I’ll let you in on a secret; even after a decade working in the art market, one of the trickiest parts of my job is pricing artworks for emerging and newly professional artists, so I empathize and understand how vexing it can be for those just finding their way. That said, don’t be afraid! We’re here to de-mystify our methodology and how we as gallerists do it for our artists. There are frameworks you can use that I will underscore here to help you find a price that works best for you. 

The fundamental ethos:

Consistency and uniformity is key. Artworks should always be priced at what the market can bear. 

First off, consistency. As a gallerist and collector, seeing price lists that are all over the map in terms of value is a turn-off. You may not want to hear it but pricing your artworks based on how you feel about them or the time it took you to paint it is a no-go. Two artworks at the same size at different prices will only hurt your market and sow distrust to your collectors and to potential gallerists, consultants, or designers. What I always propose to artists is developing a pricing factor and stick to it. There are two popular formulas to do this:

United Inch/centimeter Factor: (Height + Width) x Factor = Artwork Price

Example United Centimetre factor of 25 

(30 + 40 cm) x 25 = € 1750 

Square Inch/Centimeter Factor: (Height x Width) x Factor = Artwork Price

Example of United Centimetre factor of 2

(30 x 40 cm) x 2 = € 2400

You can use whichever you prefer, but stick to one. In my professional opinion, I will always suggest the United Inch/Centimetre Factor over the Square Inch/Centimetre Factor for its further consistency in prices across all canvas sizes. Your smaller works won’t become undervalued, and your larger works won’t seem pricier relative to your smaller or mid-size works, a common pitfall of the Square Inch/Centimetre Factor. It’s perhaps a bit simplistic as well, but with Square Inch/Centimetre factor you also end up having to use decimals as your factor more often than not to raise your prices incrementally, and this is just personal preference but working with round numbers is always easier. On the round numbers note, irregular canvas sizes and odd numbered factors will spit out some uneven numbers for your prices, so I would always suggest rounding your prices to the nearest 100 or 50, so say a price calculated out to € 2,187 would be altered to € 2,200 or € 2,150. It looks cleaner on the price list, and aesthetics matter. The mild chicanery of € 2,199 in place of € 2,200 is also something we don’t do in the art market. 

Use this factor for all of your artworks no matter what, and make sure all of your prices across your price lists sent to collectors, prices with different galleries, and prices in the studio are all the same for everyone. 

To best price your artwork, you should consider multiple things: what stage of your career are you at, what is the pricing of similar artists in the same career stage in your medium, accounting for a gallerists commission structure, where you’re located (Cities like New York and London will typically demand higher prices than say Barcelona or Toronto, an unfortunate reality but not always the case) and on rarer occasions, the price of materials. Industry standard for primary market gallerists you consign work to is typically 50% commission, and don’t be afraid to raise your prices to account for this when you start showing commercially. Your gallerist is there to work with you and for you on this. For print artists, the scarcity or size of your print editions should also be considered, larger scale production and larger sized editions decrease the value of the work. 

When to raise your prices:

That leads us to our next important factor, when to raise your prices. As stated earlier, Artworks should be priced at what the market can bear, which means you should continue to raise your prices as long as your artworks keep selling. Raise your prices nominally and never gouge, a good range is typically between 5% - 15%. Say you have a fantastic year and sell most of your artworks, following basic supply and demand, raise your prices 5%. An even better year of good artwork sales, raise your prices 10%, and once you get into higher end exhibitions, residencies, and even institutional shows (I believe in you!) raise them 15%. Slowly growing over time is good for your career, and the collectors growing with you will continue to champion and collect your work as they mature as collectors alongside you. Raising your prices too quickly can burn you in the long-run. If you find you’ve struck a price where sales begin to stagnate, don’t raise your prices. Just keep at it, keep honing your craft and exploring your creativity and you can find some inertia again.

Pricing your work correctly at the start gives emerging collectors the sense they were there at the start and “got in at the ground floor”, because you priced the works at a value that they could access but also perceived as valuable. I’m being grossly reductive here because your artwork is much more than this – good collectors recognize intrinsic value beyond monetary – but at the end of the day you are selling what some see as an appreciable asset and seeing the value go up over time is what a collector who “invested in you” is welcome to seeing. 

When to discount artworks

Before I get into it, I must be unequivocal when I say this, never reduce your price factor as an artist, this can betray collectors who bought your works at a certain price and alter your trajectory and perception as an artist. Primary market artworks should not be a depreciating asset. That being said, there are situations on a case-by-case basis, where offering a discount will help you make a sale. It goes without saying, getting that money into your pocket, even at a slight loss to the retail value, is what can keep your career sustainable as a professional artist. 

Here are the rules I would typically follow:

1. Never make the discount public or announce a sale on your artworks. Your artworks aren’t T-shirts, they are unique, hand-made craft and should be perceived as such. The conversations about discounts should always be in private correspondence, in person discreetly, and behind closed doors. The conversations should be strictly between you and your collector.

2. Never discount more than 30%, and even that is extreme in my eyes, but there are “trade/industry discounts” you should be willing to give to art consultants, interior designers, and other art professionals placing works on your behalf. The industry standard for “trade discounts” is 15% to 20% but sometimes higher.  It might feel like a bit much, but good relationships with art professionals like these are definitely helpful to the health of your career. 5-10% is closer to what you should realistically be offering if you want to sweeten the deal to anyone outside that, i.e. private buyers, personal collectors. 

3. Some collectors, no matter what, will want to feel like they are getting a “deal”. It’s an unfortunate psychology but it is what it is, some won’t ever pay retail, so set a limit and play within it. If you’re max discount you want to give is say 10%, start at 3% or 5% and then let them make some perceived ground in the negotiation. 

4. Offer payment plans in place of a discount. Sometimes the burden of say € 1,000 at once for an emerging/young collector is too much to bear in order to pull trigger on purchasing your work, but split over two, three, or four payments can be the right terms for them to grab an artwork they really covet. 

5. Don’t be afraid to walk-away. If a collector is really trying to grind you down towards a price you are uncomfortable with, never hesitate to say you know what your work is worth and that the price is the price. Once a good-faith negotiation begins to feel like something in bad-faith and you’re getting taken advantage of, pull the parachute and walk away. A take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum can be a good tool to get an overzealous negotiator to make a final decision. 

Final Word:

Ultimately, nailing the right price could be make-or-break at the start of your career so really take time to do the research of your market, be thoughtful, value yourself but be realistic, there’s always room to grow, and never hesitate to ask professionals for help or advice if the waters are too unknown.

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