How Galleries and Dealers Work
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Starting out as an Artist
Check out specific aspects of a working relationship with a Gallery:
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Different perspectives
You can also find below various perspectives - and advice - on art galleries and links to further information provided by
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ALTERNATIVELY
on other pages you can read about: |
Pros
Galleries and dealers can:
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Cons
Agents/Dealers/Galleries can:
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The art market is dominated by small- and medium-sized businesses who have historically been at the less tech savvy, more complacent end of the scale.
Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2018
Facts first: 30% of all art galleries are loss-making. "The art world is tough, the rules are a complete mystery and only the lucky few make money" |
There are also many myths held by artists about galleries: |
There have been radical changes in the art market and models of how to sell art in recent years. Galleries in different countries across the world have been changing the way they operate
Art is now sold via
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REFERENCE:
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Person who sells, resells, or distributes works of art to third-party clients. Dealers are sometimes referred to as gallery directors or gallerists. Although some artists may personally sell their own art works and AUCTION houses may place works of art up for public bidding, the profession of art dealing remains an entity distinct from these trades. Art dealing as a profession is intimately tied to the activities of private collectors, art historians, and the wider economy.
Definition of an Art Dealer | Grove Art Online
An art dealer is essentially somebody who buys and sells art to third party clients. They have two groups of people to keep happy:
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An art dealer may run an art gallery - but you don't have to have an art gallery to be an art dealer.
An art dealer who wants to exhibit work by an artist might secure suitable premises for a defined period - thus eliminating the overheads associated with running a gallery 24/7. |
Examples in the US include:
Working with Art Dealers
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For a dealer to qualify (for the ADAA) he or she must have an established reputation for honesty, integrity and professionalism among his or her peers. This association has strict ethical requirements. You won’t find a vanity gallery in this group
'Vanity Galleries: Pay to Play at Your Own Risk' by Renee Phillips
A Retail Art Gallery is a commercial establishment that owns or leases a space to display and sell (or loan) different forms of fine art (e.g. paintings, sculpture, photography, video art etc) - for money
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A Vanity Gallery is an art gallery that charges artists fees to exhibit their work and makes most of its money from artists rather than from sales to the public.
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A Pop-Up Gallery can be rented as a space for a short period for a specific exhibition or event. It's NOT a proper gallery. Not quite the same thing as a permanent gallery. (see Alternative options for exhibitions)
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The art world thrives off face-to-face interaction, trust and conversation between dealers and their clients. It cannot rely solely on the internet as there are many pitfalls to buyers from dishonest dealers and virtual scammers.
How art galleries will navigate our new normal
A gallery owner is essentially an art dealer in a fixed location where he or she exhibits and sells art.
Those who are successful know, understand and serve their art collector market well. Business is generated via expertise and trust in that expertise generated by delivering what's needed. An art gallery usually operates out of a proper building.
They typically sell on a consignment basis (otherwise known as "sale or return". They always take a commission if your art sells and should return it (in perfect condition) if it doesn't. (Sadly this doesn't always happen) You must make sure you understand what the commission structure covers - and what it doesn't - before you sign with a gallery. |
An art gallery business might do a lot of its business and selling art via an Art Fair(s).
This is because art fairs have become very popular with art collectors. Art Fairs make it very easy for art collectors to see a lot of art via a lot of galleries in a very short space of time. They are ideal for the time-poor art collector. Do bear in mind that too many art galleries in the past have been run by people who like art and artists but who were awful at business - which is why so many have gone out of business! Before being taken on by a gallery you must check out whether they know how to be business-like - or your art might end up behind the locked doors of a gallery which has gone out of business. An art gallery might put your art online.
Don't use galleries to avoid selling your art online. The smart galleries have realised that a lot of people like browsing for art online - especially if it's below £10k - and make sure they make their art available to browse. |
the rate of galleries opening has fallen dramatically over the past decade..... new entrants face increasingly high barriers to entry.
Why Fewer Galleries Are Opening Today Than 10 Years Ago | Artsy
.......why do so few thrive? A simple economic analysis should make any potential gallerist pause to think; it is a textbook inefficient market, with too much supply meeting too little demand. But a further problem is found in the practices of the gallerists themselves; they have never changed their business model, relying on white walls, commissioned art, underpaid (or unpaid) interns, identikit opening events, 50/50 artist deals, and a presence at fairs. While art can be innovative, the business surrounding it is not.
Dr Magnus Resch | The Art Newspaper
Resch's numbers are based on his anonymous electronic survey to 8,000 galleries. He got 1,300 responses (16%). These included information about their revenue, number of employees, and location.
