Art and Design Advisory

The HSBC Private Bank Art and Design Advisory service was established in partnership with 1858 Ltd Art Advisory and has been serving clients' art advisory needs since 2007.

1858 is a leading international art advisory firm providing independent and impartial advice to high net worth individuals, financial institutions, corporations and museums. From its headquarters in London and offices around the world, 1858 services an international client base providing expert advice on all areas of the art collection process.

Our Art and Design Advisory service is a facility for clients looking to build collections of important fine art and design. The service caters for seasoned collectors as well as those making their first foray into the world of art and design. The service provides unparalleled access to international art expertise and is tailored to meet each client’s individual needs.

Services at a glance

Buying and selling of design and fine art in all sectors of the art market including, Antiquities, Old Masters, Impressionists, Modern and Contemporary.
Authentication and attribution.
Valuations of individual pieces and collections for both market and insurance purposes.
Auction representation including the arrangement of private treaty sales.
Logistics management including shipping, import and export licenses, restoration, hanging, museum framing, object mounting and storage.
Collection management including curatorial expertise, cataloguing and bespoke database management of a collection.
Philanthropy advice on effective wealth giving to the arts.
Art lending, raising finance against existing art work.
Art related inheritance and estate planning guidance pertaining to art related issues.

Benefits

Exclusive access to works in private collections that are not available on the market.
Impartial advice; being independent of auction houses, galleries and dealers, we provide impartial advice when buying and selling on your behalf.
Time saving; as we are able to manage all areas of the collecting process on your behalf, we are able to build or sell complete collections with as much or as little involvement from you as you wish.
Direct savings; due to our buying and negotiating capabilities we significantly reduce transactional charges which, in turn, we pass directly on to you.
Reducing risk; by undertaking thorough due diligence on all transactional decisions, we ensure that potentially costly mistakes are avoided to give you complete confidence in the decision made.

Client scenarios

We can provide you with expert art and design advisory services and help you under a variety of circumstances. For example:

You would like to be advised on purchasing art or design works for your home or office.
You are looking to discreetly value and sell your collection or a single work of art.
You have inherited art works and would like them valued for market and insurance purposes.
You are considering raising finance against art work you currently own.
You are relocating and would like specialists to handle the packing, transport, insurance and storage logistics for your artworks.
Your insurer has requested an up to date insurance valuation.
You would like an art adviser to accompany you to an art fair, auction or exhibition.

Real life examples:

Our client was looking to sell collection of unattributed paintings.
The client had a collection of 15 unidentified European paintings which he wanted to sell prior to the sale of his home. We were asked to authenticate and value the collection. Based on our due diligence, we found that the collection included five 19th Century Russian paintings. At the client’s request, we arranged for the works to be sold at auction. Consequently, several of the works went for 300% over the reserve price and the collection was sold in its entirety.

Another client requested the discreet and private sale of an Old Master’s Painting.
The client inherited a highly sought after and valuable Old Master’s painting which he wanted to sell privately. We sold the work via our network of private collectors. Thus the transaction was handled discreetly and the client was able to save associated transactional charges.

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Legal information
The information on this site refers to services or products which are not available in certain locations, or which, in any relevant location, have components, methods, structures and terms different from the ones described, as well as restrictions on client eligibility. Before proceeding, please refer to the full disclaimer.