Top tips for selecting a fine art moving service

After all the time you’ve spent curating your fine art collection, it’s essential to make the right choices to keep it safe and secure when moving overseas.

As Pablo Picasso was quoted as saying, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”  So whether you are moving to Switzerland or Singapore, it’s important to have a plan for moving fine art abroad so your beloved fine art pieces reach your destination safely and are ready to display in your new home.

Be it by sea or air with the rest of your personal effects, fine art logistics will require specialist planning and care. So, as you begin your moving plans, it’s important that you work with qualified specialists in the business of moving art and your effects internationally, such as OSS World Wide Movers.

Key questions when moving your fine art overseas

When moving your art collection, it’s imperative to understand important details of your pieces such as the age, provenance, medium and value of your art works. Knowing this information and having your fine art pieces certified will be important when customs are processing your shipment at your final destination.

Australian Antique and Art Dealers Association (AA&ADA)Consider an appropriate valuation service certified by the Australian Antique and Art Dealers Association (AA&ADA). Even if the country you’re moving to doesn’t require such a certification, you never know where you are headed next and when an official certification might prove useful for an art fair or further art handling.

Once you have decided to engage a specialist mover such as OSS World Wide Movers you might be thinking to yourself how will they safely package and transport your art works for the rigours of international shipping. Our team will need to know about the dimensions (size/shape), weight and other key specifications of your important pieces. In most instances we will need to include specialised crating solutions. The more we understand the specifications of your valuable art, the better shipping solutions we can craft ahead of transport.

We’ll also need to consider what is the best method of transport for your needs i.e. sea versus air transport. If your fine art collection includes bulky, heavy pieces like sculptures or furniture, then sea is most likely your best option. OSS World Wide Movers use specialist packaging materials and crating to keep your collection safe whilst at sea or in the air. The expertly crafted and specialist crating, and packaging solutions used will reduce the risk of damage.

It’s important to note that each country’s customs process will be a little different, of course, but our team will be here to help you find the correct information about your destination.

Insurance concerns when moving fine art

When you insure your fine art, it buys you, among other things, peace of mind. After all the flurry of preparing for your move abroad, you’ll be able to rest far easier knowing your prized oil painting, gorgeous antique carpets or antique vase is insured and packed to the best standard available.

When shipping internationally and needing to insure, you know the age of the piece is not the only factor in play rarity, artist etc all need to be considered and hence why it’s so important to ensure that your pieces of art are adequately insured. If your objects are irreplaceable or part of a collection at a gallery or museum and are emotionally important to you, you need to think carefully about your insurance options and at OSS World Wide Movers, we can insure your priceless pieces with our range of MoveCover Insurance Policies. 

It may be tempting to skip on insurance, but if you consider the costs of replacing your pieces, which may be impossible, particularly when it comes to antiques, you may think differently about this relatively minor expense. Getting insurance may also require valuation, the same step that is useful for paperwork necessary for customs clearance.

Insurance offerings for artwork and antiques should address coverage in instances of:

  • Flood
  • Fire 
  • Other natural disasters
  • Theft
  • Loss
  • Infestation 
  • Damage to the object
  • Pairs & Sets
  • Mould & Mildew


OSS World Wide Movers offers a full range of insurance options including comprehensive full cover insurance for both transit and storage which cover the risks outlined above.

Concerns for larger fine art collections

If you are looking at moving a larger art collection please contact us at OSS World Wide Movers andSelecting a fine art moving service OSS World Wide Movers our consultants will be more than happy to assist you with any questions and provide you with relevant solutions to assist in your international move. 

So, when you are looking to ship your fine art pieces/objects, sculptures, antiques, or collections contact us today to discuss your specifics. As we are the only international specialists in Australia, moving goods around the globe we can make your move as smooth as a Picasso. The chances are we have been to where you are going and we can easily arrange a quote to get your personal effects and your artwork safely to your new destination, click here to arrange a quote for your next move overseas with fine art.