All right, I’ll go first. I have a few experiences with art galleries and let me just say they are not all bad. But I’ll share the first one that pops into my mind. A gallery owner asked if I would participate in a fund raising auction. I was to receive one half of the sales price and I set the starting bid. This is the only way to go (if) you are going to participate in a charity auction, which generally I do NOT recommend.
Anyway, one of the two framed paintings I offered sold and fetched a good price. The other painting was actually returned to me in a perfectly sound and stable box. But when I opened it, I discovered the frame had been shattered into smithereens and the oil painting was just laying on top of the frame fragments. No note, no call, nothing from the gallery owner who sent it. I think the gallery owner was just being hateful and to this day, I honestly don’t know why. I wrote him emails, I left him messages, and I sent him letters trying to get an explanation and payment for the broken frame. Again, nothing, no response.
So I contacted the Executive Director of the charity and I let her know what had happened, and I shared my obvious displeasure. She was appropriately horrified about the way I had been treated and the charity promptly reimbursed me for the frame. The gallery owner, I’ve never heard from him.
Needless to say, this gallery may offer excellent representation to some artists. But just in case, I’m happy to offer fair warning below and to a provide a blog that explores profitable alternatives.
https://www.efgallery.com/
https://www.artistswhothrive.com/
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This is a great topic Ann! I found your story not surprising, but none the less still dumbfounded that incidents like this happen. While I can’t match your story, I can say that one dealer I have dealt with is horribly slow to pay artists once work has sold. I literally know for fact that “said dealer” will take a trip abroad before artists are paid for sales. It has been frustrating for a number of us who exhibit with “said dealer”. I think, in general, that what you are doing with your art sales, and what is going on in general in the “art sales” world is a good thing as we are seeing more artists take it into their own hands to promote and sell their own work. Having been with misc. galleries, and even knowing the “rules”, I still have a hard time trying to get around the general 50-50 split between artist and gallery…thus, i love that more and more artists are taking more control over their careers, and I think you are one of the shining examples of that. We can all learn much from you!
I can do a high five and an *amen* to Sarah’s story. I moved to Florida from California. I had a great gallery experience in California with a gallery that paid on time and got my work into many different parts of the country through sales. California also has much better laws for artists. My experiences in Florida have been one disaster after another and I will not deal with another Florida gallery. I don’t know what it is about this state, but it attracts every sleazebag and carpetbagger from every other state. I just went to a meeting of artists from around the state and one woman told a story of having a piece on consignment for (her half) $3000, the gallery sold it for $13,000 and sent her a check for $3,000 for a CONSIGNMENT piece. It is like they do whatever the hell they want and the contract with the artist does not matter. I’ve had a gallery add 20% to the prices after we signed a contract. It is like “ooh, Marcie is giving herself a 20% tip” on top of her already stated 50%. You can catch them being slimy and they don’t think anything of it. Sarah– file a UCC1 form with the state and the county. It gives the artist a little bit of paper trail to try and get their work or money back, but as with everything else legal, good luck actually collecting it. To all other artists reading this– STAY AWAY FROM FLORIDA GALLERIES!! THEY’LL JUST RIP YOU OFF AND BURN YOU!!!
Sarah, thank you for sharing.
There are very few businesses that would provide their product on consignment. However, in the art business it’s often the assumed terms.
What many do not know is that very successful artists do NOT accept these terms, myself included.
If you want to do this, “to get your foot in the door”. You have to evaluate the risks. Besides having an acceptable written agreement, check with other artists who are represented and ask what terms they have with the gallery. And importantly, ask how much of their work has sold and have they been paid, on time.
Oh, yes, I’ve got two for you. Both about leaving work for sale on consignment, which I will NEVER do again. Two, because I didn’t get it the first time.
First one was a high end gallery in Sarasota, Florida. Gorgeous place. I was impressed by the surroundings and thought it would be all right to leave a dozen framed original paintings and monoprints on consignment with the two guys who owned the place, who were partners. About a month later, I dropped by the gallery and all of them were GONE. The gallery owner then sheepishly told me that he and his partner, who was actually his boyfriend, had a huge fight. The other partner got a truck and loaded up “his half” of the artwork in the gallery, which he decided included my art! He took all of it, and set off for parts unknown to open a gallery in another state. I didn’t have the money or resources to sue them as a couple. The remaining owner claimed it as a theft, and said he had no idea where the other partner was, so I couldn’t sue him for it. I never thought to demand insurance, simply had them sign a list of inventory. It was a total loss.
Second one was a gallery/garden shop in Tampa, Florida. The owner of the gallery was a woman I liked and considered a friend. We had even discussed this first incident, and I told her why I never left things on consignment any more. The only reason I did in this case was because I trusted her, which is what I told her. She had been through health problems and so had I, so I thought we truly connected and understood one another. Sigh. After a few weeks, she called me, excited, and told me she sold one of my framed watercolors. She never sent me the $800 she owed me, though. I called a couple of times, asking for it, but couldn’t reach her. So one day I dropped by. I saw the owner of the property cleaning up the remains of a big mess. The owner of the shop, the woman I thought was my friend, had been four months behind in her rent, and the owner of the property had evicted her. My friend’s home and cell phone were disconnected. I didn’t know where she lived or how to reach her. She had taken other works I left there with her, and other things that were framed and unframed in a folder were all damaged beyond repair. I was able to reframe a few pieces at considerable expense. I had loaned her a dozen easels to display my work on. Ten were gone. Two were left, damaged beyond repair. The friend went bankrupt, the owner of the property told me. I never got any of my work back. Another total loss.
People still suggest to me that I leave my work on consignment for sale in restaurants, galleries, stores. These are the two true stories I tell when I explain why consignment is never a good idea. When the owner of the place has no financial investment or commitment in the art, they have absolutely no incentive to sell it, protect it, or return it.
Sarah Dees
thank you Ben. The music industry has set a great example for us.
In fact, P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean John Combs just opened a business school in NYC! I LOVE it!
This is a great topic Ann! I found your story not surprising, but none the less still dumbfounded that incidents like this happen. While I can’t match your story, I can say that one dealer I have dealt with is horribly slow to pay artists once work has sold. I literally know for fact that “said dealer” will take a trip abroad before artists are paid for sales. It has been frustrating for a number of us who exhibit with “said dealer”. I think, in general, that what you are doing with your art sales, and what is going on in general in the “art sales” world is a good thing as we are seeing more artists take it into their own hands to promote and sell their own work. Having been with misc. galleries, and even knowing the “rules”, I still have a hard time trying to get around the generalo 50-50 split between artist and gallery…thus, i love that more and more artists are taking more control over their careers, and I think you are one of the shining examples of that. We can all learn much from you!