How Long Does It Take for Art Gallery to Make Profit

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I'll admit, there is a lot to larn if you're hoping to start selling art in galleries. How do you approach a gallery, and and so if you practise finally get a meeting, what exercise you say? What are they even looking for? When they ask to see your portfolio, what does that fifty-fifty expect like? Do you lot price your piece of work or does the gallery cost your work? How much commission is the normal amount for a gallery to take?

And on and on and on and on…

Well, I'thou going to try and answer all of those questions and more, all in a single mail. Wish me luck.

Where Am I Getting This Information?

I've displayed in several galleries throughout my career, but the most I learned about this subject was at Fotofest.

For those of you that don't know what Fotofest is, I'll requite you a brief description:

Basically, it's a biennial (the side by side one is in 2015), 4-session festival where there are portfolio reviews, workshops, art displays and much more. Each session is a iv-day menstruation with different reviewers, workshops,etc. Each portfolio review session, yous meet with anywhere from 20-30 reviewers. These reviewers are fantastically well established people in the photography/fine art/publishing customs. They are gallery owners and curators, book publishers, magazine editors and private collectors. You sign up for a session (and pay well-nigh $one thousand) and you get a 20 minute slot to see with each of the reviewers on your list. You have exactly twenty minutes to pitch your portfolio and get feedback. At all-time they love you and either buy some of your pieces or book yous for a show. At worst they hate y'all and you go out feeling them burn a hole in the back of your caput with their very disapproving eyes.

That concluding part is an exaggeration. The vast majority of reviewers I met with were full of incredibly useful feedback. Ane was a complete witch, but she's been banned from e'er reviewing again, and so good for Fotofest!

Hither'south the other thing though, at that place are 2 very important lessons of Fotofest I wish I had known:

ane) The only reason you would attend two sessions instead of simply one is if your work is extremely well-established and you're looking for connections, non feedback. Trust me, after you've been through one session, you don't want to show your work to anyone ever again until you've gone home and worked on it. No matter how well you exercise, having your work picked apart by 30 people in a 4-day time frame is vicious, and you definitely need some rebound time to become habitation, get boozer under your kitchen table, reevaluate every artistic decision you've ever fabricated and and so become back at it the next twenty-four hours.

2) Each session naturally becomes very specialized; the photojournalist/documentary reviewers naturally all gravitate to one session, the abstract/conceptual art reviewers all gravitate toward another, the volume publishers all gravitate to some other. They all know each other, they've all communicated beforehand to see who is going to which session, and they book their own tickets accordingly.

Quick tip: at that place is a Facebook grouping for people signed up to go – join this group and ask other photographers what kind of work they do and which sessions they are attending. If this is their tertiary time and they do the same work yous do, sign up for whatever session they are in, because they probably made the same fault I did the get-go twelvemonth and they're yet having nightmares about it.

I didn't know either of these rules so I made both mistakes of attending two sessions instead of 1 and signing upwards (on blow) for both the abstract/conceptual group and the photojournalism/documentary group. Needless to say, my style of photography did non become over besides well with the documentary group.

No…that did not go well at all.

But, afterwards the first day in the documentary group I learned what was going on, and knowing these people were very knowledgeable in the art customs, I didn't want to waste my fourth dimension showing them a useless portfolio. So instead, I'd sit down for my 20 minutes, push button my portfolio box to the side and say, "Await, y'all don't want to run across that, I'thou in the wrong grouping and I know it. But I practice know you lot've owned a gallery for 25 years, and then instead I'd similar to talk to yous about the process of pricing, sizing and express editions." They'd respond with "Admittedly!" and we'd become down to business.

I met with over 50 reviewers in my two sessions at Fotofest, and combined with my own experience of working with galleries, here is the gist of everything I've learned:

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Finding the Right Gallery

Even if you lot get into a gallery, if it's the wrong fit yous're in for a giant waste of time and money. Here are a few things to do before even approaching a gallery for display:

Check their website – Is information technology updated? Practise they have photos and descriptions of current artists?

Whatever gallery y'all are going to work with needs to have a strong online presence. That means they need a calendar of events, upwards to date artist bios and portfolios, pictures of the actual gallery space, performance social media buttons and a newsletter signup link. Y'all want to know they make information technology very like shooting fish in a barrel for people to proceed in touch with them. The less steps a buyer has to make to buy the fine art, the better.

