Buying a work of art online can feel intimidating. At ARTDELION we have built an acquisition process that is simple, transparent and secure, designed so that every collector, whether beginning or experienced, can acquire an original sculpture with peace of mind.
A fixed price, displayed, with no surprise
Each sculpture is offered at a fixed, transparent price shown directly on its listing. No auction, no opaque negotiation, no account to create in order to see a work: the price you see is the price of the work. That transparency is at the heart of our model as an agency.
Reservation by deposit: the work is withdrawn from sale
Found the work that suits you in our shop? Reserve it with a deposit of 300 euros, deducted in full from the acquisition price. From the moment it is reserved, the work is withdrawn from sale: first come, first served. We then contact you within 24 working hours to complete the sale, arrange delivery and assemble the documents that go with the work, including the certificate of authenticity where the artist issues one.
Secure payment through Stripe
All payments go through Stripe, a PCI-DSS certified provider used by millions of businesses worldwide. ARTDELION never sees or stores your bank details. Settlement is by card, or by transfer for larger amounts.
ARTDELION as the artist’s agent: what that means for you
ARTDELION acts as agent for the artists and sellers presented on the site: we present the work, conclude the sale on the seller’s behalf and collect the price for their account. The contract of sale is concluded directly between you and the artist (or the collector). In practice, you always know who you are buying from, and the artist is paid fairly and traceably.
Your legal guarantees
You have the statutory fourteen day right of withdrawal from receipt of the work, the legal guarantee of conformity, and, where the artist issues one, a certificate of authenticity signed in their own hand. Not every artist issues a certificate and none is obliged to: each work page states beforehand what accompanies the piece, and at the very least a detailed invoice and a documented record. Transport is insured at the value of the work, by carriers who specialise in works of art. Full details are set out in our Terms and Conditions of Sale.
What to check before buying, anywhere
These checks do not concern our site alone. They apply to any platform, and they rule out almost every unpleasant surprise.
Is the price displayed? A price given only on request allows it to vary depending on who is asking.
Is the seller identified? Legal notices, registration number, address, a human point of contact. A platform with no verifiable identity has nothing to lose.
Is a certificate announced, and signed by whom? A certificate issued by a third party with no link to the artist is worth little.
Are shipping costs known before you confirm? Shipping priced after the order is a renegotiation lever.
Does payment go through a recognised provider? No purchase of a work justifies a direct transfer to a personal account.
The questions to ask, and the ones that cause discomfort
Three simple questions reveal a great deal, and a serious seller answers them in a few lines.
What is your commission, and is the artist aware of it? The answer tells you whether the model is transparent.
How much does the piece weigh, and how does it fix? A seller who does not know has never had it in their hands.
What happens if the work arrives damaged? The answer should mention insurance, a procedure and a time limit, not a promise of goodwill.
Conversely, two signals should make you step back. A discount offered spontaneously to close quickly, because it devalues the artist and every piece already sold. And artificial urgency, of the last piece available today kind, when every unique work is by nature the last one available.
Buying at a distance, without seeing the piece
This is the real difficulty of buying online, and three requests settle it.
Ask for extra views, particularly from behind and at three quarters. A sculpture changes completely with the angle, and one photograph is never enough to decide on.
Ask for a sense of scale. A photograph on a neutral background gives no idea of real size. An everyday object placed beside it, or simply the dimensions related to a piece of furniture you know, settles the question.
Ask about the exact shade if colour matters to you. Screens lie, and a seller with the piece in front of them can describe it.
All three requests are normal. A seller who finds them excessive is already telling you something.
Human support, from first contact to installation
Behind the site there is an agency. A question about a work, its dimensions, how it would be installed in your home? Use the « Request information » button on each listing or our contact page: a dedicated contact answers and stays with you until the work is in place in your space.
What a sculpture costs, and why prices vary so much
It is the first question, and the one the art market answers least clearly. A contemporary sculpture by a represented artist usually falls between a few hundred and a few thousand euros. The spread is not arbitrary: it comes from the size, the material, the hours of work, whether the piece is unique or one of an edition, and the artist’s track record.
At ARTDELION the price is shown on every work’s page. It is set with the artist, it does not shift depending on who is asking, and it is not adjusted to the buyer’s appearance. If you want the mechanics in detail, we have taken them apart in a dedicated article: how the price of a work of art is set.
One thing deserves to be said plainly: a low price is not a bargain in itself, and a high price is not proof of quality. What matters is the consistency between the price asked, the actual work, and what the artist usually sells for. A seller who refuses to explain a price is telling you something.
