Used paintings in Sydney typically sell for A$38 to A$575 (about $27 to $405). A painting is worth what can be established about who made it, so photograph the signature, the reverse and the stretcher — and never clean or revarnish it before selling.
Selling paintings in Sydney
Sydney is Australia’s largest city and its most expensive to live in, which pushes people into smaller flats and shorter tenancies than the house-and-garden stereotype suggests. That makes furniture that fits a small apartment, and anything to do with the harbour and the beaches, the two things that move most reliably.
Rental turnover in the inner suburbs is high and leases commonly run six or twelve months, so households here reshuffle far more often than owner-occupied ones. Summer is when the water gear changes hands and winter is when it sits unsold.
The city sprawls a long way and traffic between the inner suburbs and the outer ones is the real cost of a collection, so most people arrange to meet near a train station on their own side of the city rather than crossing it. Parking near the harbour is scarce and expensive.
Sydney has around 5.3 million people in New South Wales, which means a buyer pool big enough that almost anything finds someone, and close enough together that collection is rarely the obstacle. Newcastle, Wollongong and Albury are close enough that a buyer there may well make the trip for the right thing.
Handing it over in Sydney
Bank transfer via PayID is instant and is what most private buyers will offer. Cash on collection remains common for larger items.
What paintings are worth
What lifts the price
- Artists with an established auction record
- Canvases with no tears, flaking or overpainting
What pulls it down
- Flaking paint and craquelure needing conservation
- Unsigned works with no attribution
Working out what yours is worth
- Photograph the signature, the back and any labels
- Search auction results for the artist’s name
Getting it ready
- Look for a signature and any date, including in the corners and along the edges under the frame rebate.
- Do not clean, varnish, retouch or reframe. Amateur cleaning removes glazes permanently and is the most common way value is destroyed.
Photograph
- The signature close up, legible
- The surface raked with side light to show texture, craquelure, and any damage or repair
Put in the description
- Dimensions of the work, and separately with the frame
- Condition of the surface and support, including craquelure, tears, flaking or previous restoration
Steady year round to a collector and decorator audience. Signed work by identifiable artists sells fastest; unattributed decorative paintings compete on subject, size and frame.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (New South Wales)
Common questions
Where can I sell paintings in Sydney?
List it free on WishThrift and deal with the buyer direct. The city sprawls a long way and traffic between the inner suburbs and the outer ones is the real cost of a collection, so most people arrange to meet near a train station on their own side of the city rather than crossing it. Parking near the harbour is scarce and expensive.
Who is the artist?
Say what the signature reads and what you actually know about where it came from. Speculative attribution to a well-known name reads as a warning sign to serious buyers.
How much are paintings worth in Sydney?
Most used paintings change hands for A$38 to A$575 (about $27 to $405). Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling paintings across Australia, what paintings are worth, everything second hand in Sydney, or Art & Collectables in Sydney.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.