Also bank check out the overall wait of the gallery. Is information technology well-lit or dark and dirty? Is it make clean and articulate of other items, or does it appear cluttered and messy? Practice they have a 1000000 trivial trinkets on desks, tabletops or even draped over other art pieces (aw hell no), or practice they accept clear spacing betwixt one art piece and the next? You want every bit piffling lark as possible. People are in that location to see your fine art, not to dig through budget finds at a flea marketplace.

Practise they sell something other than fine art?

Let's say they are also a java shop, or a furniture shop or a restaurant. This usually ways their main business is non selling art, it's selling something else. If your art is displayed in a furniture store/gallery, for example, you are accepting that most of the people walking through their doors are coming in that location to buy couches and dressers, non fine art. In that location is nada wrong with displaying in a combo gallery/other business concern, but it does touch on the amount of committee they can ethically collect each time you sell a piece (we'll get to that later).

Visit them in person – how does the staff treat you?

If you walk in and the owner waves to you in between a conversation they're having with a friend in the dorsum, so you exercise a complete circle, walk towards the door and receive a half-assed "Thanks for stopping in!" equally you leave, this is non a gallery you want to display in.

Y'all want someone to meet yous at the door and enquire how your day is going, if yous've ever been in before and if at that place's anything specific you're interested in. If y'all're looking on one brandish, someone should be at that place saying, "Doesn't he do amazing work? You should come across his next collection, Retentivity Fields, that'southward set to go up next month on the 21st. He's got a few sample pieces on his website (listed right here on his business organisation card she gently hands yous). I'd be happy to show yous more if you're interested."

This is important because this is how they will act when you accept art hanging in the gallery. Exercise you really desire to be showing in a space where someone just sits in the back and bullshits with their buddies? No. Yous want someone that is going to treat every person that walks in that door every bit a potential sale – because they are a potential auction.

Exactly what kind of art practice they sell?

If you specialize in, permit'southward say, surreal portraiture, a gallery that displays strictly Japanese flower photos is not going to be interested in your portfolio. Don't fifty-fifty endeavor and push button it on them; they know what they like, and information technology isn't y'all.

What kind of price point are they selling?

If the art they have displayed is upwards of $30,000 and you lot've never made a auction, only keep moving. Those works are selling for that price considering they are established artists. And you are definitely non an established creative person…or you wouldn't be reading an commodity virtually how to start displaying in fine art galleries. Find a gallery that is selling art for something at least relatively similar to your own price point.

Approaching & Submitting to a Gallery

Approaching a gallery seems intimidating, merely in reality… actually never mind, in reality information technology's merely as intimidating as it is in your caput. But yous've got to call up, gallery owners are people only similar you and they would much rather be approached past a proactive enthusiastic artist than drag forth an insecure artist that has no thought what they're doing. So suck information technology upward, and practise the following:

The In-Person Arroyo

If you're hoping to schedule an date with a gallery owner, get in person. All you're doing is asking if they ever encounter with potential artists or practice portfolio reviews. Practice Not bring your portfolio to the gallery. This is essentially proverb, "I am and then unbelievably talented, you're definitely going to want to stop what yous're doing and take a look at this." Information technology's cocky and presumptuous. Bring a business concern card in your dorsum pocket and leave your portfolio in the car.

They will either respond with one of 3 things: 1.) No, they are currently not accepting artist submissions, ii.) No, they practise non do in-person appointments, merely they practise have an online submission procedure (which they will directly you to), or 3.) Yes, they do offering portfolio review sessions that price (x) corporeality and they have an opening on (x) solar day and time.

If you are request for a portfolio review know that you're going to have to pay for it. Their time is just as valuable every bit yours and they aren't in the business of handing out clemency review sessions. A portfolio review is a smashing way to get your work in front end of them though. They will either give you nifty feedback or like you enough to talk near a future bear witness.

The Online Approach

Well-nigh likely, they will straight you to an online submission procedure. This will exist on their website and will have very specific instructions. Follow these instructions – they are there for a reason, and chances are if you don't follow them exactly every bit they are written your application will immediately be thrown out – this is no fourth dimension to become rogue.