This is a summary of his conclusions FINANCIAL DATA
MARKETING DATA
MYTHBUSTERS
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REASONS WHY ART GALLERIES LOSE MONEY / FAIL
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Officially a BEST SELLER - This book SOLD OUT FAST when it was first published in an English language edition
An insight into practices in top end art galleries from the man who created Larry's List - which provides a database of and an insight into top art collectors. His book analyses how the art markets and art galleries operate, the phases artists go through in terms of economic production and place in the art market - plus he also analyses the new breed of art collectors. He provides case studies to explain key points relating to how to market and sell art to high net worth individuals. You don't have to be a gallery to benefit from the lessons he offers. See a summary of some of the key points below - plus links to articles about his work below that. |
First Edition: Rated an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars by 9 customer reviews
NEW BOOK in 2015 - SOLD OUT! First Publisher: Hatje Cantz SECOND EDITION 2016 (PINK edition) Paperback: 140 pages Publisher: Phaidon Press UK: 18 Oct. 2016 USA: November 14, 2016 I ordered and waited and have been rewarded! However printing text in pink is beyond a joke! Ratings dipped as I reviewed as Content = 5* Pink Text = 0* THIRD (larger) EDITION 2018 Paperback: 152 pages Publisher: Phaidon Press; Revised edition (13 July 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 0714877751 ISBN-13: 978-0714877754 Product Dimensions: 14.9 x 1.6 x 21.3 cm 12 more pages (and easier to read!). Updated and revised for the ever changing business of selling art BUY THIS BOOK |
This is my summary of Resch's views about how galleries need to change to become effective.
My view is that artists need to align themselves with art galleries that have contemporary business models for selling their art and who understand how to be cost effective and make profits. A THREE TIER TRADING STRUCTURE - Successful galleries diversify their locations according to the life cycle stage reached by the artist.
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The successful business model is underpinned by multiple streams of business income - defined by and related to different stages of the artist life cycle - and cross-financing between different market sectors
THE ARTIST LIFE CYCLE includes:
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The rationale behind the 50/50 split with emerging artists has never been about economics. What it costs most galleries to promote an unknown artist in a single solo exhibition, ongoing online and back-office presence, and a few art fairs, far exceeds the amount of money they will likely make from selling the average number of works at the emerging artist price points over the course of the first year or two.
Edward Winkelman | The Art Newspaper
This is a summary of the facts you "need to know" before trying to approach a gallery and persuade them you would be an asset if you and your art were to be included in their portfolio.
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REFERENCE: ARE YOU READY FOR AN ART GALLERY?
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THE ARTIST: BODY OF WORK
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THE ARTIST: AIMS AND CAREER GOALS
You need to
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RESEARCH THE MARKET
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INITIAL APPROACHES
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REFERENCE: HOW TO GET A GALLERY
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REFERENCE: INITIAL APPROACHES | DOS AND DON'TS
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Consignment agreements are used by artists to document terms of production, insurance, exhibition and sale of their work. They are the professional foundation for any relationship or agreement, for example a gallery, curator or agent. In business and legal terms, consignment does not mean selling work to a gallery, rather entrusting physical possession of work to the gallery as the artist’s agent with a view to sale – or return in sound condition if unsold (usually within a specified timescale). First things first, never send a gallery your work without receiving a consignment agreement. This document protects both you and them. It is standard practice for the gallery to issue this, and if they haven’t by the time your work is about to leave the studio, it’s absolutely ok to ask for one before you hand over the work. |
REFERENCE: WORKING WITH A GALLERY
Advice from ArtQuest (University of the Arts, London)
Advice from artists: Check Out the Gallery
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REFERENCE:
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Rated an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars by 135 customer reviews
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GALLERY COMMISSION - and what it means
Commission is charged by all commercial galleries. There's no standard rate as such. You'll find it varies by type of gallery and geography and often there is no rhyme nor reason for the variations. Commission is intended to recover the gallery overheads associated with having a building, staffing it and putting on exhibitions. Galleries vary as to what is and is not covered by the commission. If you intend to do business with or via a gallery, you must always check and get in writing precisely what their commission is intended to cover. Watch out for the gallery commission that is payable if a collector having seen your work in an exhibition then commissions you to produce a piece of art. Introducing artists to art collectors is the business the art gallery is in and many will seek to recover a percentage from you for so doing. |
REFERENCE:
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In our experience over the past 25 years of dealing with artlaw issues it is true and fair to say that the vast majority of problems between artists and galleries stem from one or both party’s ignorance, recklessness or carelessness in relation to the basics of commercial dealings.
Doing a Deal Part 1 | Artquest/Artlaw
As an artist you NEED TO get to grips with the basics of contracts if you don't want to be taken advantage of - either blatantly or covertly.
