Reference

Collecting glossary

The art market has its own language, and learning it is part of buying well. These are the house definitions: short, honest, and smoke-free. Every term has its own link for citing.

Updated: Jul 19, 2026 · EL ART DEALER

Acrylic paint#: Pigment in a polymer emulsion that dries in minutes: lightfast color, fast layering, and finishes from matte to plastic gloss. The dominant technique in Latin American contemporary art, for reasons of climate and pace.
Appraisal#: A formal valuation of a work by an independent expert, used for insurance, estates, or resale. It is not the sale price: the appraisal estimates; the market decides.
Art dealer#: The professional intermediary between artists and collectors: discovering talent, setting primary prices with the studio, guaranteeing authenticity, and assisting resale. A good dealer stands behind what they sell — that guarantee is the business.
Art handling & packing#: Professional packing for transporting art: corner protectors, acid-free paper, bubble wrap kept off the surface, and a rigid box or wooden crate for international shipping. It is what regular couriers do not do — and why works arrive intact.
Artist's proof (A/P)#: Examples outside an edition's commercial numbering, reserved for the artist (marked A/P). They usually represent up to 10% of the run and can trade above numbered examples on the secondary market.
Blue-chip art#: Work by the most liquid artists in the global market (the ones Christie's and Sotheby's sell with constant demand). Six-figure tickets and up; in large portfolios it plays the role of a haven asset.
Certificate of authenticity#: A document signed by the artist or their gallery identifying the work (title, medium, dimensions, year, image) and attesting it is authentic. It is the paper that supports resale value: without it, a work is worth less and sells slower.
Curation#: The professional judgment that selects, contextualizes, and orders works: it decides what enters a collection and why. Buying with curation — instead of decorative impulse — is the difference between accumulating paintings and building a collection.
Diptych / triptych#: A work conceived in two (diptych) or three (triptych) panels forming a single piece. They are sold and certified as one unit; separating them destroys the value. Their practical advantage: they cover large walls yet travel in smaller crates.
Emerging art#: Work by artists in the first decade of a visible career: first exhibitions, first gallery sales. It is the segment with the lowest entry prices and the greatest potential upside — and the one that demands the most curatorial judgment.
Established artist#: An artist with a validated career: museums, biennials, auction results on public record. Lower risk and lower relative upside than emerging artists; their work functions as a store of value within a collection.
Gallery commission#: The percentage of the sale price a gallery keeps for representing the artist: the international primary-market standard is around 50%, dropping to 30–40% in online galleries or assisted direct sales. It is included in the public price — buyers never pay it separately.
Giclée print#: A very high-resolution digital print with pigment inks on archival paper or canvas, stable 100+ years. Legitimate when the artist signs and numbers it as an edition; an unsigned giclée is a luxury poster, not an investment.
Glaze (glazing)#: A translucent layer applied over a dry one, changing color by transparency rather than coverage. Ten glazes produce a depth no direct mixture achieves — and multiply the studio hours behind a work.
Impasto#: Paint applied thickly, with visible brush or knife relief. It gives the surface a third dimension that changes with the light — and makes the work impossible to reproduce faithfully in print.
Limited edition#: A series of identical examples authorized by the artist, numbered (e.g., 3/10) and signed. The smaller the run, the greater the exclusivity. Once the edition closes, no further legitimate examples are produced.
Market value#: An artist's reference price in the market, built from recent gallery and auction sales. Often expressed by format or career stage: the same artist "prices" a 60 cm work differently from a 2-meter one.
Mixed media#: A work combining two or more materials or processes: acrylic with collage, oil with thread, photography with paint. The label matters for conservation and price, because each material ages and insures differently.
Museum framing#: Framing with conservation materials: acid-free matting, UV-filter glass, and sealing against dust and insects. It costs more than commercial framing and is what keeps a work on paper alive for 50 years in the tropics.
Oil paint#: Pigment bound in oil, painting's flagship technique since the 15th century: slow drying that allows glazing and correction, deep color, and centuries-proven durability. It usually prices above acrylic for the same artist and format.
Original artwork#: A piece created directly by the artist's hand, either one of a kind (unique piece) or part of a signed limited edition. Unlike decorative reproductions, its value can hold or grow with the artist's career.
Primary market#: The first sale of a work, from the studio or gallery to its first collector. Prices are set by the gallery with the artist. Buying primary is usually cheaper than secondary and directly funds the artist's career.
Provenance#: The documented ownership history of a work from the artist's studio to today: the galleries, collections, and exhibitions it passed through. Clean, continuous provenance increases value; gaps reduce it.
Screen print (serigraph)#: Printing through mesh screens, one color per pass — the technique Warhol and Latin American graphic art made famous. In signed short editions it is a serious collecting path at lower price points.
Secondary market#: The resale of works that already had an owner: auctions, resale galleries, private sales. This is where an artist's real price is discovered — what a third party pays years later is the measure of a good primary purchase.
Shadow box#: A frame with interior depth leaving air between artwork and glass. Mandatory for textiles, collages, and pieces with relief: it protects without flattening and adds display-case presence.
Transit insurance#: A policy covering the artwork door to door during shipping, at declared value (usually the invoice amount). On international art shipments it typically costs around 1–2% of insured value, contracted per shipment.
Unique piece#: A work of which exactly one example exists in the world. It is the highest degree of exclusivity in the art market and the reason two paintings of the same artist and size can carry very different prices.
Work on paper#: Drawings, watercolors, inks, and prints executed on paper. Often the most accessible entry point to a sought-after artist — same hand, lower price — and they demand UV-glass framing and humidity control.

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