Commonly, they will enquire for a CV (this is your artist resume), your artwork list (title of your drove, medium [the type of newspaper it'south printed on], your piece dimensions, edition sizes and pricing for each), your contact data, links to your work and sometimes a few low resolution example images.

Your artist resume is basically exactly the same equally whatsoever other resume. You've got your contact information, your website, a short bio and description of your work. Then outset adding on annihilation that is relevant, like fine art/photo-related education and awards, publications you've been featured in, teaching feel, contempo exhibitions followed by recent solo exhibitions. Do a quick search for "artist resume" and you'll see plenty of examples of the layout.

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Sizing, Editions & Pricing

Sizing

Everyone has specific sizes co-ordinate to their art, so this is going to be very general, but there is basically one rule that every, single, gallery owner told me to follow: have no more than 3 bachelor sizes. The reason, simply put, is so you aren't (accidentally) taken for a ride for other galleries.

Let's play the hypothetical game for a second. Let's say y'all have square format photos, that come up in v sizes (in inches) x x ten, twenty x 20, 30 10 30, 40 10 xl and fifty x l. Cracking. Now let's say you're applying to twenty different galleries and 2 of them love you and want to feature you. I wants yous January – March, the other from April – June. The first gallery prefers the thirty 10 30 size, the 2d gallery prefers the twenty x 20 size. That ways you have pay for the cost of printing, framing and shipping a whole other show (which can range upwardly of $3000). Limiting your sizes isn't going to cause a gallery to shy away. If the second gallery likes you and you lot only have xxx 10 thirty instead of twenty x 20, they're going to take the 30 x xxx – which means you tin just move the commencement evidence to it's new location when information technology'southward done. This keeps you lot from having to pay a fortune for 2 unlike shows in two unlike sizes.

Your sizes as well need to be spaced enough apart to be used for different purposes. Yous desire i minor size (10 x 10), something people can concord. A "little jewel" every bit it has been explained to me by curators. And then y'all want your main size (30 x 30) that is large plenty to hang comfortably in someone'southward home – this is the size yous will be displaying most oftentimes in galleries. The largest size (50 x 50) is specifically for fine art collectors and for lease agreements. This is commonly the largest size you tin can print without losing quality. Your large size volition probably seem a bit comically large, simply that'southward kind of the whole betoken – it's a statement piece.

Limited Editions

You don't accept to edition your pieces, simply…allow'south just say I've never met anyone who suggested against information technology. Having limited editions increases the value of your artwork. People aren't merely paying for the bodily fine art slice, they're paying for the exclusivity. Edition sizes range anywhere from 3-500, and it really depends on the kind of art y'all're doing. A photographer that has one size of print, may have a total edition size of 25, for example. That means they tin only sell 25 prints of that photo, and then they're done. No more than selling of those prints once the edition has run out (in that location are reintroductions of an edition, but if y'all're ever in the situation to reintroduce an edition, you're probably super famous…and likewise dead).

Sound kind of scary? It'southward supposed to. In all actuality, you rarely sell out of editions, simply information technology creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity among buyers. The edition sizes as well get smaller equally you lot go up, creating even more significance. My pieces, for example, follow this bones pattern:

Size (in inches):

10 ten x, Limited Edition of 15
30 ten 30, Limited Edition of seven
50 x fifty, Express Edition of 3

Pricing

Pricing can also be a tricky subject, and needs to be dealt with on a very case by case basis, but at least this will give y'all a jumping off betoken.

Labor + costs of production + press & shipping costs + profit = Price.

Information technology's likewise important to research your local market to come across what comparable art is selling for. While some people may advise against this, since art sells for nearly annihilation nowadays, I still retrieve it's merely plain smart to know what your competition is doing. The fine art market in Montana, for example, is much different than New York. If I were to price my art in Montana for the New York market, I would probably take a very, very hard fourth dimension beingness taken seriously.

I also take the gallery'south opinion into business relationship on my pricing. The reason being, they know the market better than anyone and they know exactly what range they can sell to their electric current customer base. They need your prices high enough to bear witness value, but low enough to be comparable to other artists they've had in the past. If you're priced the same as a well-established creative person they only showed in their gallery but you lot don't have virtually the track record, it makes it difficult for them to pitch your piece of work to clients. They take their own credibility and reputation to protect, and that means they can't sell on potential alone, then price your work accordingly.

