A Pre-Ship Video Is The Real On-Approval
An Angela Simeone original, installed above a boucle sofa — Starr Sanford Design, Nashville.
In short: Buyers ask if they can preview a painting on approval before committing, the way some galleries allow. Most can't offer that locally, and Angela Simeone's studio doesn't either — instead, every finished original ships with multiple pre-ship videos filmed in real light, so a buyer sees exactly what's arriving before it ships, plus the documentation (signed verso, COA, invoice) that a serious collector or designer needs to buy with confidence from a distance.
Angela Simeone is a Nashville-based contemporary abstract painter whose boutique luxury wallpaper line is created from her own paintings and composed — through her artistic and editorial eye — into layered, original, chic patterns, printed on a single luxurious 20 oz vinyl that looks like raw silk with a glimmering sheen, sold direct and to the trade.
A Pre-Ship Video Is The Real On-Approval
The question comes up constantly: can I see a painting in my own home before I buy it — the way a gallery sometimes lets a client take a piece home "on approval"? It's a fair question, and an old one. Some galleries do offer it, gated behind conditions — local delivery only, a card on file, an existing relationship with the client. For a painter working direct-to-collector across the country, that model doesn't scale. What replaces it has to do the same job: remove the risk of buying something you've only seen as a photograph.
My studio's answer is a multiple pre-ship video of every finished work, shot in real daylight, before it ever leaves for a framer. A collector or designer sees the actual surface — the texture, the way the color shifts across the canvas — not a single flattering photo. It's not the painting on your wall. It's the closest thing to it that shipping a painting across the country allows.
Why Doesn't A Digital Image Feel Like Enough?
Because it isn't, entirely — and the art world's own advisors say so plainly. Varuna Kollanethu, founder of the London gallery Ruup & Form, tells new buyers exactly what to ask for before a purchase feels settled: "Clarify delivery and handling fees, and check whether installation is included or charged separately. Ask the gallery about long-term care — how the work should be displayed, cleaned, or conserved over time. Request condition reports, authenticity certificates, and any other supporting documentation. These small steps build confidence and ensure your first and following acquisitions are both meaningful and well considered." (Artsy, "What You Need to Know About Buying Your First Artwork," July 28, 2025.)
None of that is about seeing the work in person. It's about documentation and clarity replacing the missing physical encounter — which is precisely what a pre-ship video, a signed verso, and a certificate of authenticity are built to do.
What Actually Builds Confidence Before You Commit?
Time in front of the work — even secondhand — and a real answer to every question you ask. Daniel Malarkey, a London-based art advisor, cautions new collectors against two opposite mistakes: undervaluing a piece out of timidity, and overpaying for hype. "Many important works of art in history were purchased well above their market value," he says. "Equally, you should not overpay for a work that is hyped up without a story and visual strength that would suggest long-term value." (Artsy, July 28, 2025.) A pre-ship video is one way a buyer judges that visual strength directly, rather than taking a price tag's word for it.
Gigi Surel, founder of the London curatorial project Teaspoon Projects, puts the bar plainly on the seller's side of the conversation: a dealer should be able to answer every question a buyer has. "Sometimes [dealers] really don't know the answers, and that shows they don't care much," she says. "If they don't care, they won't help the artist's career grow enough." (Artsy, July 28, 2025.) My studio sends the video, the documentation, and answers every question directly — there's no gallery layer standing between a buyer and the person who made the work.
An original by Angela Simeone, installed in a collector's home.
Does Confidence Really Come With Time, Not A Guarantee?
Largely, yes. Vikram Ravikumar, a New York-based collector, describes the slow build of trust that preceded his first serious purchase: "I went to a lot of openings. I started to look at a lot of pieces. I made friends with people who have great taste and access to good works, and then I got a recommendation and picked a piece that I really was a little uncomfortable with, but liked." (Artsy, July 28, 2025.) He also recommends new buyers visit galleries directly so they can "calibrate their eye" to what real quality looks like — something a pre-ship video, watched closely, does at a distance.
Alia Al-Senussi, a London-based collector and senior strategist for Art Basel, warns against the other failure mode — buying on hype instead of on your own judgment. "Don't just jump in because you feel the hype, whether or not it's because you think somebody is a tastemaker, or whether or not you think it's because it's an investment, or it's popular," she says. "I do believe that one should trust the advice of others and one should seek it out…but don't blindly follow others just because it's a fad." (Artsy, July 28, 2025.) A pre-ship video puts the decision back on what you actually see, not on a listing's description of it.
What Do I Get Before An Angela Simeone Original Ships?
Every finished piece — inventory and commissions alike — gets multiple pre-ship videos filmed in real light before it leaves the studio, so you're judging the actual surface, not a single hero shot. It ships with a signed verso, a certificate of authenticity, and an invoice, rolled to a framer near you, stretched fresh on arrival, and hand-delivered ready to hang. Float framing is available on request. There's no gallery layer and no "ask for pricing" — a direct conversation with the studio, start to finish.
Paintings Currently Available
Three ready-to-ship originals, each a full one-of-one from a twenty-year studio practice — every one available with a pre-ship video before it ships:
Royal Blue White Lilac Canvas Abstract Oil Painting · original oil on canvas · $6,850 — deep royal blue with lilac drifting through in veils.
Aubergine Darkest Green Plum White Canvas Painting · original oil on canvas · $5,850 — moody aubergine and plum pushed to near-black, for a room at its best at night.
Navy Grey Yellow Glow Painting · original oil on canvas · $5,800 — a dark, large-scale field with yellow breaking through in small openings.
→ Browse all available paintings
→ Commission a painting built around your space
FAQ
Do you send paintings "on approval" the way some galleries do?
Not as a take-home trial, since work ships nationally rather than locally. Instead, every finished piece gets multiple pre-ship videos in real daylight, so you see the actual surface before it ships — the closest equivalent to an in-person preview a shipped original can offer.
How is a pre-ship video different from a product photo?
A single photo can read up to 5% different from the actual canvas depending on lighting. A video, filmed in real daylight, shows the true color, texture, and how the surface shifts as the light changes — the same things you'd check in person.
What documentation comes with an original painting?
A signed verso, a certificate of authenticity, and an invoice, plus the pre-ship video as visual documentation of the piece's condition before it leaves the studio.
What if a painting doesn't work in my space once it arrives?
That's exactly what the pre-ship video is meant to prevent — reviewing it in real light before committing catches most mismatches before shipping, which is why the studio invests in showing the actual work rather than a single styled photo.
Sources
- Varuna Kollanethu, Daniel Malarkey, Vikram Ravikumar, Alia Al-Senussi, and Gigi Surel, quoted in Maxwell Rabb, "What You Need to Know About Buying Your First Artwork," Artsy, July 28, 2025 (updated August 14, 2025).
