What Has Your Gallery Done For You Lately?

One of the questions I hear most frequently from artists is “how do I get my work  into a commercial gallery?” For most artists who operate primarily within a local and regional marketplace, this is a complicated question. Even in a culturally rich region such as the Northeast, the ratio of commercial galleries and art dealers to artists is deeply uneven with artists outnumbering venues enormously. Although many artists state their interest in breaking into the commercial gallery market, I rarely receive questions about what comes next. Namely, how to maintain a relationship with a gallery and examine its worth to an artist’s practice and business.

Because artists are so interested in being represented professionally, and because these resources are so scarce, artists tend to accept just about anything from their local gallerist. Commercial galleries are for profit businesses in which a gallerist makes their living representing the work of a select “stable” of artists. Particularly in these venues, certainly more so than non-profit arts collaborative, associations, or other membership-based organizations, commercial gallerists have a special responsibility to serve the artists they represent in a variety of areas.

In this post I will examine a few key areas where artists should be particularly critical of their gallery’s performance.

Reputation

Your gallery should have a good reputation. While its not always easy to discern a gallery’s standing in the community, it is simple to explore how a gallery interacts with other organizations, artists, and with the broader public. You can assess a gallery’s reputation by asking artists, collectors, and other galleries who have worked with them who they are and what they’re about. If a gallery has a reputation for being slow to pay their artists, or unethical, or disorganized, there may be some truth behind it. Ultimately, the gallery’s reputation will also become your reputation if you align your brand with theirs.

Mentorship
Your gallery should provide mentorship about your work. The gallerist should encourage your best work and discourage your weak material. How can a gallerist do this? A quality gallery professional will have the education, experience, and connoisseurship necessary to help you improve your work. For this reason its important to truly examine the qualifications of dealer or gallerist you’ll be working with when considering any gallery. Whether you like it or not, your gallerist should take a critical view of your work and thereby help you to grow, evolve, and improve both as an artist and as an art businessperson.

Marketing

Your gallery should be marketing your work specifically in addition to promotions for shows in which your work is included, or for the gallery itself. A good gallery relationship should not only include space on the wall but also an increased knowledge of your work in the marketplace. If your gallery has a poor website, a small following on social media, a weak mailing list, or rarely mentions your work publicly then it may be time to rethink the relationship. The gallery should be sharing your work with their audience, and you should tell your followers about your relationship with them.

Sales

Your gallery should be selling your work. And they should aid you in holding the line on your prices. A quality gallerist will help their artists find a price point for their work that validates the effort and materials involved but also reflects the realities of the marketplace. Again, a good gallerist should have the experience necessary to this task. They should be able to help artists set a reasonable price for their work and maintain it. As an artist, you too should be aware of the marketplace for work like yours in your area and be honest about its salability.

Collectors

Your gallery should connect your work with collectors of all varieties, not only frequent collectors (who are few and far between at the regional level), but also with first time art buyers and other customers who are seeking simply to buy work for their home or office. A few top tier regional galleries will be able to place work in permanent collections within corporate or institutional settings, but these opportunities are rare and the competition is fierce.

Networking

Your gallery should provide opportunities for you to meet their audience at events as well as through studio visits or other means. There should also be opportunities to connect with your fellow artists and members of your local art community. A professional gallery should be connected to the key individuals in the arts nearby, as well as have a broad array of fans and followers who regularly attend their openings, programs, and other events.

In addition to these topics, there are probably too many other considerations to mention in this short post, but there are a few key issues to consider. The first is that there are no strict qualifications for owning and operating a commercial art gallery and the talent pool in smaller commercial galleries is quite variable. If a gallerist has no educational background in the visual arts, few connections within the art community, or seems to own a gallery mostly for their own enjoyment, a question might be raised about their suitability to handle your work professionally and effectively.

Another issue is that often, smaller galleries focus on a few key artists at the expense of their broader stable. If your work is never on view and it’s hard to get your gallerist’s attention, you should examine the real value of the relationship honestly. It is also important to remember that you must always be assessing the quality of your gallery, their services, and their effectiveness. If things aren’t going well, you should have a conversation with your gallery professional. Communication is key to developing healthy and mutually beneficial relationships.

With all of the above considerations in mind, it is also important to remember that the pressures on small local and regional commercial galleries have never been greater. Between skyrocketing rents, and the many costs involved in operating a brick and mortar business of any kind, the profit margins can be razor thin or non-existent. Considering your gallery’s position will help you to put yourself in their shoes.