Aspects which gallery contracts should deal with include:
The next column has REFERENCE: Gallery Contracts
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.REFERENCE: ARTQUEST & ARTLAW
Below are links to pages of advice from ArtQuest / ArtLaw about working with Commercial Galleries. The articles are old but cover all the different aspects of having a contractual and legal relationship to sell your artwork via a gallery. Artquest is a project about artists dealing with the real world as we;; as the art world - part of which relates to understanding their legal rights. It is funded by Arts Council England’s London regional office.
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The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art
by Tad Crawford Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars by 17 customer reviews This is a bible for both artists and art galleries who work on the basis of consignment by artist to art gallery! Updates include the latest developments in state laws and all of the current statutes in the 32 states that have laws regarding consignment sales. Tad Crawford is renowned for writing books which cover the legal and contractual side of the art business. This book provides a comprehensive coverage of the Standard Consignment Agreement including agency, consignment, warranties, transportation, insurance, pricing, gallery commissions, promotion, return of art, and more. It also includes a ready-to-use contract. |
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Allworth Press; 1 edition (May 13, 2008) BUY The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art
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So where does that leave the middle class, those galleries in Chelsea and on the Lower East Side that have been around long enough to be somewhat established, but still have to sell enough to make rent? Now, they have to deal with a perfect storm of gallery-killing factors: a market cooling from top to bottom, plummeting prices for onetime hit artists who minted money for mid-tier galleries just two years ago, the chokehold of fair booth prices, skyrocketing rents in neighborhoods where buying a building is unthinkable.
- Mom & Popped: In a Market Contraction, the Middle-Class Gallery is Getting Squeezed | ArtNews (Nov. 2016)
The sad fact is that changes in the past model of retailing is also changing the number of galleries around the world.
Artists need to be aware of what can happen when a gallery closes - and how little notice they may get (if they get any at all). |
REFERENCE
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Artists move on - up or down the food chain.
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Even with a consignment deal in place, things can still go wrong. When Yayoi Kusama left Gagosian Gallery in 2012, she asked for all her work to be returned to her within a month. It took nearly a year, according to a source close to the artist, because the gallery was trying to recoup its costs by selling as much of its [ Kusama ] stock as possible. |
How to change / end a gallery relationship
There are good ways - and bad ways - of bringing the relationship between gallery and artist to an end
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Dealing with rejection
What should you do when an art gallery doesn't want to work with you any longer? Some suggestions below.
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I see my relationships with artists as similar concentric circles. Gallery artists are core artists, those at the centre of the circle. We work together and communicate constantly, and I am at their service. Then there are others with whom I have a relationship, but do not represent. Some I show regularly. Then there are others that I might work with just once, or infrequently.
Zavier Ellis, a gallerist, commenting on the levels of working with artists
This is a salutary tale of
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WHY "getting a gallery" might not be the solution to you marketing your art.
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I first came across Edward Winkelman via his blog (which he no longer writes). He was providing some excellent advice for those artists who wanted to get a gallery - about how to approach a gallery (see links below).
He opened (and closed) a gallery and now lists himself as the cofounder of the Moving Image art fair and has participated in art fairs such as ARCO, Art Chicago, Independent, PULSE, The Armory Show, and NADA. |
edward_ winkleman art | politics | gossip | tough love
I highly recommend reading Ed Winkelman's blog if you want to get your artwork shown in a serious art gallery (those are the ones that don't have gift shop or frame shop on the side). Bear in mind it stops in 2016.... |
Below is a list of the blog posts written by the American gallerist and art blogger Edward Winkleman for artists who seek a relationship with an art gallery. (now via the Wayback Machine - as his blog not longer exists)
Most of what he writes has universal applicability.
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The only caveat is he works in New York and not everything will be applicable to non-metropolitan situations in countries across the world.
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Then he opened an art gallery and converted his blog into a book for all those wanting to go down the gallery route
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Then he closed his gallery in 2014 - and went back to doing what he was doing originally. Selling contemporary art as an art dealer. In 2017 he published his new book.
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How to start and run a Commercial Art Gallery
by Edward Winkelman (2nd edition 2018) Rated an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars by 44 customer reviews
The blog became a book! Originally published in 2009, this book is essentially written for people wanting to become gallery owners. However, it's also very helpful for artists who want to research and understand:
BUY THIS BOOK How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery (Second Edition)
Paperback: 256 pages | Publisher: Allworth Press; 1st Edition: Publication date: July 14, 2009 2nd Edition: Publication date: 13 Nov. 2018 |
NEW! Selling Contemporary Art: How to Navigate the Evolving Market
by Edward Winkleman (published 2017) Rated an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars by 6 customer reviews
This is a book about selling art from the art dealer's perspective and is a must read for those wanting to understand the contemporary art market. It examines how the art market changed betweeen 2008 and 2015. Sections cover:
BUY THIS BOOK (Hardcover / Paperback / Kindle) Selling Contemporary Art: How to Navigate the Evolving Market
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