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Fine Art Pricing and the Art of Buying Art
The following is a compilation of information from personal experience and research on art, flavored with counsel from art critics and art professors. May it help you make your surroundings more beautiful while making sound art investments.
Fine Art Pricing
Pricing artwork is a very difficult task for artists. If they charge too much, buyers recoil, which can negatively affect the growth of their patron base. If they charge too little, it implies that the work itself is not worth that much, and therefore not worth buying. The artist has to strike the pricing chord just right so that the artwork is deemed valuable by the buyer (patron) and well worth the price.
When most artists are just starting out, they price low. They charge just enough to cover the supply and marketing costs that they incur while producing and selling their work. The lower prices at the start of an artist's career encourages business and grows the patron base while they are trying to establish themselves in the art world and advance their technical skills. As the patron base grows, more demand is created for the artist's work. This initiates the business truth of supply and demand, which drives up the art prices. As the art prices go up for newer works, the older works that have been previously sold (or not sold) start to appreciate in value. This trend in price increase can continue for the artist throughout their working career and especially post mortem. Look at how much Sotheby's gets for an original Picasso or Van Gogh: millions. The artists are dead, yet the demand for their work is still very high and since they are no longer able to produce, the price continues to increase year after year.
Things that have an effect on fine art prices besides those mentioned above are:
- The artist's reputation, which has to do with where the artist has studied or with whom, exhibition experience and history of sales.
- Time - All art takes time to create. Some artists calculate an hourly rate to help them determine the price of their art.
- Materials - Nobody wants to buy a cheap, substandard piece of art that is going to fall apart or crack and peel. Good art supplies that are archival can be quite costly.
- Complexity and Size - Two pieces of artwork created by the same artist that are the same size may not be the same price based off of the time and materials it took to create one work verses another. A more complicated piece of work will take longer to create and this is often reflected in the pricing of the piece.
- Marketing/Exposure - Artists use business cards, brochures, postcards, websites, and gallery representation as a way to promote their work, which increase overhead.
- If an artist is showing at a gallery, they are charged a commission rate of 30% - 50% for each work sold, so this will have to be factored into the pricing as well.
The Art of Buying Art
Purchasing art can be a difficult process for some people. They don't how reputable an artist is, if the artwork is worth the price, or what medium the artist uses. This causes some consumers to get confused or frustrated and shy away from purchasing fine art. At the other end of the spectrum, some people purchase art on a regular basis and have even started collecting artwork as an investment. Those who collected original art from Warhol, Pollock, Dali, Picasso, etc., have benefited extremely well compared to their original investment. When someone is contemplating starting an art collection or purchasing art for the home or office, what should they be looking for? The following information has been provided to assist you on your art journey.
- When you're contemplating an art purchase, do you really like the artwork and what it communicates? You're going to see it a lot, so this is the most important point. Buy what YOU like - not what your mom or best friend likes.
- Does the artist use archival materials/mediums that will hold up over time? When you purchase an original painting or giclee print, you are truly making an investment, so make sure that the artist you're purchasing from uses good materials. If they do not provide the information up front, don't be afraid to ask. As a consumer, you deserve to know what you're buying.
- Does the artist offer proper documentation at the time of sale? This is crucial; if you can't prove who did the work with a receipt or certificate of authenticity, in addition to the artist signing the actual artwork, your ability to profit above your initial investment can decrease.
- Does the artist have proper image documentation? Artists who have their work photographed and available to the public are able to show viewers/patrons how their style has developed through the years and their potential for future creative works.
- Does the artist provide details about how a work of art was created? What were the materials? Why were those materials used? When artists share a bit of themselves, their working methods and offer educational information, it boosts consumer confidence.
- Does the artist offer any documented explanation about their artwork? This not only helps the patron understand the artist's motive and perspective, but it also connects them with the artist and assists in developing a very unique business relationship.
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