What does an original abstract painting cost in New York? My prices, by size

An original abstract painting from my catalogue costs between $1,200 and $4,800, and the price is set almost entirely by size. A 24 x 24 inch canvas is $1,200; a 3ft x 3ft is $1,550 to $2,100; a 3ft x 4ft is $1,900 to $2,300; a 4ft x 4ft is $2,300 to $2,800; a 4ft x 5ft is $2,600 to $3,100; the 6ft x 5ft works are $3,200; the two-panel works run $2,600 to $3,500; and the 9ft unstretched canvas is $4,800. Shipping inside the US is included and insured.

Why size sets the price

Materials scale with area — canvas, stretcher bars, and a lot of paint, since these are poured and layered rather than brushed thin — and so does the time. A 48 x 60 canvas takes roughly four times the paint of a 24 x 30 and can't be worked on a table; it's painted on the floor or the roof. Price per square foot falls as the works get bigger, from about $300 for the smallest to under $110 for the 9ft piece, which is why the big work is the better value if you have the wall.

The scale, with examples

Under 3ft: No. 031, Rubberbands and No. 033, Hidden Abstraction, 24 x 24, $1,200; No. 036 and No. 037, 24 x 30, $1,300. Three by three: most at $1,750, No. 014, White Washed at $2,100. Three by four: No. 023 $1,900 to No. 021, Check Check $2,300 (an early one from 2018). Four by four: $2,300, with No. 003, A View Inside at $2,800. Four by five: $2,600, with No. 013, Beautiful Disaster at $3,100. Five feet and up: the four 72 x 60 works at $3,200; No. 038, Never Enough, two panels, $2,600; No. 034, 96 x 36 over two panels, $3,150; No. 022, Slate + Brass, two 48 x 48 panels, $3,500; No. 039, 108 x 60, unstretched, $4,800.

What's included

The stretched canvas ready to hang (or, for No. 039, the rolled canvas), a signed certificate of authenticity, and insured shipping within the US within five business days. Not included: framing, installation, stretching of the unstretched work, and international shipping, all of which I quote. Because every work is one of one, all sales are final; I'll send extra photographs, a short video, or a mock-up on your own wall before you decide.

How this compares with the market

Emerging-artist originals at these sizes in New York galleries commonly list from several thousand dollars up, with the gallery taking around half. Prints and reproductions cost a few hundred and aren't originals. The wider numbers back up where this catalogue sits. The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 put global art sales at $59.6 billion in 2025 across 41.5 million transactions, and while sales under $50,000 dipped 2% overall, dealers turning over under $500,000 saw double-digit rises in average sales, and 49% of the buyers dealers sold to were new to them. Hiscox's 2025 report found the number of works bought under $50,000 up 20%, to record levels — "collectors now gravitating towards lower-value pieces," as Robert Read, its Head of Art and Private Client, put it. In other words: the $1,200 to $5,000 original is where most of the market's activity is, and buying it direct from the artist means the price on the page is the price, with nobody's half taken out of it.

FAQ

Are prices negotiable?

List prices are fixed for single works. Trade and multi-work orders are quoted per project.

Is shipping included?

Yes, within the US, insured. International is quoted.

Can I return a painting?

No. All sales are final. Ask for more photographs or a mock-up on your wall before you buy.

Why is No. 014 more than the other 3ft squares?

It was built up in many thin layers and took considerably longer.

Sources

About the author. Charles Black is a self-taught painter working in acrylic on canvas from a two-room studio at the back of a warehouse in Queens, New York, and the founder of ABB Collective. He has been posting the work as @abstractbyblack since 2022 and has placed paintings in bars, offices and private homes around New York. Questions about anything here: charles.s.black@gmail.com.

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