This morning, I read a post by Stapleton Kearns, a successful artist who's been working with galleries for many years. I do agree with his viewpoint about the artist/gallery relationship, and with the Internet, more power has now transferred into artists' hands.

Who is the CEO of Your Artwork?

As a professional artist, I have always seen myself as the CEO of my business.  I have many times been able to sell my work on my own, but at times have worked with galleries, mostly in resort areas, so that I can reach an audience of collectors that I might not otherwise have access to. In essence the gallery becomes one of my retail outlets, and although "outlet" may sound overly commercial for works of art - that's exactly what they are in a business sense.

Who Pays The Commission To Whom?

These retail galleries sell the work of artists, and I don't believe they "take" a commission, rather I think we pay them a commission when they sell our work. As Stapleton states in his recent post, we hire a gallery to sell our work, and we can fire them if they don't do a good job of selling for us. I'll add that legally, we artists own the work we create until it is sold, and even after that, we own the copyright.

You can Fire Your Gallery

So why is it that we're so easily pushed around by some gallerists?  It really boils down to self esteem... are we willing to give up some of our power as business owners to add a gallery name to our resume? When entering a gallery relationship, I say we shouldn't give up any rights or feel like we're being used.

Does The Gallery Deserve a 50% Commission?

On the other hand, if my gallery puts my work in national ads, pays for food at art openings that feature my work and offers other incentives, I'm willing to pay a 40 - 50% commission. BUT, if I'm paying 50% just to hang my work with no other sevices, that's rather expensive. In the end, we artists decide how much we want to pay for the services of a gallery. Are they doing a good job for me? Are they honest, fair, and working hard to sell my work?

After all, I can and have sold work just as well on my own, so do I really need a gallery?  Probably not, but there might be some reasons why I want a gallery. The first reason that comes to mind: Because it gives me a credential with collectors. But that creditial is going to cost me in time, money, shipping costs. The last cost that I want to add to this list is stress. I have no time to tolerate illegal actions on the part of the gallery such as keeping funds that are due me in a timely manner.

When My Gallery Is Dishonest

When a gallery dealer has not let me know that work was sold, sold it for more than I stated and kept the difference, or was months late with money due, I fired the gallery. In one case, I the funds due me were two years late.

When I've worked with gallery dealers who do an excellent and honest job for me, I continue to work with and often befriend the owners. It's an amazing and wonderful experience when working with a great gallery.

So when you enter a business relationship with a gallery, make sure you enter with confidence and a sense of strength. If all artists do this, we'll end up with a cleaner system - one with more equity.  Don't forget to read Stapleton Kearns' post if you haven't gotten around to it:  Here