How To Price Your Artwork

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How To Price Your Artwork

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Amy Wilson

Amy Wilson is an artist who has shown her drawings and paintings with Bellwether, PS1, The Drawing Center, The Warhol Museum, the Grolier Club, Josee Bienvenue Gallery, PPOW, and many other spaces. Her work has been reviewed in the NY Times, Art in America, Time Out NY, the Village Voice, as well as other publications. Amy is represented by with Bravin Lee in NYC. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts (1995) and her MFA from Yale (1997). She teaches in the Art History, Fine Arts, and Visual and Critical Studies departments at SVA.

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Rule #1: Prices are based, in part, on medium.

Assume for a moment that you are a painter. You probably make a variety of paintings in different sizes on canvas, along with some drawings and studies on paper; occasionally you may make some prints. The very first rule for you to keep in mind is that generally speaking, a painting is going to be more expensive than a drawing, which will be more expensive than a print. Remember that this is a general rule, because the next thing to keep in mind is…

Rule #2: Prices are also based, in part, on size.

A big drawing is worth more than a little drawing, simple than that. But remember that Rule #1 and Rule #2 have to work hand-in-hand. This means that if you have a drawing that is 30 × 40 and a painting that is 30 × 40, the painting will be priced higher. It also means that if you have two paintings, one 30 × 40 and the other 60 × 80, the latter will sell for more.

Confused yet? It gets trickier.

Rule #3: All prices must be relative to one another.

If you have a painting that is 30 × 40 and priced at $3,000, and you have another at 40 × 50 for $10,000, and another at 50 × 60 for $100,000, that’s a problem. Your prices have to go up gradually and incrementally, without any large jumps in between sizes. As a barometer, check the price of one of your smaller works against a work nearly twice its size; is the price for the larger one nearly twice what it is for the smaller? It should be, or it should at least be close.

Rule #4: Your prices must be consistent.

If you price your work at $5,000 each and only sell one or two pieces, you can’t suddenly slash your prices and start charging $200 each for the same work. That’s simply rude and disrespectful of the people who believed in your work enough to plunk down $5,000. You can always raise your prices, but lowering them has to be done very, very carefully if at all. So start out with a modest estimate for the value of your work and if you find you are selling briskly at that price point, you can raise your prices overall. (Also, bear in mind Rules #1 and #2: If you find that 30 × 40 paintings are not selling at $5,000, you can also try and make some 10 × 20 drawings that you can sell for considerably less, say, $800.)

Now that you know all the rules, you’re ready to get started figuring out some prices. Sit down in your studio and take out a medium-sized piece of work (this is medium-sized for you – which is to say it’s not your largest painting nor is it your smallest). You will want to charge what you think is reasonable and fair and bear in mind the following:

• How much materials cost you (a work made out of pure gold is going to cost more than a pencil drawing – you have to at least make your money back that you put into the work).

• How much time was spent creating your average work (if you create 500 paintings a year, they will be cheaper than if you create 3).

• What the relative market in your area is (talk to other professional artists to find out what they are successfully charging for their work, and use these numbers as a ballpark. If you don’t know any other artists in your area, go online to look at local galleries and see what their prices are).

With all this information gathered, you should be able to figure out the price of your medium-sized work. And now that you know that your 30 × 40 painting is going to sell for $2,000, you should be able to figure out how much to sell that 10 × 12 painting or that 30 × 40 drawing, by referring to the rules I laid out at the beginning.

Pricing your work is difficult and is nearly an art itself! It’s never a pleasant process for an artist to sit down and put a price tag on their work. Hopefully by remembering this information, the process can be just a little less painful. Good luck selling your work!

