When your art appears on resale: understanding the secondary market

01What the secondary market is

The primary market is the first sale of a work: from your studio to the collector, or from your gallery to the collector. The secondary market is everything that happens after: the resale of the work by its owner to another buyer, whether privately, through a resale gallery, or at auction.

Major auction houses such as Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips are the most visible players in the secondary market. But there is also a less spectacular secondary market: galleries offering second-hand works, art advisors facilitating private transactions, and online platforms where collectors resell directly.

For established artists, the secondary market is an essential indicator of market health. When works by Georg Baselitz, Marlene Dumas, or Cecily Brown go to public sale, the results directly influence prices on the primary market. A successful auction result reinforces gallery prices. A disappointing result can undermine collector confidence.

02Why one of your works appears on resale

Several reasons explain why a collector decides to part with a work. The most common is collection renewal: a collector sells certain pieces to buy others. This is not a disavowal of your work but normal behaviour in the collecting world.

Other reasons are more prosaic: a move, a change in taste, financial difficulties, a divorce, an inheritance. Dealer Daniel Templon has often noted that resale is an integral part of a work's life and that an artist should not take it as a personal affront.

More problematic cases also exist: speculation. Some buyers acquire works with the intention of reselling them quickly at a profit. This behaviour, which the art world calls flipping, is generally frowned upon by galleries and artists. American painter Mark Bradford has publicly criticised buyers who resold his works months after acquiring them, contributing to a price volatility harmful in the long term.

03The impact of the resale right

In Europe, the artist's resale right protects you financially during resales. Created in France in 1920 and extended across the European Union by a 2001 directive, this right guarantees you a percentage of the resale price each time one of your works is sold by an art market professional. The rate is degressive: four per cent up to 50,000 euros, then three per cent up to 200,000 euros, and so on, capped at 12,500 euros per transaction.

This right applies automatically for sales conducted by galleries and auction houses in the European Union. In France, ADAGP collects and redistributes these rights to artists and their heirs. If you are not yet registered with a collective management society, this is a step worth taking: you could be missing income to which you are entitled.

In the United States, there is no federal resale right, although California attempted to establish a similar mechanism. In the United Kingdom, the resale right existed thanks to European legislation, and its continuation after Brexit was confirmed. Artist Bridget Riley was one of the most active voices in favour of establishing the resale right in the United Kingdom.

04What to do when you discover a resale

The first thing to do is not to panic. Observe the context: where is the work being offered, at what price, in what condition. If the work is offered at auction, the estimate given by the auction house provides an indication of how specialists perceive your market.

If the resale price is higher than the original purchase price, that is a positive signal: your market is progressing. If the price is lower, that does not necessarily mean your work has lost value. Auction prices depend on many conjunctural factors: the sale date, the quality of the specific work, competition in the catalogue, market mood on that day.

German artist Albert Oehlen, represented by Galerie Max Hetzler and Gagosian, has experienced significant fluctuations in his auction results without fundamentally affecting the solidity of his primary market. Secondary market volatility is normal and should not trigger excessive reactions.

05Your gallery's role in the secondary market

If you work with a gallery, it plays an essential regulatory role in the secondary market. An attentive gallery monitors appearances of your works at public sale and can intervene in several ways: by buying back the work to protect price levels, by directing collectors to the sale to support the result, or by contacting the seller to propose an alternative to public sale.

David Zwirner Gallery is known for its active management of its artists' secondary markets. When a work by Yayoi Kusama, Luc Tuymans, or Jeff Koons appears at public sale, the gallery ensures the result will match the artist's positioning. This discrete but systematic intervention is a service that artists greatly appreciate.

If you do not have a gallery, you will need to monitor appearances of your works on resale yourself. Tools such as Artnet, specialist online galleries, and auction house databases allow you to track public transactions. For private transactions, tracking is more difficult, but word of mouth in the art world works: if one of your works changes hands, you will generally learn about it eventually.

06Building a healthy secondary market

Paradoxically, an active secondary market is desirable. It means your works are desired, they circulate, and they attract new collectors. The total absence of a secondary market may mean that collectors who bought your work cannot resell it, which is not a good sign.

British sculptor Antony Gormley, whose work is represented by White Cube, benefits from a solid secondary market that reinforces the credibility of his primary market. Collectors know that a Gormley work can be resold if necessary, which reassures them at the moment of purchase.

To build a healthy secondary market, you must first build a solid primary market: coherent prices, regular progression, geographically and sociologically diversified collectors, regular exhibitions maintaining visibility. The secondary market is the natural consequence of a well-managed primary market.

07The temptation to intervene

Some artists are tempted to intervene directly in the secondary market, for example by buying back their own works or contacting collectors who are reselling. This temptation is understandable but must be handled with caution.

American artist Jeff Koons reportedly buys back some of his own works at public sale to support prices. This strategy, costly and risky, is reserved for artists with significant financial means. For an emerging artist, buying back your own works is rarely a viable option.

However, you can act upstream. Select your buyers: favour collectors who show long-term engagement with your work rather than those giving signals of speculation. Some galleries include first-refusal clauses in their sales contracts, obliging the collector to offer the work to the gallery first if they wish to resell. This increasingly common practice allows better control of the flow of works onto the secondary market.

08Documenting and authenticating

Resale also raises the question of authentication. The more you document your production, the more secure future transactions will be. A certificate of authenticity, a digital catalogue of your works, quality photographs of each piece: these documents facilitate resale and protect both the buyer and your reputation.

American artist Rashid Johnson, represented by Hauser and Wirth, provides detailed certificates of authenticity for each work, including photographs, technical descriptions, and a unique inventory number. This rigour facilitates the circulation of his works on the secondary market and reassures collectors.

Artedusa offers a space where each work is documented with precision: title, dimensions, medium, year, provenance. This documentary rigour accompanies the work throughout its life, from the primary market to the secondary market, and reinforces the trust that is the foundation of every transaction. Discover this approach at artedusa.com.