Costs & Commissions

Costs

Typically, it'southward upwardly to the artist to pay for the costs of the prove. This includes printing, shipping and framing. Since you lot're selling your pieces as art, they need to exist printed on archival certified paper. The gallery typically handles all of the hanging of the art. It'due south important to piece of work with the gallery on this procedure. My fine art pieces are typically either disordered and framed or simply mounted and hung floating off the wall, depending on the gallery. My underwater photos have been displayed both mounted and floating off the wall or hanging on articulate fishing line so they have a slight sway and motility to mimic the surreal motility of the h2o.

Commissions

Every gallery is different, but most galleries take somewhere around a 50% commission from pieces you sell. Some accept 40%, but rarely do any have more than than l%.

Some galleries take a very small per centum in exchange for a monthly payment. Say it costs $300/mo to display in the gallery, just they only have thirty%. If you can, avert this type of gallery – and here's why: you want to show in a gallery that merely makes money when your art sells. By charging a monthly fee to brandish, they are essentially covering their costs without having to worry about the art selling, which means it'due south taking away their incentive to promote the fine art. If you don't sell annihilation they don' t actually care – they've already covered their costs on your monthly fee, go it? You want to display where they don't brand a dime unless your art sells.

Let'due south besides revisit the thought of combo galleries: places where they run a completely separate business concern while also displaying art for sale. Places similar this should be taking no more 30% commission at the most and hither'south why: their commission is your way of paying a gallery for all that they do. That's all the promotion to bring in potential art buyers, their contacts of past buyers that volition be interested in your work, events that are specific to the fine art-buying community and much more. All the promotion a gallery does goes toward selling your work, and that is worth 50% of the commission.

In a combo shop, nevertheless, a very pocket-size portion of their income might go toward bringing in potential fine art buyers. If they're a coffee shop, for case, the vast majority of their marketing and promotion is going to be about getting people to come up in to purchase coffee. If someone happens to walk in and purchase a piece of art, fantastic, but they aren't actively pursuing it. Since only 20% of their income goes to promoting the fine art in their store, they should receive only 20% commission.

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Contracts

Contracts can be pretty complicated, and while in that location are many details that ideally you'd have your lawyer look over (you know, the one nosotros all have on servant), hither are a few things to at to the lowest degree make certain of:

How much you will be paid and when. This is generally your pct commission and a date your committee will be distributed, usually at the end of the month.
How long the contract lasts for. Most contracts are near 3 months long. If your contract has a possibility of being renewed, virtually galleries will need new work to brandish in the new period.
How your art is displayed. You want to make certain either your entire collection or at least 50% of your drove is always on display. Some galleries testify function of the collection so rotate pieces out throughout the contract period. In this case you demand to know exactly how many pieces are guaranteed to exist on the floor at all times.
How before long you are notified of a sale. I crave to be notified within 24 hours of a auction. This is extremely important to make sure you don't sell more you have available and that your clients will go the verbal edition number they were promised.
Who is in charge of damages while the art is held at the gallery. If the gallery catches on fire and your art is destroyed, that should be upwardly to the gallery to comprehend. Some require y'all to accept insurance of your own to embrace any damages that may happen while it is in the galleries care, just to exist honest, information technology's very hard to file an insurance claim for a piece of fine art that you haven't fifty-fifty seen for 2 months. If information technology's at the gallery, information technology'due south the gallery's responsibility.
How the contract can be terminated. If something happens, you need to know what the penalty would be for terminating the contract on either side. Just equally you could be liable for a fee if yous pull your fine art before the end of the contract period, the gallery can as well be held liable if they don't brandish your art for the entire contract menses.
Who can sell your art. This will embrace who else is allowed to sell your own fine art, including yourself. If this is a solo show, for example, you may not be allowed to release any images online or have them displayed at whatever other location. This is also relevant considering if you are selling fine art on your own, without whatever referrals to the gallery, they can choose not to promote you… which is fair.
Recollect about it – if they spend all of their efforts handing out your business concern cards and sending potential buyers to your website and then a buyer contacts you to buy a slice and you make the sale completely independent of the gallery, all that work on their end would be for cypher.