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Vilmundi

6 days ago

2 comments

Thank you, so much. This knowledge could really help me get started.
manimTHIRSTY

25 days ago

4 comments

thanks for the advice.
HeatherPZIsaacson

about 1 month ago

222 comments

I don't always sell my Art. I think this article is very helpful if I had to sell originals.
KaleenaReed

about 1 month ago

78 comments

Pricing has always intimidated me. This helps.
MelindaDougan

about 1 month ago

4 comments

What about pricing for fashion? I'm a Fashion student and have had some people come to me asking me to make them a dress for a wedding and such, but I don't know how to price my items.
joren

2 months ago

276 comments

Thanks for the help-great guidelines! Nice to know I wasn't too far off base.
mkubota

2 months ago

10 comments

I'm doing an experiment that I hope will take off. Back in the '80s I sold nearly everything I painted. EVERYTHING! I guess this was true for a lot of people back then. When I seriously took up painting again in 2003, I was shocked that everything didn't fly away instantly. That is still the case for me today.

So I decided to have a "Trickle Up" sale. I started doing a series of Trickle Up Theory of the Economy videos on youtube. Then It occurred to me that I should walk my talk.

I selected 69 pieces that ranged in dates from 1985 to 2007, and priced them at 1980s levels. Yeah, right now it's costing me money, but it's also shaking things up and giving me something to blog and video about.

I just started a couple of weeks ago and have sold 6 so far. Also, 142 people have watched the first of the Trickle Up videos on youtube. Not great by some people's standards, but darn good for me.

The Trickle Up sale has lots of advantages: I'm selling; I have something to spread around on the web; I'm getting a look at my own progress; I have something to contact my mailing list about. I could probably think of more advantages, but you get the picture.

The goal is to begin to incrementally raise my prices until they become more comfortable for me. The gap in my fine art career needs some bridging. Trickle Up, I think, is just what I needed to do.
easel1

2 months ago

40 comments

Your 4 basic rules are well worth reading. Nonetheless, those who are in need of a pricing chart or are beginning to see potential in sales of their artwork are not in the $5000 + categopry. Those who can charge that have been around for awhile and have proved their nettle. Most of those painters, drawers and sketchers who have "made it" started with prices more in line with $50 + , whether their work was oil or graphite. Starting to high is destructive and depressing to a future success.

Also, charging based on the time it takes to create a piece is rather a Ford or General Motors concept. It is formulaic to the nth degree. Most clients like what they like. What attracts them is that "je ne sais quoi" in a painting which may be similar to one hanging right next to it. Most buyers can't tell the difference between a Japanese styled economy car a Lexus or a VW today - or why a Lexus is more expensive than a Ford. They all look the same no matter how many hours went into making it.

As for the materials used. . . The question in the arts remains: Why is that 18x24 painting from painter "A" so much more expensive then another 18x24 from the same person? If you choose to use real gold in your work - chuck it up. . . Until your name is well recognized in the "awt" world - you aren't going to be able to justify the higher price.

The number of paintings created in a year justify's higher or lower prices???? That aspect of charging for your work is totally irrelevent! Some of us are prolific, others are not. And producing 3 paintings a year does not constitute a reason to charge more than a possibly more talented person who happens to work hours on end creating artworks. The quality is what counts not the number.

Another aspect of pricing is the question of raising or lowering your prices as time goes by. Lowering can be dangerous because once you have charged high prices it is insulting to past buyers when you charge less than what they paid for the same dimensions. Raising your prices in large increments is also a dangerous practice. Better to wait until the demand for your work increases to a point of “production difficulty”. Raising prices every year is simply bad “business” practice.

Objectivity is a requirement when pricing. I would definitely recommend visiting art galleries in your area. Compare your work as objectively as you can. Just wanting a higher price or considering yourself better than what is being offered is not a professional way to look at things.

When objectivity is difficult to achieve, ask a professional in the field of the visual arts - an auction house representative, a museum curator, an "art expert" (be careful who you choose in this case) Be able to trust this person. BUT Don’t task your spouse, a relative or freind to do this job. Read up on this person and guarantee yourself an "expert" opinion. If you care about your work and future you will be very vigilant in who deems your work acceptable ot not. Ask this person to visit galleries and to compare your work with what is available. They will then be able to offer you suggestions as to the true value of your work.

