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I'm
an artist. How do I get a gallery?
This
is probably the most commonly-asked question an art dealer
hears. First, be sure that you have a coherent, consistently
good body of work that you want to impose on the world.
The work should be worth showing. Try to be sure that
millions of other artists are not doing the exact same thing,
that your work reflects your own artistic personality, and
is original and distinctive. Then, take slides or excellent
quality photographs of your work. My
advice to artists is always to start locally. Approach your
local frame shop, libraries, and college museums with slides.
Once you've had some local exhibitions under your belt,
it is easier to gradually increase your range. Here is a
list of web sites with further information (see
artists resource bookmarks)
Aunt
Bessie died and left me a painting. What now?
There
are several new sites that do appraisals for a modest
fee. If you cannot read the artist's signature on the
work, and have absolutely no idea what you have, these
sites can help.. They are: www,collectingchannel.com, www.appraiseitnet.com, www.evalueit.com, www.auctionwatch.com.
Do
your research. Who did the painting? Are they listed?
Take a photo of the painting and, take it to your local museum
or art history department. Can they help you with the
artist's name? If you get this information, look the painter
up in books in the local library and make a photocopy of
the artist's biography. Perhaps a curator from your local
museum knows the name of a dealer who specializes in work
from the region and period of the painting. Get an appraisal
from her. Send a copy of the biography and photograph
to Sotheby's or Christie's or a local auction house for an
appraisal. When you have this information, either put
the painting up at auction, give it to the dealer for resale,
give it to a museum for a tax deduction, or enjoy it
yourself.
Aunt
Bessie was an artist. She died and left me with 100 paintings.
Now what?
I
always recommend that you visit your local university art
history department and try to hook up with an art history
student who might be interested in researching Bessie's
career. These budding art historians are always looking
for an undiscovered, deceased artist to bring to the market
in an effort to make their name. Lastly, contact a lawyer
involved with the art market to appraise the estate.
I
saw a painting I liked in a local gallery. Should I ask
for a discount?
Sure,
everyone else does - Why not you?. The Art Lady's law
of the discount - "Prices of art never go down. Discounts
on art go up" Whether or not you'll get it is another
question. Good situations for discounts include - if
the artist is not selling well (obviously), if the dealer
feels you might be an ongoing client he wants to cultivate,
or if there the dealer has had the piece in inventory
for a while and his cost was low. There are situations
where a the dealer cannot consider a discount such as
if he's gotten the piece on consignment from a collector
and has little negotiating room, or if the artist is
selling out. It never hurts to ask. |
