Pawn Your Modern Contemporary Art & Paintings

At New Bond Street Pawnbrokers in Central London, we offer the flexibility to pawn your modern contemporary art rather than selling it outright. This allows you to access quick funds while retaining ownership of your prized piece. Whether it’s a Banksy street art print or a Damien Hirst installation, pawning provides an excellent short-term solution without permanently parting with your artwork.

Our expertise spans a wide range of contemporary artists, including:

– Banksy
– Tracy Emin
– Andy Warhol
– Tom Wesselmann
– Damien Hirst
– David Hockney

Owning important works of modern and contemporary art can open doors to fast, flexible finance when you partner with the right luxury pawnbroker, such as New Bond Street Pawnbrokers.

Luxury pawnshops now offer specialist fine art pawn loans that allow you to pawn modern and contemporary paintings, unlock liquidity, and still retain ownership of your collection. Instead of selling, you can borrow against blue‑chip artworks, using paintings and works on paper as high‑value collateral for discreet, short‑term funding.

Examples of contemporary and modern art and paintings you can loan against at pawn shops:

1. Jean‑Michel Basquiat

Jean‑Michel Basquiat is regarded as one of the most influential post‑war artists. His raw, neo‑expressionist paintings sit at the pinnacle of the contemporary art market and are collected by major museums and private connoisseurs worldwide.

Top Basquiat canvases have achieved over $100 million at auction. Recent marquee works command multi-tens-of-millions of dollars routinely, while even important works on paper and rare prints can reach into the high six- and seven-figure range on the secondary market.

For clients seeking to raise substantial capital without a forced sale, pawning a Basquiat painting with a luxury pawnbroker allows you to unlock a significant portion of that value quickly and discreetly. By arranging a loan against a Basquiat painting, you use the painting as collateral for a fine-art pawn loan, preserving long‑term ownership and upside potential while accessing immediate funding.

2. Keith Haring

Keith Haring is celebrated for his instantly recognisable visual language. His bold lines, radiant figures and socially engaged imagery grew from New York’s subway walls to museum collections worldwide, ensuring enduring global demand for his work.

At the top end of the secondary market, major canvases have achieved prices in excess of $6 million. Important works on paper and large‑scale pieces can command seven‑figure sums, while even sought‑after prints and editions regularly realise tens of thousands of pounds at auction.

If you wish to raise capital against Haring, a fine art pawn shop can structure a loan against Keith Haring paintings or works on paper, using their established market value as collateral. Pawning Haring art at a luxury pawnbroker enables you to borrow against paintings in a discreet, efficient way while still retaining legal ownership of the artwork.

3. Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons is one of the most visible and polarising figures in contemporary art. His highly polished sculptures and editions occupy a prominent position in leading private collections and museums around the world. His stainless‑steel Rabbit set a record for a living artist when it sold for approximately $91.1 million. Other major works, such as Balloon Dog, have also achieved prices in excess of $50 million, underscoring the exceptional strength of his market.

Carefully controlled editions and smaller sculptures typically range from the mid‑five figures upwards, with stronger pieces achieving substantially more on the secondary market. For collectors, this depth of demand makes Koons an ideal candidate for collateral lending. A luxury pawnbroker can offer loans on contemporary art by Koons, allowing you to pawn a sculpture or high‑value edition. Using a Jeff Koons work as collateral for a fine art pawn loan lets you unlock significant capital while your asset remains securely held and insured.

4. Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is widely regarded as one of Europe’s foremost post‑war painters. He’s known for his monumental, materially rich canvases that grapple with history, myth, and memory, and are held by leading museums and blue‑chip collections worldwide.

His auction record sits in the multi‑million‑dollar range, with major works such as Dem Unbekannten Maler and Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom selling for strong seven‑figure sums. Other substantial paintings and works on paper frequently achieve mid‑six to seven‑figure results at international sales.

This strong, well-documented pricing makes Kiefer an excellent choice for loans on fine art. By pawning an Anselm Kiefer painting at a specialist luxury pawnbroker, you can arrange a loan against contemporary art backed by clear auction comparables. Collateral lending on Kiefer works enables you to release capital while keeping your painting in secure custody and maintaining long‑term ownership.

5. Kerry James Marshall
Kerry James Marshall is recognised as one of the most important figurative painters working today. He’s celebrated for his nuanced depictions of Black life and his presence in major museum collections and critical surveys worldwide.

His market has risen dramatically over the past decade, with landmark canvases such as Past Times achieving more than $20 million at auction, with other key works selling in the high‑seven‑ and eight‑figure range.

