offices · fiduciaries and trusts · brokers

Remuneration models in the art market

In the art market, intermediaries are remunerated in various ways: time-based fees, fixed fees, a percentage of the purchase or sale price, and fees contingent on the successful outcome of the transaction. The most widespread practice among galleries, dealers, auction houses and a number of consultants is a commission deducted from the proceeds of a sale or added to the purchase price. Each of these formulas is legitimate; the problem arises where the client does not know precisely the amount of the fee, its nature and who is paying it.

How an appraisal is paid for

The way an appraiser is paid determines the reliability and the credibility of the document produced. If the fee rose in proportion to the value stated in the document, the appraiser would have a personal financial interest in that value, depriving the appraisal of its essential quality: independence.

The appraiser's fee is therefore calculated solely on a time or fixed-fee basis, never as a percentage of the value of the work. The professional appraisal standards I apply prohibit any proportional fee. Equally excluded is any fee contingent on a result, on a predetermined value, on the outcome of the engagement or on future benefits such as the eventual sale of the work valued.

The amount varies with the number of works and the complexity of their study, the archival research required and any travel involved. The initial meeting also establishes whether a full appraisal is needed or whether a preliminary indication of value is sufficient.

How art advisory is paid for

The fee comes from a single source for each transaction, and that source is the client alone. I accept no commissions, reserved discounts, brokerage fees or other benefits from galleries, auction houses, dealers, restorers, shippers or insurance companies.

The preferred arrangement is a fixed monthly retainer, covering research, visits and negotiations without tying the fee to any single transaction, or alternatively a time-based or fixed fee. Advice paid for in this way remains impartial, whatever the client's decision to buy, to walk away or to negotiate a different figure. A percentage of the transaction is admissible only if agreed in advance, but it introduces a personal interest by linking the advisor's earnings to the completion of the deal and to the size of the figure. For those starting to collect, time-based advice is the formula that offers the greatest protection.

Complete transparency on how the fee is calculated is essential: the advisor specifies whether related expenses (transport, insurance cover, condition reports, travel) are included or invoiced separately, and the total amount the advisor will receive once the transaction is complete.

How collection management is paid for

The care of an existing collection — inventory, documentation, condition reports, logistics — is paid for on an hourly, per-project or periodic-retainer basis. Here too the fee is unrelated to the value of the works and to the outcome of commercial transactions, for the same reason: whoever keeps the inventory must have no interest in the values recorded being high.

The engagement letter

The financial terms are always defined in advance, whatever the activity. Every engagement is formalised in an engagement letter setting out the purpose of the service, the type of value adopted where an appraisal is concerned, the works to be examined, the delivery time, the costs and the terms of payment. Work begins only once the agreement has been signed. A refusal to commit in writing to time and cost before starting is a warning sign. The letter also states precisely the capacity in which the professional acts: appraiser or advisor, never both on the same object.

Incompatibilities

The appraiser does not buy the works being valued, since an offer to purchase made after the valuation would create a conflict of interest: an incentive to state a low value. Likewise, the appraiser does not act as intermediary in the sale of the work valued, since a commission on the transaction would compromise impartiality. The appraisal expressly discloses whether the appraiser has valued, managed or owned the object in previous years and states any present or future interest.

The two roles never overlap on the same object: whoever writes the appraisal does not handle the sale as advisor, and whoever assists the client with a purchase does not sign the appraisal intended for third parties. When the advisor arranges for an appraisal to be carried out, that appraisal is a separate engagement with its own distinct fee.

Transparency along the chain of intermediaries

In transactions of significant value, several parties may stand between seller and buyer, each with a share of their own. The advisor who acts on the client's mandate has a duty to disclose all known commissions and intermediary margins that will be deducted from the proceeds or added to the final price along the entire chain. An undisclosed profit, however small, is a breach of the engagement.

Fees and methods of remuneration