Therefore, it's good to have an agreement that if you take pieces in a gallery, and buyers come to you that were conspicuously introduced to your work through the gallery, yous need to refer them back and so the gallery can collect their commission. It might feel like a very difficult thing to do (peculiarly when it's cut your profit from the sale in half) but it's the right thing to exercise, patently and simple. Plus, the more loyal yous are to the gallery, the more they will promote you, because they know they can trust you to transport potential buyers their style.
Inquire for previous artists' references. I accept been in galleries before that accept been very unethical in the style they exercise things (I don't want to proper noun names or anything so let's only make upwardly a pretend one, like, I don't know, the BeHuman Gallery located in Houston, TX). Had I spoken to previous artists virtually how this gallery does business concern, I probably would've come up to the very obvious determination non to display there. Lesson learned.

Selling Your Work at the Opening

One of the most stressful parts for any artist is selling their art at the opening. You lot're going to take to convince who knows how many people to attempt and purchase ane of your pieces, all without conveying that if they don't purchase anything there'southward a proficient adventure you lot will exist homeless by the end of the month.

I go it, and thankfully while I definitely struggle in some areas, selling my own fine art at an opening is about definitely not one of my weaknesses. Not fifty-fifty kidding – I tin can sell the shit out of my own art at an opening.

And so can you. For those of you lot that are terrified of even the thought of talking almost yourself for four solid hours to consummate strangers, hither'due south a footling script:

Step 1: Introduce yourself, thank them for coming and let them know you're available to respond any of their questions.
Footstep 2: Answer whatsoever question they ask in great detail.
Stride 3: Refer to more than of your work for as examples.
Stride iv: Answer post-obit questions in great detail.

That's it. Actually. Yous desire to go into bully item with your answers because the more they know virtually it, the more than they want to buy it. They don't want something they tin hang up in their hallway, they desire something they tin can point out to guests in their abode and explain how awesome it is. Here'south an case dialogue:

Me: "Hello in that location! I'one thousand so glad yous took the fourth dimension to come out tonight. If you take any questions on anything, don't hesitate to ask, I'd more than happy to answer them!"
Customer: "Oh! Give thanks you then much! Are yous the artist?"
Me: "I am! This piece right here is mine, information technology's chosen Insomniac."
Customer: "Oh I see! I was looking at these tree roots hither, that'due south so interesting!"
Me: "Thanks! I really had to individually draw those out of a unlike photo. It took about 100 hours of straight editing time to accomplish that effect."
Client: "Wow, I had no idea! Hey honey, did you know this took over 100 hours of work?"
Client's Spouse: "Oh y'all're kidding!"
Me: "Not at all! This piece over here, called Keeper of Spring, took nearly 80 hours. It's a combination of 46 separate photos."
Client: "Crazy! So how does that work exactly?"
Me: "Well start I set up a tripod, and and then I take to click the first photograph, and then (yada, yada, yada)."

Meet how that works? Now, instead of but looking at an interesting piece of work, they are thinking of everything that went into it. The excitement they feel correct now is the exact excitement they want someone else to feel when they tell the story later. And that folks, is how you sell an art piece.

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In Determination…

I know working with galleries seems similar a very intimidating and complicated process, but the important thing is to take the outset footstep and empathize that they are people likewise. They got into this concern because they genuinely dearest the art community, and they want to help in any way they can. Don't go in with guns blazing thinking you'll get taken advantage of. But let your piece of work speak for itself and keep an open mind. Hell I got my first show by walking into a gallery and showing them a photo on my cell-phone. True story.

If you know anyone that might do good from this mail, feel costless to share below!

About the writer: Jenna is a fine art and underwater photographer based out of Billings, Montana where she lives with her fiancé Chris, their 2 dogs (Smoltz and Maddux) and their 4 cats (Flo, Study Buddy, Tank and Carl). After acquiring her Master'south in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, she fabricated a drastic career change into the field of photography where she has been producing surreal images for the past ii years.

You lot tin can find more of her work and words on her website and blog, or by following her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr. This commodity originally appeared here.

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Source: https://petapixel.com/2014/11/14/selling-art-galleries-everything-need-know/