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Receiving Warehouse for Art Galleries: Crates Held, Then Hung

Q: Who receives artwork for galleries and collectors before it is installed?

Elite Anywhere does. A shipper can deliver crated or soft-packed work to any of our 34 warehouse locations, by appointment, Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. We photograph it, check it against your list, hold it in climate-controlled space and deliver it when you are ready. Addresses are on our locations page.

Q: Can a collector have a new purchase shipped to you instead of home?

Yes. Ask the seller to ship to our nearest warehouse with your name on the crate, and send us a note of what is coming. The work waits with us until the house is ready. Our New York and Denver warehouses, for example, both take this kind of delivery; see receiving in New York and receiving in Denver.

Q: Do you provide condition reports?

Yes, both: a condition report and photographs. When a crate arrives, its condition is recorded and photographed, and checked against the list you sent us. When you ask us to open it, the report and photos cover the work itself, and the piece is photographed again once it is hung at the destination. Everything is filed under your account.

Q: Can you hold works between exhibitions?

Yes, for a few days or for months, with no minimum period. Works stay in climate- and humidity-controlled space, you can visit them, and we can send fresh photographs on request; more on our storage page. For exhibition installs, art fairs and shipping, see art and collection logistics.

Q: What happens if a crate arrives damaged?

It is photographed as it comes off the truck, and we tell you before it goes into storage. You decide whether we open it; inspection is free when you ask. The photographs give you a dated record to take to the shipper. If the work then needs a new crate to travel on, we build it in-house; see crating. The same arrival steps apply to furniture and lighting; see our receiving warehouse page.

Q: How much does art receiving cost?

Each job is quoted on its own. The quote depends on how many shipments are coming, the size and weight of the crates, how long the work is stored, and where it is going, including whether it needs hanging. Send us the list and the destination, and we’ll respond within 24 hours.

A canvas from the studio or a sculpture back from a fair ships to our receiving warehouse instead of a gallery mid-install, photographed and checked on arrival.

50,000+Deliveries a year

99%On-time deliveries

<1%Damage rate

100%Transparent pricing

4.8★Positive reviews

Shipments being received at an Elite Anywhere warehouse

What a receiving warehouse does for galleries and collectors

A receiving warehouse for art signs for crated and soft-packed works on your behalf. Elite Anywhere photographs each arrival, condition-checks it against your list, keeps it in climate- and humidity-controlled space, and brings it to the gallery or the residence when you are ready, where trained art handlers hang and place it.

What’s included when we receive art for you

Receiving at an Elite Anywhere warehouse

A dock for crates that a gallery cannot take

Freight carriers moving a large crate usually need a commercial dock and a booked time, which a gallery in the middle of a changeover or a collector’s apartment rarely has, so the shipper delivers to our warehouse instead.

The crate photographed before it is stored

Packaging is photographed the moment it comes off the truck and compared with your list. If a corner is crushed or a crate is split, we tell you and you decide whether it is opened.

Opening and inspection when you ask, free

On request, our art handlers open the crate, photograph the work itself and write up its condition, then repack it and return it to storage. There is no charge for the inspection.

Climate and humidity held steady

Canvas, works on paper and wood panels wait in climate-controlled space with humidity control, at every mainland warehouse location. The warehouses are secured, and cover applies to goods while they are in storage.

Crates built in-house

When a work has to go on to a buyer, a second venue or back to the artist, our crew builds a crate for it in-house, sized to the piece.

Shipments nobody announced, matched

About two deliveries in ten arrive without notice. Our team calls the carrier or the sender to find out whose work it is, rather than refusing the crate at the door.

A login to follow each work

Clients get a login to our own warehouse system, which shows what is on the way, what has landed, live tracking, and a way to message the warehouse team.

Hanging and placement on the day

Trained art handlers carry each work in, hang and level it where you want it, and leave with the crates, blankets and wrapping.

How art receiving works with Elite Anywhere

Receive

Your shipper books a weekday slot, between 9am and 3pm, at the warehouse location nearest the gallery or the collector’s home, with your name on the delivery. We ask the shipper for the bill of lading, so the record shows what left the studio.

Inspect, Photograph, and Document

The crate or wrapping is condition-checked against your list, and damage goes to you before the work is stored; the crate is opened and inspected whenever you ask. Condition reports and photographs are filed in Bond under exhibition, client or collection, so you can see arrivals from your desk.

Store

Works stay grouped by show or by collector in climate-controlled space while a gallery repaints between exhibitions or a renovation runs late. You can visit them, or ask us for new photographs, at any time.

Deliver and install

On the date you set, the works leave the warehouse for the gallery or the home, in a climate-controlled vehicle when they need one. You get a text about 30 minutes ahead, the route in is protected, each piece is photographed again once it is hung, and your sign-off is kept on file.

Receiving warehouse, self-storage or a standard 3PL for artwork?

A receiving warehouse compared with a self-storage unit and a standard 3PL
What you get	Receiving warehouse	Self-storage unit	Standard 3PL
Who accepts the crate	Our team, in the gallery’s or the collector’s name	Only you, if you are there when it comes	Dock staff, booked in as stock
Record made on arrival	Photographs of the crate, checked against your list, opened when you ask	None	A carton count, at most
Conditions while it waits	Climate- and humidity-controlled at every location	Depends on the facility	Set up for fast-moving goods
When a work must travel on	Crate built in-house, climate-controlled vehicle available	You find a crater and a shipper	Parcel or pallet freight
At the destination	Hung, leveled and placed by trained art handlers	You hire an installer	Left at the dock or the door
Building requirements	Certificate of insurance issued on request	Up to you	Rarely handled

The network behind art receiving

Figures for Elite Anywhere as a whole, since art can be received at any of our locations.

Get a Free Quote

34warehouse locations: 10 staffed hubs and 24 partner warehouses

50,000+deliveries a year across Elite Anywhere

1987the year Elite Anywhere operations began

24 hoursthe time within which we respond to a quote request

Where we receive art for galleries and collectors

Shippers can deliver to any of our 34 warehouse locations; these twenty sit closest to the main gallery and collector markets, and every address is on our locations page.

New York Connecticut Boston Washington, DC Miami West Palm Beach Naples Tampa Atlanta Chicago Dallas Houston Austin Denver Phoenix Palm Springs Los Angeles Newport Beach San Francisco Seattle

Frequently asked questions

Receiving art: common questions from galleries and collectors

Who receives artwork for galleries and collectors before it is installed?

Elite Anywhere does. A shipper can deliver crated or soft-packed work to any of our 34 warehouse locations, by appointment, Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. We photograph it, check it against your list, hold it in climate-controlled space and deliver it when you are ready. Addresses are on our locations page.

Can a collector have a new purchase shipped to you instead of home?

Yes. Ask the seller to ship to our nearest warehouse with your name on the crate, and send us a note of what is coming. The work waits with us until the house is ready. Our New York and Denver warehouses, for example, both take this kind of delivery; see receiving in New York and receiving in Denver.

Do you provide condition reports?

Yes, both: a condition report and photographs. When a crate arrives, its condition is recorded and photographed, and checked against the list you sent us. When you ask us to open it, the report and photos cover the work itself, and the piece is photographed again once it is hung at the destination. Everything is filed under your account.

Can you hold works between exhibitions?

Yes, for a few days or for months, with no minimum period. Works stay in climate- and humidity-controlled space, you can visit them, and we can send fresh photographs on request; more on our storage page. For exhibition installs, art fairs and shipping, see art and collection logistics.

What happens if a crate arrives damaged?