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This should put a new perspective on the exceptional price and value of local art!

"Abstraktes Bild (809-4)," a 1994 painting by Gerhard Richter. The painting was sold by the rock guitarist Eric Clapton in a Sotheby's "Frieze Week" auction of contemporary works in London on Oct. 12. The work sold for 21.3 million pounds ($34.2 million) -- more than 30 times what Clapton paid for it in 2001. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg.

Okay, now that we have caught our breath, I'll continue with some information that is closer to most everyone's reality. When entering a gallery, the first thing you look for is a painting that speaks to your soul. The second thing you do is look at the price. You may take a step back and gasp with surprise! What makes the painting so expensive? Is it worth it? Many people think that the price for an original piece of artwork is arbitrary - a number fished out of thin air and perhaps indefensible. Here are some things to keep in mind when evaluating what determines the pricing of an original piece of art:

What is the skill level of the artist? Does their skill reflect education, training and perhaps years of experience in their field? One has to include the years of learning to paint and taking perhaps numerous and costly workshops to improve skill levels. Most landscape artists travel to expand their vision of topics and pay for models to pose, if they do figurative work. There can be hundreds of paintings to get to that level of expertise before one painting is potentially worthy of framing. The cost of materials to create the work alone can be very expensive. Not only the pigments, but the brushes, solvents, canvas, paper and other materials are the base line only for pricing, and where that can be calculated by the united inch, talent and experience cannot.

Where is the location of the gallery? Like every other business, rent, taxes, insurances, location, etc. affect the retail pricing of any goods. As with any business, Location, location, location is so important.

How is the painting framed? Is the framing custom, which greatly enhances the work or mass produced, just to get the work on the wall? Is the work matted? Is the glass perhaps museum glass to prevent fading? These can be important design enhancement choices that need to be reflected in the pricing. Unless gallery-wrapped for a contemporary look, a painting without framing is like a light bulb without a lamp.

How does the gallery commission affect the price? All galleries charge the artist a commission on the sale of the work. This is how the gallery stays in business. A proper gallery that markets correctly must cover their costs before they ever reach a profit line. If artists could sell their work entirely on their own, they most certainly would. But most need the assistance and visibility of a gallery to get their work into public view.

Add to this today’s necessity of social networking. While there are many venues that are low to no cost, they all take time and time is money. Time that is taken away from the creative process, or time that someone else is paid to take care of for the artist. Hopefully this incite will be of some help the next time you ask, “How much is that painting in the window”.     

As always, thank you for stopping by and have a creative day………Jim

(Modified from an article by Aletta de Wal, www.artistcareertraining.com)