How we send paintings abroad - step-by-step instruction

In this article, we'll detail the documents needed to export paintings, how to properly pack a painting or sculpture so it passes customs and arrives intact, and how we deliver art worldwide. Every year, new regulations and changes appear in the international shipping procedure. That's why we regularly publish new articles on this topic and provide ongoing consultations on all aspects of art logistics for shipping abroad.

How to Ship a Painting Abroad?

In most cases, our clients are artists themselves who want a comprehensive service so they can focus on their creative work without worrying about filling out forms correctly, following the right procedures, and so on. To ship a work of art abroad, you need to get an export permit from an expert, pack it carefully, accurately fill out the customs declaration, and provide the correct details for international delivery. That's why ArtDom Gallery offers an all-inclusive "turnkey" delivery service to the buyer's address in 240 countries worldwide. ArtDom Gallery also assists with the delivery and transportation of art objects for exhibitions abroad.

To begin, bring your painting, graphic art, installation, or sculpture to our workshop in the center of Kyiv at 6a Hetmana Pavla Skoropadskoho Street (formerly 6a Lev Tolstoi Street). If you're coming by metro, the station is Ploshcha Ukrainskykh Heroiv; if you're driving, we have a parking spot (we'll meet you and park the car). If you're not in Kyiv, you can send it via a driver or by Nova Poshta courier.

Once we receive the artwork, we handle the entire process ourselves: we will order the documents for export, prepare the packaging, and hand it over to the logistics company for international shipping.Ordering a Document for Exporting a Painting Abroad

For a painting, graphic work, or sculpture to clear Ukrainian customs, you need a document from an art expert stating that "the art object is permitted for export and shipping outside the borders of Ukraine." This procedure is in place to prevent the export of cultural assets of national importance from Ukraine. According to the law, art objects of great national significance are part of the Ukrainian people's cultural heritage. Accordingly, each art object undergoes an expert evaluation to determine if it can be exported or not. If a painting or sculpture was created after 1950, it is most likely permitted for export from Ukraine. In this case, a state museum, represented by an expert, issues a conclusion (an expert opinion) that includes the identifying data of the art object.

To obtain an expert's conclusion for exporting a painting, an application is submitted to the museum's director. All of the item's details must be included:

- The full name of the artist, author, or master, and their year of birth;

- The title of the work of art;

- The year it was created;

- Materials and technique (e.g., canvas, acrylic; wood, oil; metal, bronze; hand-painted, digital print);

- Dimensions (for paintings: width and height; for sculptures, icons, and installations: length, width, and depth);

- Estimated value.

→ ArtDom Gallery collaborates with several state museums throughout Ukraine and helps with the a permission to export paintings in 1-2 business days.

A Box for Shipping Paintings Abroad

During transportation, parcels go through several logistical stages—customs posts and sorting centers. The boxes are also loaded into various vehicles like trucks and planes and are exposed to different temperature conditions. Therefore, proper packing is crucial for reliable delivery, ensuring the painting and other art objects arrive at the recipient's location in one piece, without damage.

It's important to highlight three key factors for high-quality packaging:

1) When packages arrive at customs terminals, customs officers have the right to open them to inspect the contents and cross-reference them with the accompanying documents, as well as to check the accuracy of the contents' description. Therefore, it's essential to design the packaging to allow for repeated opening and closing.

2) The box or crate must be made of high-quality, durable materials. This is why ArtDom Gallery has developed and patented its own packaging technology using reinforced cardboard boxes. Our design includes a protective frame inside the cardboard box, styrofoam to absorb impacts, and bubble wrap for extra cushioning and protection of the artwork. This "skeleton" and the cushioning materials protect the item from all sides against drops and impacts with an efficiency of up to 90%. An additional advantage of this box is that it's lightweight, which results in a lower shipping rate.

A short video on the packaging production technology and crash test of ArtDom Gallery boxes:

For more robust protection, we recommend ordering a crate made of plywood or fiberboard. These crates will protect against all possible damage factors, but they are very heavy, which makes international shipping significantly more expensive.

3) The packaging should be presentable. If the item is a sale or a gift, the recipient has been waiting 10-30 days for the package and will be very happy to receive a beautiful and neat box. A nice box suggests that something valuable is inside and shows respect for the art object. Therefore, our craftsmen pack everything meticulously so the packaging not only provides protection but also gives the recipient aesthetic pleasure from the long-awaited package.

Reliable Delivery of Art Objects Abroad

Properly organized logistics allow for fast, affordable, and high-quality delivery of goods and packages to the recipient in any country worldwide. Most of our clients are in the USA and European countries. Therefore, it's important to find and optimize logistical routes, correctly fill out customs documents, and insure the cargo. This ensures that paintings and sculptures are delivered without customs delays and protects against worries and unforeseen costs.

For high-quality art object logistics, three factors should be distinguished:

1) The carrier or postal operator must have an international license and certification for delivering this category of cargo (original paintings, drawings, pastels, graphic art, handmade sculptures, etc.).

We have already published an answer to a frequent question: Does Nova Poshta deliver art objects abroad?

As of today, in 2025, we are seeing that Nova Poshta has partially obtained an international license for art object delivery. Their website lists forbidden cargo categories broken down by country, meaning they have different categories of forbidden and allowed goods for delivery to the USA versus Spain.

But even with these updates, we see that Nova Poshta Global does not accept handmade (original) paintings created by artists. This means Nova Poshta can deliver a paint-by-number kit to the USA, but it cannot deliver a painting made by a contemporary artist with acrylic or oil paints.

2) The carrier or postal operator must be on the registry of accredited carriers and freight forwarders at customs.

This means that the carrier, logistics company, freight forwarder, or postal operator has the right to engage in international shipping, to file customs declarations on behalf of clients, and has the experience to correctly collect and submit customs documents.

3) Cargo insurance provides peace of mind during delivery for all parties to the transaction. Logistics involves many factors that can make international delivery impossible or difficult.

This is life, and you must consider that anything can happen—a traffic accident, a plane crash, damage to a warehouse or terminal from rockets or shell fragments, or damage to transport or warehouses due to force majeure or a natural disaster. Therefore, it is important to consider the possibility (however unlikely) that something could happen during international delivery. It could be simple damage to the packaging, a delivery delay, or the package getting lost altogether.

Therefore, it's very important to take all of this into account, use proven logistical routes, and always insure your cargo.

Finally, a company that handles international shipping should have a good reputation and real, positive customer reviews. This demonstrates the company's level of professionalism and provides peace of mind and confidence in its reliability when entering into an agreement.

Since its founding in 2016, ArtDom Gallery has developed its own logistics routes and signed key contracts with logistics leaders to secure favorable terms of cooperation. Throughout our work, we have come a long way in the world of international logistics and know all the nuances well. We've considered all possible factors and share our capabilities with our clients. Our logistics department will help find the best shipping method—for an affordable price and in a short time to 240 countries worldwide. In 2024, we also expanded our capabilities to provide import services, meaning we deliver cargo from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and European countries to Ukraine.

With our clients' permission, we share our case studies so new clients can get to know our portfolio. We delivered 30 sculptures "turnkey" to Germany:

We organized the transportation and delivery of 100 paintings to Paris:

We also ask our clients to share their impressions of working with us and publish reviews on Google:

Our mission is to promote Ukrainian art in the international market. Our collection includes more than 500 paintings that we sell worldwide. Since 2017, we have delivered over 2,000 packages to European countries, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Turkey, Georgia, and Asian countries (China, Japan, Singapore). The goal of ArtDom's work is to help Ukrainian artists.

Have questions? We are happy to consult with you at +38 063 247 8102

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