RSAS / Research
The Evidence Behind Every Decision
Independent research on contemporary artists and their markets, for anyone buying or selling.
A gallery will tell you what an artist is worth to the gallery. An auction house will tell you what one lot might fetch on one evening. Both are useful. Neither is designed to give you the full picture.
That is what our research is for. We gather evidence from both sides of an artist's market, test it against reliable sources and set it out in plain English, including the places where it runs thin. We do not tell clients what to buy. We show them what the evidence says, and leave the judgement where it belongs: with them.
Two Markets, Read Together
The primary market: where prices are set
The first sale of a work, through the artist's gallery or directly from the studio. For artists early or midway through their careers, this is where most of the evidence lies. We examine:
- Gallery representation, its quality and its stability
- How prices have moved between exhibitions, by medium and scale
- Demand signals such as waiting lists, sold-out shows and placement policies
- Museum acquisitions, residencies, prizes and curatorial attention
- Pricing against peers at a similar stage
The secondary market: where prices are tested
Any later resale, at auction, through a dealer or privately. Here the gallery no longer sets the number, and the market shows what collectors will really pay. We examine:
- Auction results at major and regional houses, measured against estimate
- Sell-through rates and works that failed to sell
- Repeat sales of the same work, where they can be traced
- Private and dealer sales that can be verified
- Volume, liquidity and the depth of the buyer base
The two markets often disagree, and the disagreement is revealing. A strong gallery market with no resale history may simply be untested. A busy auction record can conceal a narrow circle of buyers. The gap between what galleries charge and what collectors later pay, in either direction, is often the most telling finding in a report.
How Our Research Works
Every piece of research we produce, from a short Artist Snapshot to a full Collection Review, follows the same seven steps. The depth changes with the commission. The discipline does not.
- 01
The question
We agree in writing what the research is for: the artist, the work or the collection, the decision it will inform and the date you need it by. A precise question produces a useful answer.
- 02
Our interest, declared
Before any work begins, we record whether RSAS owns, is offering or has any other stake in the work or the artist. That statement sits at the top of the report, where you will see it first.
- 03
Gathering the evidence
Researchers compile the artist's gallery pricing over time and every resale they can trace, drawing on the sources listed below and on direct enquiries with galleries, studios and dealers.
- 04
Verification
Every figure is traced back to where it came from. Auction results are checked against the auction house's own record, with buyer's premium shown separately. A private sale is counted only if it is supported by documents or confirmed by two parties independent of each other.
- 05
Like for like
Comparisons are made on medium, scale, date and condition. A major canvas from an artist's strongest period says very little about a small work on paper made last year, and we do not let one stand in for the other.
- 06
A second pair of eyes
A second researcher, who has not worked on the file, checks the evidence and challenges the conclusions before anything leaves the building.
- 07
Your report
Plain English, a one-page summary at the front and the evidence behind it. We are glad to talk it through with you afterwards, by telephone or video.
How We Grade the Evidence
Not every piece of evidence deserves the same weight. Each finding in an RSAS report carries one of three labels, so you can see at a glance how firm the ground is.
Verified
Confirmed by a published auction record, an invoice or another primary document.
Reported
Given to us by a gallery, dealer or collector and consistent with the wider evidence, but not independently documented.
Unverified
Claimed but unsupported. We include it only where it matters to your decision, and we say plainly that it could not be confirmed.
Where a report rests mainly on reported or unverified evidence, its first page says so.
What a Report Contains
Contents vary by service. A full Artist Report or Pre-Acquisition Review typically covers:
- A one-page summary of the findings and the principal risks
- RSAS's interest in the work or the artist, if any
- Career overview: training, representation, exhibitions and institutional holdings
- Gallery pricing over time, broken down by medium and scale
- Every traceable resale, including works that failed to sell
- Comparable works, and how the asking price measures up against them
- The gaps in the evidence, and the questions still to put to the seller
- A list of sources, with the grade given to each finding
Research Services
Pre-Acquisition Review
For a specific work you have been offered, by us or by anyone else. We test the asking price against comparable sales, scrutinise the provenance and paperwork, and list the questions to put to the seller before you commit.
Pre-Sale Review
For a work you own and may sell. A realistic price range, the channels best suited to it, and the factors likely to help or hinder a sale. See Selling.
Artist Report
Our most thorough study of a single artist across both markets: price history, comparables, institutional standing and a frank assessment of the risks. For buyers weighing a significant purchase, or several works by one artist.
Artist Snapshot
A concise overview of career, representation, current pricing and any resale activity. The sensible first step when an artist has caught your eye.
Collection Review
The market position of every artist in an existing collection, with the gaps and concentrations across it.
Ongoing Monitoring
Regular updates on the artists you own or are watching: new exhibitions, changes of gallery and auction results.
Prices and turnaround times are set out on Fees and Engagement.
Our Sources
Auction records and price databases, gallery and exhibition archives, museum and public collection records, published criticism, and our own direct enquiries with galleries, dealers and studios. Where a figure cannot be verified, we label it as such rather than present it as fact.
Confidentiality
What you ask us to research, and why, stays between us. We never pass a client's interest in an artist or a work to galleries, sellers or other clients, and our enquiries are made without naming you. In a market where interest alone can move a price, discretion is part of the service.
What Our Research Is Not
Our reports explain what has happened in a market and the factors that may shape it. They are not price forecasts, formal valuations or authentication opinions. Please read our Research Disclaimer.