* What is the percentage divided between the artist and the gallery? The gallery and the artist usually divide the total selling price of a work of art evenly or evenly nearby. Avoid situations where the gallery asks you to tell them how much you want for art. This gives the gallery the freedom to label it, no matter how much they want to label it beyond your price – you may only have a small percentage of retail. Fixed percentage splits are usually standard and the best to start with. The Artist`s Office is an artist-led organization based in Los Angeles that also occasionally offers workshops on a variety of administrative and business topics, including contracts for artists. * What is the duration of the current agreement? In other words, how long will the gallery represent you or your art? If the relationship is new, a term of three months to a year is typical, after which the contract can be renegotiated, or if both parties are in perfect agreement, the wording of the contract can automatically extend the term. Exclusivity: If the agreement grants exclusivity to the gallery, it means that the artist may be prevented from independently selling works of art or from entering into a contract with another gallery. In addition, in some cases, the gallery may be granted the right of first refusal for new works of art created during a certain period. * How are prices determined? In most cases, discuss, accept, and then set retail prices in advance. In general, it is recommended to let the gallery take the lead here.
They know their customers and who usually buys what for how much. The artist will be present for the duration of the opening reception. * Is the show announced or promoted? If so, how and where? In terms of expenses, who is responsible and what percentages of the total cost? Do you need to provide your email address or mailing list to the gallery? Will you be able to promote the show yourself? If so, how? Arts Law, for example, is an independent municipal law centre for the arts in Australia. By submitting an online application form, Australian artists and arts organisations can seek legal advice from the centre, which will be provided free of charge or at a reasonable cost depending on their needs and eligibility. Option 1. In the case of discount sales, the discount will be deducted from the gallery`s commission. The artist receives the entire share of the artist in the sale price as agreed. * Who pays for utilities such as transportation, packaging, shipping, warehousing, travel, etc.? Does the gallery pay? Will you pay? Will the costs be shared? If so, how? Always know in advance who pays how much for what and under what conditions.
And formalize it in writing. * If you have agents, consultants, referees or others working on your behalf to promote or market your art, determine in advance what their orders will be when they provide you with gallery exhibitions or other forms of representation or exhibition. For example, a commission may simply be a fixed fee for the connection, or it may be a percentage of sales over a set period of time. 16. Duration and Termination of Submission. The Artist and the Gallery agree that the initial shipping period of the Work will last until ___, 200__ and that the Artist will not require the return of the Work before that date, unless the Agreement is violated by the Gallery. Thereafter, this Agreement shall survive written notice of termination by either party to the other. Within thirty days of notice of termination, all invoices must be paid and all unsold artwork returned to the artist at the gallery`s expense.
The contract ends automatically upon the death of the artist or if the gallery goes bankrupt or is insolvent or violates the contract. * Online exclusivity. Are you allowed to sell art online? If so, which ones? Nowadays, artists want to maintain a certain degree of control and autonomy over their online activities. At the same time, a gallery needs your assurance that it has the exclusive right to sell certain works during certain periods. And you need the gallery`s assurance that you can continue to maintain an active online profile. Depending on the nature of the relationship, the agreement may include that you can sell works of art in which the gallery has no interest or investment. Insurance: Will the gallery insure the work during the shipment? And if so, what is covered, for how long and at what value? The gallery is also responsible for the storage and use of custom boxes and shipping containers specially designed for works of art. Promotion: Is the artist required to provide images, information and/or promotional material to the gallery, and when should it be made available? Is the work exhibited in the gallery and, if so, what are the exhibition dates or how often is the work exhibited? 18. Governing Law. Shipping laws vary from state to state. Usually, the relationship between the artist and the gallery is subject to the law in which the gallery is located.
The second half of the book, The Artist-Gallery Partnership, by Crawford & Mellon, deals with various state laws that govern consignment contracts. In addition, many states have artists` advocacy groups or non-profit arts rights organizations that will be able to provide up-to-date information for a particular state. Learn! The artist is responsible and undertakes to pay for damage to the walls or floor of the gallery that occurs during the exhibition of his work and due to inappropriate display material or the use of hazardous materials, unless expressly authorized in writing. Examples: damage to the floor due to heavy falls of works of art or damage to the wall caused by hanging equipment or works of art that break, overturn or melt against the wall. 12. Advertising. Marketing, promotion and advertising, including advertising costs, are the responsibility of the gallery. In addition, the gallery must display the work appropriately and clearly identify the artist as the creator.
The Professional Guidelines Committee is of the view that artists should not be expected to pay for advertising. The only exception would be if the artist wanted to buy advertising that was outside the usual practice of the gallery. For example, an artist may contribute money for a color ad instead of the gallery`s usual black and white ad. Click here to download my sample contract for an art gallery in PDF format. You can then copy and paste the text into your favorite word processor to enter your specific details. I based my art gallery contract on a model by Scott Burdick and Susan Lyon. 15. Security. This is a legal clause that protects the artist and stipulates that the artist is the owner of the delivered work until full payment. Few states have laws that protect an artist`s work on behalf of the gallery`s creditors. This is an important reason why artists must use contracts with a security clause.
The creditor`s rights are also cut off if there is a sign on the gallery indicating that the work sold will be sold on commission, but such signage is rarely used. 8. Loss or Damage. The Gallery is strictly responsible for the loss or damage of a work delivered from the date of delivery to the Gallery until the work is returned to the Artist or delivered to a Buyer. In case of loss or damage that cannot be restored, the artist will receive the same amount as if the work had been sold at the sale price. Keeping good records for unique works of art can be very important to the artist. Curators or museums working on exhibitions or retrospectives may want to borrow works from a gallery or works from collectors. Such exhibitions are part of the provenance of the works and can increase the value of the work. Therefore, artists must keep accurate records of the location of their work. Thank you, Dan, for sharing this information. I also had problems with the closure of a gallery. Luckily, one of my artist friends (also in the gallery) called me and said, “Get your art out of the gallery now!” Other artists didn`t do so well.
Another time, a remote indoor gallery did a promotion involving 5 local coastal artists. The gallerist was “excited” to extend the exhibition. We did not return our paintings or the proceeds from the sale for more than 6 months as the owner was unreachable or the gallery was closed during opening hours. Certainly a breach of trust. Many thanks to Tracy and Michael. 11. Commission. If the artist sells a work of art directly to a buyer through contacts initially established through the gallery, the gallery is entitled to a commission of __ percent of the sale price.
If the gallery agency is exclusive, the gallery receives a commission of __% of the sale price for each sale of artwork by the artist that falls within the scope of the exclusiveness of the gallery. .
