Many artists who create original art objects do so without a specific purpose in mind. The hope is that the art will be bought by some appreciative connoisseur. The answer to the question of what to charge is not easy to come up with. Pricing of commercial art is somewhat easier task than establishing a price for fine art work. The intent of commercial art is specific whereas the purpose of fine art is non existent other than the desire to create.
I am often asked by beginning and also more experienced artists how I determine a price for a painting or drawing. When I was represented by a gallery this decision was agreed upon by the art dealer and myself. Dealers need to sell the art so they usually suggest a price that they believe would make the work marketable.
Marketability is what the dealer is most interested in and this is not what the artist is thinking of when the work is being created. Visual artists create art because they have a need to express their emotional consciousness in personal visual form. The quality and uniqueness of the work is what is the driving force in their creativity. Marketability is usually not in the equation of art invention. Yet, artists want to sell their work and they need to have some idea of how to do this.
Whenever artists agree to be represented by a gallery they should be sure to have a contract stating the terms of the arrangement. Some galleries take work on commission or they may buy it outright at a wholesale price. Most galleries receive a fifty percent commission so the total price will not represent the actual price the artist receives.
When contracting with a gallery make sure that the cost of materials is shared by both the artist and the gallery. This means that if the art is framed by the artist, the price of framing should be reimbursed or shared.
If a framed piece is sold, the gallery may charge extra for the frame. In this case the artist should make sure that they are reimbursed for the frame in addition to being paid for the art work. An alternative is to ask the gallery to take on the framing of the work.
When artists take charge of selling their own fine art on the Internet or directly from their studios it is important to set a price that is fair and will be acceptable to the seller and the to the buyer of the art.
Although artists aren’t usually making art for a specific market, as such, they still will have to know what other items with subject matter similar to theirs are selling for.
It is easy to see art on the Internet that is for sale and thus get an idea of the general price range of particular art work. Also, visiting art galleries will give some idea of what others are charging.
How can one determine the value of a unique object of fine art? Value in the mind of a potential buyer may be a question of the reputation of an artist. Very well known artists can command higher prices for their work based on other factors than the aesthetics of the art object. Having a record of many exhibitions in addition to having work in collections enhances the value of art. Very famous works of art circulating in the art market are auctioned at very high prices. These art objects are sold more like commodities than fine art because the purchasers having the objective of buying something that will increase in value in addition to being a beautiful piece of art.
Many contemporary artists dream of being discovered. Although it is good to dream, the reality is that getting into the high end art market is very difficult. So it is a good idea to aspire towards that but to work to try and earn a living from your art.
Other artists, and that includes the majority of artists who are trying to sell their art, have to base their price on the unique individuality of their work.
In my experience, pricing often comes down to trying to keep track of the number of hours it may take to complete plus the cost of materials. This is harder than it seems because many art objects take a long time to make and the actual work will include thinking about the piece. There also will be many non consecutive minutes since it is often the practice of artists to start and stop working on an object during a specific period of time. Making art isn’t exactly a mass production process. It is time consuming and the end product will be a unique object, never seen before.
Price of Paintings. The time spent working, cost of materials and the size will determine the minimum price an artist should be willing to accept. In addition, research the price range of other work that is similar made by artists of comparable reputation.
What are other paintings by artists who are my contemporaries selling for?
Determine a price per square inch and multiply that in order to find out what paintings of different sizes will sell for. This also applies to works on paper but the price per square inch will need to be lower because works on paper are not generally considered to be as valuable as paintings. For example a small watercolor will usually not sell for as much as a small painting on canvas. Framed works will be much more expensive than unframed and it is important to recover the cost of framing in the price. Shipping should be paid for by the buyer.
All of the above pricing also applies to original works on paper including etchings, lithographs, monoprints, woodcuts, and drawings except that these forms are also usually less expensive than paintings.
Some artists make it a practice to give a discount to decorators. In this case, the artist/dealer relationship is similar and the price the artist receives should still be fair compensation.
The Internet price should be similar to the price directly from the artist’s studio.
Selling original art on the Internet is a great addition to the artist’s ability to represent themselves and be totally in charge of their work. There are many web sites that are available for artists for direct marketing of their work. I have not surveyed the numerous sites but check out An Artists Perspective on selling Art Online by Bill O'Neil.
Through the years I have enrolled in a number of art selling sites. My problem is that it is very time consuming to keep involved in each one of them so that the total result is that they all get neglected.
Other sites include Redbubble.com, dart.fine-art.com, absolutearts.com, and FineArtAmerica.com.
In addition to the original art marketing sites there are numerous sites such as zazzle.com that publish merchandise using artist images as well as reproducing these images into cards, mugs, stamps, posters and prints and apparel. This takes art into the commodity marketing business and that is another article.
