How to buy art

Buying original work is a high-consideration purchase made without touching the thing. Here is what to expect.

Start with the room, not the work

Measure the wall. A single piece usually wants to be about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it, hung with its centre around 145 cm from the floor. Photograph the wall in daylight and again at night — most rooms are lived in after dark, and a work that sings at noon can disappear under warm bulbs.

Buy what you keep looking at

Not what matches the sofa. The sofa will be replaced in eight years; a painting that holds your attention will outlast three of them.

Original, edition or print

An original is one object and cannot be replaced once sold. A limited edition is numbered and finite. An open print is available while it is in production. All three are honest ways to own work; they differ in scarcity, not in whether they count.

What the price includes

Every listed price is pre-tax. GST is added at checkout and shown separately, along with delivery where it applies. Framing, where a work is offered unframed, is quoted before you commit.

If it is wrong in the room

Décor and prints can be returned within the stated window. Originals are handled under a separate policy — ask before you buy rather than after.