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Victorian Art Consignment
Sotheby’s is your best resource to evaluate and sell Victorian paintings, including Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist art. To learn about the value of your art, simply submit images and information through our easy-to-use online form. Our team of specialists will review your submission and issue preliminary estimates for items that can be included in our sales.
Sotheby’s Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art auctions bring together the finest drawings, watercolours and oil paintings from a wide selection of artists including Dame Laura Knight, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Ford Maddox Brown, Sir Alfred James Munnings, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John William Waterhouse among others.
Sotheby’s has dominated the Victorian market in recent years, achieving the two highest prices at auction for Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Finding of Moses, which sold for almost 36 million USD, more than ten times its pre-sale estimate, and Alma-Tadema’s Antony and Cleopatra, which sold for just over 29 million USD.
Request a Victorian Painting Estimate
Submit photos and information about your Victorian painting and begin your complimentary estimate request.
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Victorian Paintings Consigned with Sotheby's
Get Started with an Estimate
Get Started with an Estimate
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Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the best time to sell my Victorian painting?Exceptional British Impressionist, Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite paintings are in demand throughout the year. Our long-standing relationships with collectors, museums and dealers, together with our knowledge and experience, have resulted in high-profile international auctions and world-record achievements. With live, online and private sales throughout the year in London and New York, Sotheby's offers many opportunities to sell your Victorian painting at auction. There is no better time to consign a British painting with Sotheby’s.
- What types of Victorian paintings does Sotheby's sell?When you submit your painting's information online, our specialists can appraise it and let you know if it is a right fit for a Sotheby's auction. Paintings that have performed well at auction in our recent sales include John William Waterhouse’s The Siren, which sold for 3,835,800 GBP (estimate £1,000,000-1,500,000), and Simeon Solomon’s magnificent and important oil painting Habet! In the Coliseum A.D.XC, which sold for 370,000 GBP (estimate £300,000-500,000) setting the auction record for the artist. Dame Laura Knight’s famous painting The Ballet Girl and the Dressmaker was offered at auction for the first time, having been painted in 1930 and remaining in the same collection ever since – it sold for 322,000 GBP (estimate £100,000-150,000).
- To request an auction estimate, why must I submit an image of the back of my painting?High-quality images of the front and back of your British painting are especially important because both views enable our experts to research efficiently to provide you with the most accurate assessment of your property. The back of the painting can be of particular interest to our specialists because any visible markings or labels could provide valuable information about provenance and exhibition history.
- How much does it cost to have Sotheby's provide a Victorian painting appraisal?Sotheby's does not perform appraisals but we do provide auction estimates for items we believe we can sell at auction. Our auction estimate valuations are complimentary and do not cost you anything. We review all submissions and provide valuations for paintings we believe we can sell at auction. We will inform you if your Victorian painting is not a good fit for a Sotheby's auction, and we will do our best to provide you with a recommendation of another venue to sell your artwork.
- Can a specialist come view and evaluate my Victorian painting in-person?Our 19th century art specialists are located in New York, London and Paris and they also travel frequently to see paintings in-person. All upcoming evaluation days will be listed on this page; however, you can also contact the department directly if you do not see your city listed.
LONDON: +44 (0)20 7293 5718
NEW YORK: +1 212 606 7140
PARIS: +33 1 53 05 53 10
More information on how to sell with Sotheby's
Sotheby’s is your best resource to buy British art or sell a British, Victorian, Edwardian, Pre-Raphaelite, Symbolist, British Aesthetic, Ruralist, Realist, or Social Realist painting or drawing such as a landscape, portrait, still life or abstract work by an artist such as Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, John William Waterhouse, James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Simeon Solomon, Dame Laura Knight, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys, Albert Joseph Moore, Sir Edward John Poynter, Sir John Everett Millais, William Dyce, George Frederic Watts, Marie Spartali Stillman, Edward Lear, Edward Robert Hughes, Edward John Gregory, Sir Joseph Noel Paton, John Atkinson Grimshaw, John Brett, Henry Scott Tuke, Sir Alfred James Munnings, Stanhope Alexander Forbes, Sir George Clausen, Montague Dawson, Dorothea Sharp or Edward Seago.