Metal, wood, stone: what the material changes in daily life
Material is not only a matter of taste. It sets the weight, and therefore how the piece is installed. It sets the upkeep. It decides whether the work can live outdoors.
Assembled and welded metal, the material both of our
We have set out the behaviour and upkeep of each family of materials in our guide to sculpture materials.
Where to put it, and what to check before buying
This is the commonest mistake, and the most expensive: buying a piece and then discovering it will not fit, will not stand where you planned, or overwhelms the room you put it in.
Four checks before buying, not after. Ceiling height, and the clearance of doors and stairs. Floor load capacity, especially upstairs and on an old timber floor. The base: is one supplied, is one needed, is it stable? And the light, because a metal sculpture is read through its shadows and a frontal lamp flattens it completely.
The detail, with load figures and lighting advice, is in where to place a sculpture at home. If you are torn between two spots, send us a photograph of the room before you buy and we will answer.
Delivering a sculpture, in practice
A sculpture does not travel in a standard box. Each piece is packed to measure, foam and crate where the format calls for it, and handed to a carrier who moves artworks rather than parcels. It is insured at its value for the whole journey.
You get the schedule before dispatch, and the work arrives with its file: invoice, certificate of authenticity where one applies, technical sheet. The full sequence, including what to do if the packing arrives damaged, is described in how a sculpture is delivered.
Insuring it once it is home
Home insurance rarely covers a work at its real value. Most policies apply an overall ceiling on valuables, often well below the price of a sculpture, and require a specific declaration above it.
The useful reflex is simple: keep the invoice, the certificate and photographs of the work from the day it arrives, and call your insurer to find out whether a declaration is needed. Typical ceilings, the difference between declared and agreed value, and the proofs to keep, are gathered in insuring a work of art at home.
The certificate of authenticity and the work’s file
A certificate is not a decorative stamp. It is the document tying one precise piece to its maker, with its dimensions, material, date and signature. It is what an insurer, an expert or a future buyer will ask for.
Not every work comes with one, and that is better known before buying than after. We explain what a serious certificate must contain, how to check it, and what should raise a flag, in certificate of authenticity, what it is for and how to check it.
And if you sell it one day
Buying a work is not an investment, and we do not sell it as one. But a resale can happen, through a move, an inheritance, or simply because taste changes.
Two things are worth knowing from the day you buy. First, what resells well is what is documented: a piece with its invoice, its certificate and its chain of owners holds its ground, a piece without papers is sold off cheap. Second, the resale right: in France, from a resale price of 750 euros, a share goes to the artist or their heirs, payable by the seller.
The five resale channels, what each really takes, and the mistakes that cost money, are in selling a work of art. The resale right, its thresholds and exclusions, in the resale right.
The two sculptors ARTDELION represents
We do not represent an anonymous catalogue. Two artists, two worlds, and documentation built piece by piece.
Pierre Le Caër is a Breton sculptor who came from high-level judo. He works metal, driftwood and granite, and his research turns on a single idea, balance, which he calls by its Japanese name.
Gabriel Lemaire Sicre is a painter and sculptor in Graulhet, in the Tarn. He salvages the abandoned machines of his town’s tanneries and turns them into sculptures, in a place he named Le Paradis des Machines.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see the work before buying?
Yes. We send further photographs, from the angles you ask for, with an object for scale if the format is hard to picture. A studio visit is possible depending on the artist and the season.
What if I do not like the work when it arrives?
For a distance purchase you have the right of withdrawal provided by French law, on the terms set out in our terms of sale. The work must come back in its original packing and in the same condition.
Is the price negotiable?
No. The price is set with the artist and displayed. It is the same for everyone, which is exactly why we display it.
Can a work be reserved?
Yes, with a deposit. The work is then withdrawn from sale and offered to no one else for the agreed period.
How long does delivery take?
Usually one to three weeks depending on the format, the time to build the packing and book the carrier. You receive the schedule before dispatch.
Can a metal sculpture stay outdoors?
Assembled and welded metal takes the outdoors. Its patina changes over time, which is part of the piece’s life. Driftwood and some mixed pieces are not made to stay outside all year.
Should the work be declared to my insurer?
Most often yes, above your policy’s ceiling for valuables. One call to your insurer, invoice and certificate in hand, settles it.
Is ARTDELION a gallery?
No. We are an artist agency, acting on the artists’ mandate, with no permanent exhibition space. The practical difference is explained in artist agency or art gallery.