For collectors holding a major Marshall canvas, loans on contemporary art can be an extremely efficient way of accessing liquidity. A luxury pawnbroker experienced in fine art can arrange a loan against Kerry James Marshall’s paintings, treating them as high‑grade collateral. Pawning Marshall art in this way allows you to realise substantial liquidity quickly and discreetly.

6. Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford is acclaimed as one of the leading abstract painters of his generation. He’s widely renowned for large‑scale mixed‑media canvases that weave together social history, urban mapping, and a distinctly contemporary visual language collected by major museums worldwide.

His auction record was set when the monumental Helter Skelter I sold for nearly $12 million. Other major significant works achieving multi‑million‑dollar results, with a steady stream of substantial canvases trading in the high six- and seven-figure range on the secondary market.

Because of this robust performance, many collectors now view Bradford paintings as effective collateral for loans on fine art. When you pawn a Mark Bradford work with a luxury pawnbroker, you can borrow against contemporary art that is backed by strong institutional support and a clear sales record. A fine art pawn loan against a Bradford canvas allows you to access meaningful capital while maintaining long‑term exposure to his growing market.

7. Julie Mehretu

Julie Mehretu is internationally revered for her dynamic, architectonic abstractions. Her art combines drawing, mapping, and gestural mark‑making, while her large‑scale canvases are fixtures in leading museum collections and major biennials, underlining her status as a blue‑chip contemporary artist.

Recent seasons have seen her establish successive auction records, with major paintings selling in the high seven- and eight-figure range and setting important benchmarks for African‑born and Black women artists.

As a result, many luxury pawnshops now actively welcome Julie Mehretu paintings as collateral for loans on contemporary art. By pawning a Mehretu canvas at a fine art pawn shop, you can arrange a loan against modern and contemporary art that reflects the strength of her secondary market. Collateral lending on Mehretu works offers a discreet way to release substantial capital, while your artwork remains securely held and insured until redemption.

8. Peter Doig

Peter Doig is widely admired for his atmospheric, dreamlike landscapes. His work combines figurative motifs with a subtly uncanny, cinematic mood that has made him one of the most respected painters of his generation.

His auction market is exceptionally strong. Landmark works such as White Canoe, Rosedale, and Swamped have each sold for tens of millions of dollars. These figures confirmed Doig as one of the most valuable living painters at auction. Major 1990s canvases and other key paintings routinely achieve multi‑million‑pound results, while works on paper and prints enjoy a robust following at lower but still significant price points.

This solid demand makes Doig a natural fit for loans on fine art at luxury pawnshops. When you pawn a Peter Doig painting, a specialist pawnbroker can offer a loan against paintings that is carefully calibrated to recent auction comparables while preserving the long‑term potential of your collection.

9. George Condo
George Condo is highly regarded for his distinctive “psychological cubism”. His art is known for fractured, grotesque yet elegant figures that fuse Old Master painting, jazz energy, and post‑war American sensibility. His work is collected by major museums and prominent private collections, and he has become one of the most sought‑after names in contemporary painting.

In recent years, his auction prices have escalated sharply, with top canvases achieving prices in the mid‑ to high‑single‑digit millions of dollars. Additionally, other significant works trade from the high six figures upwards.

For collectors, this vibrant market activity means that George Condo paintings are well‑suited to collateral lending. Pawning Condo art at a luxury pawnbroker allows you to obtain a fine art pawn loan against contemporary paintings, using their documented value as security.

10. Marlene Dumas
Marlene Dumas is esteemed for her psychologically charged figurative painting. Sparse, fluid brushwork and ambiguous narratives have secured her a place in leading museum collections and major international exhibitions.

Her market has strengthened markedly, with record‑setting works achieving well over $10 million and establishing her as one of the most valuable living female artists at auction. Against this backdrop, Marlene Dumas’s paintings are increasingly used as collateral for loans on modern and contemporary art. When you pawn a Dumas with a specialist luxury pawnbroker, you are effectively arranging a loan against fine art with a strong, transparent sales history. Fine art pawn loans on Dumas works allow you to unlock significant capital while your painting remains safely held, insured, and fully yours once the loan is repaid.
– Jeff Koons
– Yayoi Kusama
– Anish Kapoor
– Gerhard Richter

This list is not exhaustive. Please note that we consider works from many other contemporary artists.

We don’t charge early repayment penalties. You’re welcome to redeem your loan at any time without facing additional charges.

Hence, yes, you can redeem your modern or contemporary artwork at any point during the agreed loan term by repaying the loan capital and the interest due under your agreement.

Our loans are available for two to seven months at a fixed interest rate of 5% per month. Before arranging collection, contact our team for a current settlement figure, as this confirms the exact amount required to redeem the artwork.

