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The Oil Painters of America, in their Summer 2009 issue of Brushstrokes, posed the question below. I responded with the comments that follow.

A Question of Ethics
(From the summer 2009 issue of Brushstrokes)

You are newly affiliated with a fine art gallery and have a contract with them for the purpose of selling your artwork on a consignment basis. The gallery has hosted an opening to introduce you as their newest artist. Printed invitations were mailed to their clients, press releases were placed in newspapers, and gallery staff has promoted your art work. They are showing a good selection of your work and want to rotate paintings on a regular schedule. In short, the gallery has invested some time and capital in promoting you. The relationship is new but off to a good start. No paintings have sold yet. An important client of this gallery contacts you and expresses a wish to visit your studio and view work other than what the gallery is showing. The client also asks if your selling price is any different than the gallery price.

OPA wants to know how you the artist would handle this scenario.

My reply:
In response to your question of ethics in the summer issue of Brushstrokes.

You can have your cake and eat it too. In today’s world of search engines and websites, most potential buyers know they can find an artist online, contact them and possibly make a deal directly with the artist. It has become a common practice and one I have experienced several times. It truly is a question of ethics on the part of the artist. Anytime someone contacts me with a request to visit my studio or purchase a painting directly, the first thing I ask is “How did you hear about me?”

If they found me through my own marketing efforts then fine, but if they found out about me via your aforementioned new gallery, then I owe the gallery a commission for anything that transpires with this client, period.

When someone tries to circumvent the gallery, they are obviously trying to cut a better deal, but often they’re also genuinely interested in meeting the artist and seeing their workspace. My goal is to satisfy the client and the gallery, so I say “sure you can come by my studio, and yes I have some room to negotiate on price”. This is what the client wants to hear, what I don’t tell them is that the gallery also has room to negotiate on price, (the gallery and I have already agreed that I will accept 10-15% off for good clients and multiple sales). I will simply offer the same discount, make the sale, and then send a check to the gallery for their fair share. Usually I give the gallery just a little less than if they had made the sale since I am taking the time to deal with the client, perhaps they get 20% instead of the 40% they might get for sales directly through the gallery. This is fair and believe me, few things make a gallery owner more happy than receiving a check they were not expecting from an artist. Along with the check I also include the contact information of the client so the gallery can add them to their marketing list. I am an artist in mid-career, god willing I may have another 20-30 good painting years left, I’m in it for the long haul and I’m interested in long-term relationships with my galleries.

The gallery and I are business partners, what if your sister were managing the gallery, you wouldn’t cheat your sister would you? I know some artists live hand to mouth and the short term gains of a direct sale might be tempting, but think about the big picture. Let’s say the gallery has two artists of about equal skill and sales. They have a last minute opportunity to add an artist to a show, or use them for some publicity. One artist has shown a high level of personal integrity towards the gallery, who do you think they will promote first? And who will they be interested in investing in over the long haul with regard to advertising? If you are in this for the long haul, the answer is an easy one.

CodyDeLong.com