After consultation and agreement, base price your "middle-sized" work and then go up and down from there depending on dimensions. Be REASONABLE! If this makes you feel like a business prospect. . . it is. In the studio you may consider yourself an artist. Outside the studio - with a painting under your arm - you are a business person with a "product" to sell. I know. . . . This type of logic makes some of us shiver. . . . C'est la vie!

Illustrators and designers should take into account their experience, recognition value and portfolio and consult the Graphic Artists Guild “ Pricing and Ethical Guidelines” manual. (North Light Books). That book provides you with realistic evaluations of illustration and design work as per the job, the employer, the artwork and the quality. Check it out.

Taking your time in the area of pricing and being reasonable to start with is worth it in the end.
Sayward

3 months ago

7608 comments

This is a great article. I used to price my work where the 'average' person could afford it. (Some people I discuss my art with only want something 'cheap' , like a pre framed print from Wally World.) But I know what I put into them and , quite frankly, I'd rather hold onto them and keep them in the family or for some future art exhibition than to just 'give them away' , although I do donate works to charity from time to time. Thus, my prices have been steadily going up in recent years, and I don't back down. I may lose a sale, but I don't care. Some people don't mind my pricing at all. My small paintings (11x14 and smaller) are selling for what a medium sized one (16x20 - 18x24 range) would sell for a few years ago.
terrymulligan

3 months ago

1098 comments

Great article
sumartens333

3 months ago

2 comments

Thanks for the information, Amy. I've been selling giclee prints on canvas of my work as I have a hard time letting go of my originals unless I can get a price for them that honors the work and love I put into them. Your tips will help me when I price my originals. Thanks.
ellixbean

4 months ago

2 comments

Here is a pain in the ass question for you; Ive been working incredibly hard to make a bit f a name for myself as an emerging illustrator and I have had the good fortune to gain some attention in the last few months/year. I have had a couple commission offers from either small publishers or musicians for album artwork but im stuck as to how to quote someone on that kind of work. The media and scale it totally up to me. I want to make sure I will be compensated for my hard work, but I also want to keep it affordable for the people who have enough faith in me to add my work to their own. Are there rules or guidelines set for these situations as well? Any advice would be helpful.
dyurchuk

4 months ago

14 comments

Great tips - thank you, Amy!
fireinv4034

4 months ago

16 comments

um...and what about photographs?
kar

4 months ago

2 comments

As a gallerist in WC, PA I often get questions on how to price. My suggestion is to begin with the time element, figure out what your price is that you are worth per hour. For beginning artists, that price is $25. The time factor includes, the layout of the work, and the actual creation, but in the case of photography that becomes a painting, you need to be sure you are allowing for studio time, digitital conversion, and so forth. Material costs should be doubled, so that you end up with the ability to create something JUST LIKE YOU DID, and bank the other portion. Make sure you are factoring in the cost of everything. Buying in bulk you need to access what the value of the paint per gallon is, and give it a price per average per piece....don't get caught up in the fact that a smaller painting uses less paint, the point is, to cover the cost of what you have in your studio, so keep it simple. The cost of framing is yet another factor. We all know how that can bump the cost up....again, keep it simple. What you think is wonderful may be nothing what the purchaser wants....Taste is in your mouth...~! When the entire piece is finished, and all the prices are factored in, what is the bottom line? Would you pay that? Is it reasonable? What is the market bearing in your area? Don't forget to include your commission cost. Keep your prices consistent. Selling a painting for $600 here, and $1000 there isn't a way to win clients hearts. Your prices have to be consistent if you hope to gain credibility as an artist. You need to look at your price and keep it what it is for a period of six months to a year before you raise your price....and you can only raise your price is you are selling...and selling a lot...meaning more than two.... THINK SMALLER PEOPLE....we love to create big, beautiful pieces, but the economy can't handle that....keep work smaller, price points down, and sell canvas' that is paint wrapped rather than framed. Buy frames on sale in black and brown, and make pieces that will fit these custom sizes....the MAGIC number is there...if your work speaks for itself and you are able to arrive at a fair, marketable price, then you are safe to put that tag on it....just don't throw a number out because it sounds good....make sure you have solid foundation for what you are asking.....now, go create something wonderful!!!!