8 Tips for Spotting Valuable Art Work at the Thrift Store

It is reported by the Association of Resale Professionals that between 16 and 18% of Americans regularly shop at secondhand stores.

These numbers are expected to climb in the coming years as we pivot to more sustainable options and aim to reduce overconsumption. Saving money shopping for fun art can cause a serotonin boost, and finding high-dollar art can get you some fast pocket change.

Try these 8 tips for identifying valuable art at the thrift shop.

Even if you are not looking for anything in particular, it is a great idea to frequent auctions, antique stores, and museums in general. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the industry, including understanding trends in pricing that can help you identify high-dollar art.

Founder of Thrift Club Gwen Hefner explains, “Surrounding yourself with high-end art and antiques can help you spot them more clearly when you’re in a thrift store or at a garage sale.”

While you are probably not an art curator or restorer, you can check a few specific things to determine if the art is worth purchasing or not.

If the medium is a poster or paper-based, check the edges for folding and tears. On canvas or fabric art, inspect for unintended fraying at the edges and seams or spills and stains.

Professional conservators often use their own spit to help rid canvas paintings of stains. While we wouldn’t necessarily suggest this option first, it is a good method to determine if there is staining on the canvas and what kind of restoration it requires.

A recent trend in secondhand shopping has been people purchasing art to paint their own work over or add to it. Investigate any paintings or layered art closely to identify if it is an original or has been added to over time.

If you notice the artist’s signature on the piece, there is a great way to confirm its value before approaching an appraiser. First, look closely to see if it was handwritten or stamped. You can normally tell if there is a sheen or any indentations from the writing utensil.

Once you’ve established the validity of the signature, use an app like Google Lens to better identify the artist. Consider down a search engine rabbit hole or look them up on ArtistsSignatures.com to get an idea of what the piece could be worth.

While people scouting for high-quality art might overlook prints, this could be a huge mistake. Spotting a silkscreen print or lithograph — made by drawing on a flat stone or metal plate used as the stamp to create a print — can help you score a chunk of change, too.

To identify a lithograph, check the button corner of the piece for an edition number, which can often be seen in a format like “7/80”. This number and the artist’s signature are often written in pencil. Lithographs are never on canvas.

Lithographs are some of the easiest art to identify and price because there are other exact copies. A quick Google search will allow you to identify a good price.

Before investing in a new piece of art, you may want to check out the color palette a little closer. Not only can looking closely at the piece allow you to identify if there are any impurities — or if any discoloration has occurred that would require restoration — but it can also help you to determine if the color palette will make you more money or not.

In fact, in 2019, Dutch researchers released a paper showing findings that works of art with more red and blue in them are considered more valuable and tend to go for more money. This is true for other items as well, like rare gemstones.

While research doesn’t seem conclusive on why red and blue are the most popular colors. In color theory, red inspires passion and excitement, while blue is known for inducing calm.

While an artist's signature will help you verify the authenticity of a piece of art, there may be more details on the back that add to the value.

Sometimes, artists include dates, notes, sketches, or otherwise. You might notice details added throughout the creation of the piece, such as a certification or stamp that will run the price up.

No matter if you are purchasing an art piece at an auction, browsing an estate sale, shopping secondhand in person, online, or otherwise, inquiring about ownership history can be eye-opening.

Sometimes, you are lucky enough to get an oral history that can help give context to the piece and its inspiration, whether it is valuable or not.

Any original paperwork the seller can provide can do a lot to help certify the art’s value. Details like where it originated, what year it was created, and any details about the artist or benefactor can add value to it.

Older art tends to bring in more cash. Getting your hands on any paperwork can help you get closer to knowing the age of your art. If the completion date isn’t printed on the back of the paperwork, the seller might know the time period it comes from or possess the aforementioned certification paperwork to date it.

If you look at canvas art, the darker base canvas is usually older than whiter tints. Stamps on the reverse side of your work and the frame or canvas attachment method — nails in the 1900s versus staples more recently — are other ways to identify the age of the art.

Valuable artwork is all around us. Having the wherewithal to identify it and invest in it is a great skill to have.

This could become a valuable hobby and even help you pay your bills. If you do your research and keep your eyes peeled, you might just find a multi-million dollar piece hidden amidst the chaos.