Pricing your art

[Michele Rushworth]

Tom, you wrote:

Also, pricing seemed for many years to be the domain of agents and gallery owners

It seems as if many agents/galleries would prefer that their artists price their work on the low side. This seems confusing to me. Isn't it also in the interests of the seller to get a high price for the work, if it's warranted?

Enzie, you wrote:

The haggling that goes on over price makes it seem like we are vendors in a bazaars. I think this is more so an issue, when one's work is not well known and I hope that established artists run less into this problem, especially if they are represented by a gallery.

My prices are firm and I don't renegotiate them. I have once in a while offered an "opportunity" for a client to get a different price in exchange for something else of value to me (an unveiling party, barter for other goods or services, etc) but not a reduction in price just because someone requests it.

Enzie, you also wrote:

A while back I saved an Arts and Antiques Article "Face Value", which speaks about the portrait commission process and what clients can expect, when they decide to commission a portrait. It also lists some prices of what professional portrait artist charge. I thought this would be an unbiased source that can act as a comparison for justifying one's fees and I keep it in the back of my portfolio.

Great idea!