Art Courier for Galleries, Auction Houses and Collectors
Paintings, sculpture, prints and framed works moved on a dedicated vehicle, blanket-wrapped, carried upright and never stacked. One driver from collection to hanging, with condition photographed at both ends.
- Fully insured
- DBS-checked drivers
- 4.9 rating
Get an Art Courier Quote
Tell us the dimensions, the value and both addresses. We’re ready around the clock.
How do you move artwork safely?
On a dedicated van, blanket-wrapped and corner-protected, carried upright and strapped rather than laid flat under anything else. The same driver loads and unloads, condition is photographed at collection and delivery, and the declared value is agreed in writing before the vehicle moves.
Art has a particular problem that other valuable cargo does not. A damaged server can be replaced. A scuffed gilt frame, a dented stretcher bar or a pressure mark across a canvas cannot, and the loss is usually a long way beyond the cost of the transport.
That is why an art courier is a different proposition from a general carrier. The work is not really about speed. It is about the number of times the piece is touched, who touches it, and whether anyone can prove what condition it was in when it left.
Who We Move Art For
Galleries
Hangs and de-installs, works out to clients on approval, and pieces moving between a gallery and a framer or restorer. Often to a fixed install window with a private view behind it.
Auction houses
Viewing deliveries, post-sale collections against a clearance deadline, and consignments coming in from a valuation. Auction timetables do not move, so these run as urgent jobs.
Artists and studios
Work out to exhibitions, art fairs and commissions, plus large canvases and sculpture that will not go in a car and that a parcel network will refuse outright.
Private collectors
Purchases from dealers, fairs and online sales, moves between properties, and pieces going out for cleaning, restoration or reframing.
Framers and restorers
Two-way work between the trade and the client, where a piece is already vulnerable because it has been taken out of its frame or its backing.
Interior designers
Commissioned and sourced pieces going to a client install, usually alongside furniture and on the same tight fit-out schedule.
Something Irreplaceable Needs Moving?
Tell us the size, the medium and the declared value. We will confirm the handling and the cover in writing before anything is lifted.
How a Piece Is Actually Handled
There is no mystery to it, and the value is in doing the ordinary things consistently.
Framed and glazed works are blanket-wrapped with corner protection and carried upright, face-to-face or back-to-back where more than one piece travels, never stacked flat with weight on top. Unframed canvases travel on their stretchers with nothing touching the surface. Sculpture and three-dimensional work is blocked and strapped so it cannot shift, tip or rub against the van side.
If a piece arrives to us already crated or in a travel frame, it stays that way. We will not unpack professionally packed work to make it fit a vehicle, we send a bigger vehicle.
Condition, Proof and Insurance
Every job carries goods-in-transit and public liability cover as standard, and for art that standard limit is frequently not enough. Tell us the declared value at booking and we will confirm in writing what is covered before the vehicle moves, rather than discovering the gap afterwards.
We photograph condition at collection and again at delivery, which protects both sides. Most art disputes are not about whether damage happened but about when, and a timestamped photograph at the point of handover settles that in minutes.
One honest limit: we are a specialist courier, not a fine art shipper. We do not build bespoke crates, we do not provide museum-grade climate control in transit, and we do not handle customs or carnet paperwork for international loans. For a national-collection loan with those requirements, a dedicated fine art logistics firm is the right call and we will say so.
Sizing the Vehicle to the Work
Dimensions decide the van, and with art the awkward measurement is almost always the diagonal rather than the weight.
| Vehicle | Typical art use |
|---|---|
| Small van | Smaller framed works, prints, photographs, a single piece to a client. |
| SWB van | Several framed works, a studio delivery, gallery run between sites. |
| LWB van | Large canvases and anything where the long side is the problem. |
| Luton with tail lift | Crated work, heavy sculpture and pieces that cannot be lifted by hand. |
If you are unsure, send the height, width and depth including the frame, and say whether it is glazed. That is usually enough for us to pick the vehicle correctly first time.
For fragile and high-value items that are not artwork, such as instruments, glass, IT equipment and prototypes, see our fragile and high-value courier service. For very large or heavy non-art items, see large and heavy item courier.
Art Courier FAQs
How much does an art courier cost?
It is priced on the vehicle the work needs and the distance, not on weight, because art is almost always bulky rather than heavy. A single framed piece across London is a modest job; a studio move or a multi-piece gallery hang needs a bigger van and more time. You get one fixed all-inclusive figure before booking, with the insurance position confirmed alongside it.
Are my artworks insured in transit?
Goods-in-transit and public liability cover run on every job as standard, but for artwork the standard limit is often lower than the piece is worth. Declare the value when you book and we will confirm in writing what is actually covered before the van moves. That conversation takes two minutes and is the single most important part of the booking.
Can you collect from a gallery or auction house out of hours?
Yes. We run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including weekends and bank holidays, which suits de-installs after a private view and post-sale clearances that have to happen before the building closes. Tell us the access arrangements and who will be there to release the work.
Do you crate artwork or provide packing?
We carry blankets, corner protection and straps as standard and will wrap for transit. We do not build bespoke crates or provide museum-grade packing, so if a piece needs a purpose-built travel frame that should be done before we collect. If it arrives to us already crated, it travels exactly as it is.
Will the same driver deliver it?
Yes, always. The work is loaded once and unloaded once, by the same person, with no depot and no transfer in between. That single fact removes most of the risk in moving art, and it is the main reason galleries use a dedicated courier rather than a network.
Can you deliver to an art fair or exhibition stand?
Yes, and build days usually come with a fixed delivery window and strict site rules. Give us the fair, the stand number, the access window and any pass requirement when you book. See our events and exhibition courier service for how those deliveries are handled.
Do you handle international art shipping?
No. We are a UK courier, so we cover mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. We do not handle export documentation, carnets or customs for international loans and sales. If that is what you need, a specialist fine art shipper is the right choice and we will tell you so rather than take the booking.
Official guidance
Useful background from the bodies that set the rules for this kind of work.
Moving Something That Can’t Be Replaced?
One call, one fixed price, one driver the whole way, with the cover confirmed in writing before we lift anything.