For example, if you borrow £20,000 against a signed contemporary artwork over four months at 5% monthly interest, the monthly interest is £1,000. If you redeem after two months, the illustrated settlement figure would be £22,000: the £20,000 capital loan plus £2,000 in accrued interest.

There is no separate early-redemption penalty. Once the settlement figure has been paid and the agreement is closed, your artwork is returned to you. If you need more time near the end of the term, contact us before the redemption date to discuss whether a renewal may be available.

Our standard loan term for contemporary art loans in London is between 2 to 7 months. However, we can offer flexible terms tailored to your needs on a case-by-case basis.

If you’re unable to repay the loan, we may need to sell the artwork to recover the loan amount. However, we always work with our clients and attempt to avoid this situation.

Yes. Certificates, provenance and exhibition history can materially improve confidence in an artwork’s authenticity, ownership history and resale market. They are particularly important for contemporary art, editioned prints, photographs, sculpture and works by artists whose estates, foundations or authentication bodies have specific documentation requirements.

Useful supporting material can include:

– Original gallery invoices and receipts.

– Certificates of authenticity from the artist, estate, foundation, publisher or recognised gallery.

– Catalogue raisonné references or registration numbers.

– Prior auction catalogues and sale invoices.

– Exhibition catalogues, museum labels and published literature.

– Studio, edition, printer or foundry documentation.

– A clear record of ownership from the artist or gallery to the present owner.

Documentation does not automatically guarantee a high loan amount, and not every artist issues certificates. However, missing paperwork can make an artwork more difficult to authenticate and sell.

Yes, loan renewals are possible for your modern art. However, they are only possible if your interest payments are in good standing.

Your modern contemporary artwork serves as collateral for the loan. As a result, we don’t require credit checks to approve your loan.

Yes. Enquiries, valuations and loans are handled privately and confidentially. We understand that art ownership and financial arrangements are sensitive, particularly for collectors, families, estates, galleries and private clients.

Once a loan is agreed, the artwork is held securely for the duration of the agreement. It is not displayed, lent, used or sold while the loan remains active and you remain within its terms.

Fine art requires stable, appropriate storage. Paintings, works on paper, sculpture and mixed media can be vulnerable to damp, heat, direct sunlight, poor handling and sudden shifts in temperature or humidity. We therefore take account of the specific storage requirements of each work, especially for fragile works on paper, photographs, mixed media and sculpture.

For high-value works or collections, we can discuss discreet transport, collection and appraisal arrangements where appropriate.

Yes. We can consider work by living artists. However, much depends on whether there is sufficient evidence of an established and sustainable market. A major gallery representation, institutional exhibitions, reputable auction results and an active collector base can all support a lending decision.

However, contemporary art by living artists can be more volatile than art by long-established blue-chip names. Demand can rise quickly, but it can also weaken if an artist’s auction record is shallow, supply increases sharply, or the market is driven mainly by speculative buying.

We therefore assess more than the artist’s current profile. We look at the exact work, its date, medium, size, subject, exhibition history, ownership history and recent comparable sales.

Yes. We can consider sculpture and photography alongside paintings, prints and drawings, subject to their provenance, authenticity, condition, transport requirements and market demand.

For sculpture, we review the artist, date, materials, dimensions, edition number, foundry mark, casting history and condition. A numbered bronze by a recognised artist may be straightforward to assess, while a unique mixed-media sculpture may need closer examination of its installation, fragility and storage requirements.

For photography, we look closely at the photographer, date of the print, edition size, signature, print type, dimensions, condition, mounting and provenance. An early or vintage print can carry a materially different value from a later print of the same image. What’s more, sculpture can have a deep and international market when the work is properly documented.

Condition is central to both value and loan suitability. Modern and contemporary works can be especially vulnerable to fading, scratches, abrasions, cracking, staining, unstable media, detached elements, lifting paint, creases, mould, poor restoration and environmental damage.

Our physical appraisal considers:

– Surface condition, including scratches, abrasions, dents, paint loss and varnish changes.

– Structural condition of canvases, panels, stretchers, frames and mounts.

– Whether the work has been restored, cleaned, relined, retouched or repaired.

– Light exposure, colour fading and paper discolouration.

– Stability of unconventional or mixed media, such as neon, resin, fabric, found objects, electronics or fragile coatings.

– Whether any restoration is professionally documented and whether future conservation work may be required.

A work does not need to be untouched to be acceptable security. Professionally conserved art with stable, documented treatment can remain highly desirable. However, extensive or poorly understood restoration, material instability or a condition issue that restricts resale can reduce the available loan amount.

The difference is often most pronounced for editions and works on paper, where full margins, unfaded colours, a clean sheet and an original presentation can materially distinguish one example from another.