Buying a painting from another country is mostly a matter of asking the right questions in the right order. The answers protect you from the two usual disappointments: a work that looks different in your room, and a parcel that arrives damaged.

Size and photos

Start with the work. Ask for the exact size and a photo taken in daylight, ideally next to a chair or a doorway, which shows scale better than any number. If texture matters to you, add a close-up of the surface shot at an angle because screens shift color and only side light shows how thickly the paint sits.

Transport and packing

Then ask about transport. A rolled canvas is cheaper to send but has to be restretched on arrival, and thick oil paint can crack if it is rolled too tightly. A stretched painting in a rigid box or crate costs more and arrives ready to hang. Ask how the corners are protected, since corners take most of the knocks in transit. When you buy original art by Ukrainian artists from an online gallery, ask which packing method it uses for that particular piece before you pay, not after.

Packaging deserves a specific question. For a stretched canvas, the safest method is a sheet of glassine or acid-free paper over the paint surface, corner protectors, foam around the edges, and a wooden crate. Bubble wrap pressed straight onto oil paint can leave marks, so ask what touches the surface. Works on paper usually travel flat between rigid boards or rolled in a wide tube.

Timing matters too. Oil paint can take weeks to dry to the touch and months to cure fully, so a painting finished last week needs extra care on the road. Ask when the work was completed. If it is very fresh, the artist may suggest waiting a little before it is shipped.

Ask how the parcel will be insured. A declared value that matches the price paid is what makes a claim possible if something goes wrong, and it is worth knowing who files that claim, the seller or you. If the work is framed under glass, ask whether the glass will travel in the frame or be replaced with acrylic sheet for shipping. Glass is the part most likely to break, and a broken pane can scratch the work beneath it.

Paperwork, import charges, and returns

Keep the important details in writing: the agreed price, the shipping method, and the expected delivery date. A short email thread is enough, and it saves misunderstandings later.

Check which documents come with the work. An invoice or certificate naming the artist, title, size, and technique will matter if you ever insure or resell it. For prints, the edition number belongs on that document as well.

Import charges depend on where you live, so look up your own country's rules rather than trusting a general figure. Finally, ask about returns. A clear written answer usually says a lot about everything else.