Should we sell art in our auction?

One of the biggest components of putting together a silent or live auction is the acquisition of your auction items. We often get asked about the use of art in auctions. Before we answer that, we always want to know about the audience, because matching your auction to your audience is the key to fundraising.


Art—paintings, sculpture, statues—is one of those commodities whose value can be quite subjective. Unless you are specifically cultivating an art collecting audience, and catering to an art savvy crowd, the odds are slim that you will make what the art is worth on the auction block. Quickly, a $1,200 painting can stall out at $300, and if the artist is in the room it can be a hard moment for everyone. Artwork can bring in great returns, but only when it gets the showcasing it deserves in front of an audience that clearly understands its value.


A great way to incorporate smaller level artistic donors and appealing auction items is to heavily solicit smaller ticket items from the world of crafts. Often these can come from folks already affiliated with your organization. There’s a fantastic market in silent auctions for knit items, jewelry, stationary, purses, quilts, and more. It’s a great way to have items that are unique to auction, allowing your patrons to have a one-of-a-kind takeaway that encourages them to return the next year because they know they can see things they can’t buy somewhere else.