Ultimately, no small gallery can completely shape the market for an artist’s work and it is extremely important that artists take responsibility for their own professionalism and maintain their own art business vigilantly. Doing this will give you the wherewithal to thrive in the market even in spite of the sometimes precarious position of small local and regional galleries.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for August 2018

August tends to be a slow time throughout the art market, but there were some interesting stories in the news nonetheless. From the changing strategies of galleries and dealers in the face of new market realities, to a couple of interesting Old Master issues, there is a lot to learn about both old and new in the field. Read on to see links to this month's five selected top stories along with short blurbs to accompany them.

1. David Zwirner appoints curator-cum-Instagram-influencer as its first online sales director—why?
   by Margaret Carrigan via the The Art Newspaper (August 3)
   Carrigan explores the Zwirner's decision to add Elena Soboleva, a self-described "curator, innovator and global art adventurer" to head their online sales. Zwirner is one of the largest galleries in the world, and has seen a huge increase in sales via online in recent months. As they look to corner this market and improve on their strategies in the space, it made sense to reach out to an expert with a following of her own. This posting is likely a harbinger of changes to come at other galleries looking to bolster their digital footprint.
   
    
2. Sotheby’s Posts $57.3 M. Net Income for Second Quarter of 2018, Down 26 Percent from Same Period Last Year
   by Annie Armstrong via Art News (August 6)
   Although overall, Sotheby's saw a steep decline in income from the same period last year, company officials pointed to a bookkeeping issues related to Asian sales to underscore that overall sales remained strong. In Asia, sales were actually up 15% overall which points to the future of the market to some extent. The financial health and sales strength of leading auctioneers like Sotheby's, Christie's, etc. is indicative of the broader condition of the market.
    

3. The Strategies Art Dealers Use to Discount Artists’ Work
   by Anna Louie Sussman via Artsy (August 20)
   Discounts are a regularly used tactic throughout the gallery market and one that remains controversial. Many good collectors insist on discounts while artists tend to push back against them. Sussman's article does a great job of bringing together a nice array of sources in different positions in the field to learn more about strategies behind this practice as well as opinions of it. A great read for artists and gallery professionals alike.
    

4. Italy Revokes Export License for Frick Collection’s First Painting Acquisition in Decades
   by Staff via Artforum (August 24)
   The Frick Collection, one of the great private-turned-public collections in the world, recently made its first painting acquisition in years. Now this purchase of a full length portrait of Prince Camillo Borghese by François Gérard is in jeopardy as the Roman culture ministry responsible for approving export permits has reneged on its initial 'ok' on the grounds that the gallery where the painting was purchased did not fully complete their paperwork and left out important details about the piece. This is a great illustration of just one of many potential pitfalls of acquiring Old Masters in Europe and it will be an important story to follow especially if it heads to arbitration in the Italian courts.
    

5. A large Artemisia Gentileschi painting is coming to auction for the first time ever.
   by Benjamin Sutton via Artsy (August 28)
   Gentileschi is one of the great women artists of the Baroque period, and has seen a renaissance in interest over the last decade or so. The Dorotheum, the great Viennese auction house, will offer a painting of Lucretia by the artist featuring a pre-sale estimate with a high end over $800,000. Of course compared to other Old Master pictures this may not seem like a huge sum but it is significant. Sutton notes that the National Portrait Gallery acquired a self portrait of the artist as Saint Catherine last month for over $4millon. Lucretia will be sold at auction for the first time on October 23 after more than a century in a private collection. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for July 2018

In this second installment of what will hopefully be an ongoing series, I outline my five must-read art business articles for the month of July. This month it was very tough to narrow down the five articles I selected. With issues as varied as Brexit, Holocaust Restitution, Copyright Law and other details in the news, I picked a few pieces that I felt covered issues of key concern to a broad audience. There is so much incredible arts journalism being written right now, so be sure to follow these links and explore other stories that interest you.

1. Ending a Seven-Year Dispute, a US Court Rules That Artists Aren’t Entitled to Royalties for Artworks Resold at Auction
   by Eileen Kinsella via artnet (July 9)
   Kinsella was one of the first journalists to break the news that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a California state law, the 1977 California Resale Royalties Act (CRRA). The law had required fine artists to be paid royalties of 5% when their work is resold. The court ruled that the statute was pre-empted by the Federal Copyright Act, which does not provide for resale loyalties to artists. This is a blow to artists whose works sell for high values in the secondary market after leaving their studios.
    

2. 19th Century Women Artists Get Overdue Recognition—Will Their Market Follow?
   by David D'Arcy via the New York Observer (July 18)
   This piece examines the ascendancy of 19th Century women artists in recent scholarship and exhibitions and questions whether the market for such works, which has often been rather soft, can gain interest to match the renewed energy in the institutional sector. D'Arcy provides a review of the Women in Paris exhibition now on view at The Clark in Western Massachusetts and includes a few market examples. The market for these artists will be interesting to follow going forward.
    

