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How to Price Your Art

There are few things in the marketplace priced as irrationally as art. As in other areas of business, pricing is mostly determined by the law of supply and demand. Most artists typically have a big supply and little or no demand. Using this most basic principle, an increase in price is only justified when this balance shifts; either the demand increases, or the supply decreases.

Although artists and galleries try to set prices based on the law of supply and demand and what the market will bear, there are always extenuating circumstances that contribute to the final price where the artist is, in his or her career range, is probably the most important and also the most difficult to quantify. Medium, size, complexity, cost of production and previous sales history, also play important roles in determining the final sales price. But the bottom line could just as easily be determined by how much an artist is attached to a particular piece. Although I never recommend artists pricing works of the same size, same medium and same series differently, based on their attachment to it, it sometimes does occur.

How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, 5th Ed.: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul
Caroll Michels is a life long art consultant who has written this book to share her experiences and expertise with the fine art community. Well written and with plenty of helpful references, Michels' book is an excellent addition to any artist's library

Artists need to realize the unconscious message this gives to the collector "I value that piece more than the others." As a professional artist, it is your responsibility to pre-screen all the work you create before it ever sees the light of day. Therefore, the work you present publicly should all be of the highest caliber and of equal value. If you are particularly attached to a particular piece and want to price it twice as much as the other work in the show, it is better to just mark the piece sold and keep it for yourself until your work increases in value to a point where the price you want is justified.

The first step involves visiting galleries on a regular basis to determine where your work fits in to the current art market. When going to galleries, study the price lists of artists whose work is similar to yours stylistically, as well as in size and medium. Ask to see the artists resume how does the career level compare with yours? To begin, ask yourself some of these questions:

Creative Cash, 6th Edition: How to Profit from Your Special Artistry, Creativity, Hand Skills, and Relatedknow-How
A featured selection of Book-of-the-Month's Crafter's Choice Book Club, this book includes the real-life stories of over a hundred professional craftspeople, designers, artists, teachers, publishers and writers in my home-business network. Each of them share valuable tips and advice to help you achieve the kind of success they now enjoy.

• What is the number and quality of the venue of group and solo exhibitions?
• Are the shows all local or spread out nationally or even internationally?
• Are there any museum shows?
• Does the artist have any critical published reviews?
• What kinds of publications and who are the writers?
• Have any catalogs been done in conjunction with any of the shows?
• What is the artists sales history?
• Is there a long list of collectors?
• Are the collectors mainly private collectors, or are there public institutions listed?
• Any permanent museum collections?

Art Marketing 101: A Handbook for the Fine Artist
This user-friendly and up-to-date handbook takes new and professional artists through the basics of creating a successful business. Artists will learn how to couple their creativity with clever business sense to establish a lucrative art career. An at-a-glance layout makes information easily accessible and encourages artists to make notes, fill in the blanks, and use checklists, featuring: New to this edition: Internet marketing advice; Innovative marketing ideas for the new millennium; A resource section in the back of the book; In addition to these effective offerings: Alternative avenues for selling art; Tricks to succeeding without a rep; How to build positive name recognition through marketing and publicity tactics; Sound advice on legal issues, such as licensing, copyrights and contracts; Guidelines for preparing a marketing and business plan; What's more, readers will find dozens of helpful tips, contact information, forms and research data to help them further their careers

Depending on where you live, doing your homework for pricing can vary dramatically. In general, artists price their work as low as they can possibly bear to start out. Remember, it is more important to cultivate on-going relationships with dealers and consultants than to sell one piece. Ignore artworld admonitions that you can never lower your prices. Art prices fluctuate just like real estate and the stock market. Low prices will attract their interest and encourage them to take a risk on you until they test their market. Ultimately, it is better for the work to be out there than sitting in your studio. Art is a process, a verb, not a noun. Part of the process necessitates that the work be exhibited, purchased and appreciated by others. Do not price the work so low that you will regret selling it and resent the process. For artists just starting out, try playing this game with yourself to help you determine what prices feel right to you.

Artist's Guide to Selling Your Work
Paperback
Publisher:
A & C Black

Pretend a collector walks into your studio and sees a piece they like. They offer you 5 euro for it. Would you be willing to let them take it home for that price? Probably not. What if they offered you 5000 euro for it? Feeling pretty good about that? Okay, somewhere between 5 and 5000 euro there is going to be a price that makes you feel like you can let that piece go. You may not be totally happy about it, you may feel the piece is worth more, but it is the lowest possible price you can live with. Now, double it. Congratulations, you have just established the retail price of that piece. Assuming that any gallery or private art consultant will take 50% of the sales price when they sell it, you now have come up with your net price. This price should remain stabilized until you have one or more of the following: increased sales, increases in the number of exhibitions you participate in, increase in the number galleries that represent you, or inflation. To use this formula in pricing your other work, adjust the pricing by size. Simply put Galleries figure the square inch/foot cost of what was established and apply it to all the work.

Remember, this is just a starting point. If you are fortunate enough to have a gallery representative, they should work with you in helping to determine a realistic price for you work. Ultimately, your prices will establish themselves as you start showing your work and getting a reaction. Selling a lot? Too low. Not selling at all? Too high.