Private Sales
We work with collectors, families, and institutions to identify and acquire significant works through private channels, combining market access with research and advisory judgment.
Private Sales
We work with collectors, families, and institutions to identify and acquire significant works through private channels, combining market access with research and advisory judgment.
Our Approach
Collections develop through works that deepen, clarify, and sometimes redirect the ideas that hold them together.
For us, a private acquisition begins with that larger context: what is already present in a collection, what may be missing, and what kind of work would materially advance it.
Working beyond auction seasons, art-fair calendars, and publicly advertised inventory, we evaluate known opportunities and, where appropriate, undertake targeted enquiries on behalf of clients.
Our role combines the access of an art dealership with the judgment of an advisory practice. The question is not only whether a work can be acquired, but whether its quality, condition, provenance, art-historical significance, and price support the acquisition.
Defining the Search
A search may begin with a specific artwork, artist, series, period, medium, or broader collecting objective.
We work with clients to define what they are seeking and why, then assess opportunities in relation to the collection as a whole. Where the desired work is not immediately available, we may undertake focused private-market enquiries or identify closely related alternatives that preserve the underlying collecting objective.
Beyond the Public Market
Important works do not always appear at auction, at art fairs or through publicly advertised inventory.
Through relationships across the art market, Zeit Contemporary Art can identify private opportunities, make discreet enquiries and approach potential sources when a clearly defined acquisition objective warrants doing so.
Our private sales practice is active throughout the year, allowing clients to pursue opportunities according to the needs of their collection rather than the timetable of the public market.
Research and Judgment
Access becomes useful when accompanied by judgment.
We consider the individual work in relation to the artist’s broader practice and the current market. Depending on the object, our review may include provenance, condition, exhibition history, literature, edition information, comparative examples, and relevant specialist opinion.
Where more than one route to an acquisition exists, we compare the available works, market channels, and pricing evidence before recommending how to proceed.
Specialist, conservation, authentication, or legal review is coordinated when appropriate.
Discreet Execution
When an acquisition progresses, we advise on pricing and negotiation and coordinate the documentation and practical requirements of the transaction.
This may include inspection, payment, insurance, shipping, framing, conservation, and other specialist services. Our role is to maintain continuity from the first conversation through completion of the acquisition.
Register Your Interest
If there is an artist, period, series, or type of work you are seeking, we invite you to tell us what would be meaningful to your collection.
You may describe a specific acquisition objective or provide visual examples of works that reflect what you are looking for. Each request is reviewed individually.
Where we believe we can assist, we will contact you to discuss relevant opportunities or next steps. Requests requiring sustained research and dedicated market outreach may be undertaken through a separate advisory engagement.