3. The End of Exhibitions? As Attendance Plummets, New York Dealers Are Scrambling to Secure the Future of the Art Gallery by Rachel Corbett via artnet (July 18)
   Corbett outlines what people in the gallery business have known for some time, which is that gallery attendance is on the decline across the board. As individuals seek out new and varied venues for seeing and purchasing works of art, the gallery exhibition seems to be increasingly less relevant. This fact precipitated the inaugural Chelsea Arts Walk, which offered visitors after hours visits with thirty members of the ADAA. This article indicates some of the tactics galleries are using to resurrect their practice; ideas of relevance to those working in every part of the sector.
    

4. Christie's Sales Soar in Strong Art Market
   by Kelly Crow via The Wall Street Journal (July 24)
   Crow is one of the best market analysts working today. In this piece she breaks down Christie's central role in the current market and their astounding success in the first half of 2018. Perhaps most notably, Christie's online-only sales rose nearly 50% to $37.7million. The overall success of Christie's first six months of 2018 was helped in no small part by the once in a lifetime auction of the David and Peggy Rockefeller Collection which made up a fifth of their total revenue for the period. Their sales though, along with competitor Sotheby's, indicate that the market conitues to be going strong.
    

5. How Leo Castelli Changed The Art Market Forever
   by Nate Freeman via Artsy (July 31)
   This great profile by Nate Freeman gives a very accessible introduction to the story behind one of the most legendary art dealers of all time: Leo Castelli. Through his eponymous gallery, Castelli not only shaped the careers of many American artists in the mid twentieth century but also laid the groundwork for the commercial gallery model that exists, almost unchanged, today. Without Leo Castelli, there would never have been a Larry Gagosian.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for June 2018

Artists, collectors, and people interested in art often ask me for good venues to learn more about art business and the art market. There are so many great publications and blogs to follow it can be tough to keep up. So, I will be putting together a curated reading list each month to help highlight some of the key stories related to the business of making and selling fine art. This month's listing includes stories on the financial perils of being an artist and insights into the auction and gallery business. I hope you might keep an eye out at the end of each month as I share must-read articles to keep you apprised of the goings on in the art world.

1. Advice for Artists on How to Make a Living—When Selling Art Doesn’t Pay the Bills
   by Carroll Michels via Artsy (June 25)
   In this excerpt from her popular book How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, Seventh Edition, published recently as an editorial on Artsy, Michels expertly outlines different career options for artists to help supplement their creative work. The majority of working artists do not make their entire living from their work, so this is especially timely and helpful.
    

2. Artists Support Themselves Through Freelance Work and Don’t Find Galleries Especially Helpful, New Study Says by Benjamin Sutton via Hyperallergic (June 14)
   Benjamin Sutton does a great job in this article of breaking down a recent study from the Creative Independent on how artists support themselves. The findings are quite interesting, if not totally surprising. One important note I do not think Sutton mentions though, is that the majority of respondents to the survey were younger artists in the early part of their career. This likely influenced the results.
    

3. Cheim and Read, Storied New York Gallery, Will Close Its Chelsea Space After 21 Years and Transition to ‘Private Practice’ by Eileen Kinsella via artnet (June 28)
   As shakeups in the commercial gallery market continue, news broke this week that New Yorks' Cheim and Read would close its Chelsea gallery space, move uptown, and shift to a private practice model. Kinsella's article provides some excellent background analysis on Cheim and Read, and gives some insights into the change, which is indicative of larger movements in the marketplace.
    

4. Why Guarantees Are Actually Good for the Art Market
   by Doug Woodham via Artsy (June 28)
   In this article, Doug Woodham does a wonderful job of explaining the sometimes obscure process by which major auction houses offer guarantees to consignors. He breaks down the issue giving some very interesting real world examples, highlighting the differences between house guarantees and third party guarantees. This is a useful piece to read for those interested in learning more about the functionality of the auction marketplace.
    

5. Meet the entrepreneurs catering to fresh crop of digitally-savvy art collectors
   by Isabel Togoh via The Irish Independent (June 24)
   This piece covers the incredible rise of Unit London, a gallery in London run by two entrepreneurs in their late 20's. Joe Kennedy and Jonny Burt founded their first space in 2013 and just this week moved into a new 6,000 square foot permanent home in London's Mayfair district. These young gallerists have built an international following for their artists and have utilized social media to make their gallery accessible to a broader range of potential collectors. They are a bright spot in the gallery market and their story provides some solid insights for other gallerists on how to do business.