Journal

What it really costs to get a painting from Europe to your wall

By Volodymyr Myriyevskyy · 7 August 2026 · 5 min read

The question that stops most international art purchases is not the price of the painting. It is the fear of an unknown bill arriving later. Here are the actual numbers, from a studio that has sent more than 800 paintings to collectors in 42 countries since 2015.

The shipping itself

Every shipment from this studio is tracked and insured, and the insurance is inside the price rather than an extra. The rate depends only on where it is going:

That figure is the whole shipping cost. There is no packing surcharge, no insurance surcharge and no handling fee added at checkout — the total you see before you pay is the total.

Customs: the part nobody explains

Once a parcel crosses a customs border, a second set of charges may appear, and they are set by your country, not by the seller. For original works of art the news is better than most people expect, because many countries treat original art differently from ordinary goods.

• Inside the EU. No customs at all. Spain to Germany is a domestic movement as far as the parcel is concerned.
• United States. Original paintings, drawings and pastels executed entirely by hand are generally free of duty on import under heading 9701 of the US tariff schedule, and the US has no federal import VAT. In practice most American collectors receive an original painting with nothing to pay. Prints are classified differently and are not automatically duty-free.
• United Kingdom. Import VAT applies, but works of art are charged at a reduced effective rate of 5 % rather than the standard 20 %, and original paintings are duty-free. The courier normally collects it before delivery.
• Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of the rest. Original art is usually duty-free but local sales tax (GST/VAT) applies on the declared value plus shipping, and the courier adds a clearance fee of roughly €10–€25 for collecting it.

Rules change, and thresholds change more often than the rules. The figures above are the pattern I have seen repeatedly across hundreds of shipments — they are not tax advice, and if the exact number matters to your decision, your national customs website will confirm it in five minutes.

Why the customs classification is worth knowing

It is the single detail that saves buyers the most money, and it is why the difference between an original and a print is not only an artistic distinction. In most tariff systems an original painting executed entirely by hand sits in its own category, with duty at zero or near zero. A printed reproduction of the same image is treated as a printed good and can attract normal duty. If a courier ever asks you to pay duty on an original painting, it is worth asking which classification they used.

How long it takes

Preparation in the studio takes 3–7 working days after payment, and parcels usually leave on Mondays. If a painting was finished recently and still needs drying time before it can safely be packed, you are told the date before it ships rather than after.

After that, transit is the courier's business and depends on the destination and on customs. What I can commit to is the legal maximum: unless we have agreed otherwise, the painting is delivered no later than 30 days from the order. In practice international deliveries have been considerably faster than that, and it is the thing collectors mention most often without being asked:

What happens if something goes wrong

Until the painting is physically in your hands, the risk is mine, not yours — that is not a courtesy, it is how the law works for a consumer sale, and it is written into the shipping terms of this site. Every parcel is insured for its full value. If a shipment is confirmed lost, you are refunded; you are not asked to wait for the insurer to pay me first.

If a box arrives visibly damaged, refuse it or have the courier note the damage before you sign, photograph everything including the packaging, and email within 72 hours. That window is not a deadline on your rights — it is what makes the insurance claim work.