I am writing this blog because I am frequently puzzled by the number of people I meet who find it difficult to understand that artists make money by selling artworks. When I tell someone I’m an artist, I often get asked politely “Do you sell?’ As if the person asking is stuck with the idea that all artists must be like the famously un-sold Van Gogh. Equally often I get met with surprise when mentioning selling work, as if that were not the purpose of my business, and to find a customer who wants to buy was a hugely rare thing – surely nobody actually buys art?!
I’ve worked in galleries selling other artists work, I sell my own work online, in galleries and at art fairs, so to me it seems a fairly ordinary practice and I’d like to understand where these beliefs, from people slightly further removed from the art world, come from. Romantic stereotypes of struggling artists portrayed by popular media, and the legend that Van Gogh created certainly have a lot to answer for, but I wonder also if it is because there are still relatively few people in this country who regularly buy art, while a large number of people remain outside the art world and slightly suspicious of it.
People can be particularly mistrustful of the business of art, how it is priced, how an artwork can be valued. They are mystified by the varying price labels, afraid to ask, unsure of the terminology, such as the difference between a print and an original (more on that another time). In this blog I hope to demystify the business of art, specifically by looking at some of the elements which make up the pricing of a piece of artwork, and by doing so help potential buyers to feel more confident to wade in and experience the joy of buying beautiful artworks.
As a first step into understanding the pricing of artwork, I think it helps to start by comparing what an artist does to to any other worker who uses their hands; such as a hairdresser or plumber. Like hairdressers and plumbers, artists will often be running their own business, managing those associated costs, and expecting to be paid a fair wage for their time. You might be surprised to know that there are a set of industry guidelines on how artists can price their work (for example this one: https://www.magazine.artconnect.com/resources/how-to-price-your-art. The price of a piece of artwork is not a random figure plucked from the air, and customers are not fools for agreeing to pay it. Does that help as a starting point?
We then need to consider the fact that the art world is a large place, and the variety in price range is huge. So how do we know what we are spending our money on and whether it is fairly priced? All artist’s are different and despite the recommended payment structures, such as that mentioned above, there will be differences in how they choose to price their work according to their needs and outlook. The landscape is further skewed when collectors become involved which I’ll explain later. First, I would like to break it down for you into some easily illustrated examples and what you can expect from each.
In the first group are many artists who make work because they love to do so and probably could not stop even if they tried – it is such a pleasurable activity. Their work is like a gift to them, and they sell it at prices that are essentially a gift to the buyer. It is likely that this artist no longer needs a salary so are happy to charge prices that cover the costs of materials and exhibition fees only. It does not mean their work is less valuable. You are lucky if you know one of these artists and, as well as buying their work, you should probably buy them a coffee to say Thank You.
In the next group are artists who need to pay themselves a salary – I am in this group myself. In order to pay ourselves a fair salary, we factor in the cost of the time it takes to make the work in addition to the cost of materials, and exhibition fees. The pricing usually makes sense and has a structure. Sadly some people still express surprise that an artist can charge money for the time they spend making work and will openly express surprise at a price tag or attempt to barter. It makes me cross because the same people would pay a hairdresser or gardener for their time without arguing, but seem to think an artist’s time is less valuable.
When you consider the fact that the artist is paying themselves for the time it takes to make the work it helps to make sense of much of the variations in price; Some artwork which takes longer to make is more expensive than other work. Larger work will often be more expensive. If you browse the artworks for sale in my online shop you will see that a hand carved lino print measuring 30 x 40cm is roughly 4 times the price of one measuring 15 x 20cm. Size isn’t always the determining factor; work which is time-consuming, fsuch as finely detailed painting, or intricate embroidery, will also, quite reasonably, be higher in price.
Some artists will have more running costs than others; Remember to think about overheads, travel costs, and hire of specialist equipment. As most artists are also running a business they will have to pay themselves, or someone-else, for time spent on admin, advertising, and costs incurred such as insurance, postage and website hosting.
The next factor to consider is that salaries change; Artists who have more years of experience making successful work and are at a strong place in their creative development will pay themselves a higher salary. As in any comparable profession, you rise through the ranks, gaining knowledge, skill and expertise, and your salary (hopefully) rises with you. I would always advise reading the artist’s biography and finding out how many years experience they have, to assess whether the work is reasonably priced.
So far this payment structure makes good sense, but there are just two more quirks about the art world that I would like to mention which skew the landscape and are possible causes of mistrust and confusion.
Firstly, there are elite artists who have become collectable. The inflated value of their work renders everything I have so far explained pretty irrelevant. The huge price of their work is determined not by the artist themselves, but by how much collectors are willing to pay for it. The price no longer has a meaningful connection to the artwork, but has become a entity of it’s own – like with rare Pokemon cards or antique wines which no one can ever drink. Thankfully not many of us are in a position to have to worry about these kinds of prices, and if you are, then good luck to you.
Secondly, there are artists who are simply not interested in selling their work at all. They may be pursuing art as an intellectual pursuit, are receiving funding from elsewhere, or just dislike the business of buying and selling. Their prices could be high and it doesn’t mean their work is better. They could give their work away to a friend for free, or stash it under the bed, and that does not mean the work is worth less.
As I said, these last two don’t follow the usual pricing structure, but if you are buying from an independent or an artist-run gallery, or directly from the artist themselves, you are very unlikely to meet them.
I hope this blog throws some light on the ups and downs of pricing art. If you have any questions feel free to email me. And if you are buying affordable art from an artist or independent gallery, please bear these things in mind. Take another look at the price tag, consider the costs involved in making the work and ask yourself whether the artist is actually paying themselves enough. Because the answer is probably not.