How to Price Art Right Is a Universal Challenge for Visual Artists

The question of how to price art is a task that often feels challenging. It’s easy to understand why. Prices for artwork are all over the board, from multimillion-dollar spot paintings by Damien Hirst to dirt-cheap prints run off a desktop printer.

Since you’re reading this, it’s easy to guess you’re in the middle of those extremes. But, regardless of your situation, it would help if you made important decisions about pricing your work with minimal help or guidance.

These things complicate the art pricing process and make it harder to get right:

• There is no standardized information available on how to price art
• You’re dealing with the subjectivity and emotions of pricing work you made
• You must rationalize your pricing to yourself while also justifying it to buyers
• When you ask around, you get a broad range of answers, much of it neither helpful nor informed

Buying Art Is a Complex Situation

Art buyers’ first influence is the visual image. Other factors, such as marketing and mastery of technique, also enter the equation. Understanding that there is no one answer to why someone makes an art purchase is as important as understanding why someone buys your art, specifically.

Already we can see this is a complicated issue with no easy answers. The good news is this is not a subject that needs in-depth research and thought as an everyday task. That’s because once you arrive at a pricing scheme that both feels right and is logical, you can create a pricing structure or scale to use repeatedly.

You Need a Reliable Method

With that understanding, it makes perfect sense to put in the time to develop a system you can use to price your art. You can engage other artists in lively debates over the merits of different pricing schemes. Some swear by the price per square inch. Others believe a markup on time, labor, and the cost of materials works better.

I’ve seen top-selling artists use both of those methods with success. Because of that, I believe it’s more important to get comfortable with a system you can use for the foreseeable future. You are not required to explain to prospective buyers how you arrived at your price. However, it can help close sales to have a standard pattern to use when such situations arise.

Canadian Robert Genn’s Formula

The late, great Robert Genn used a price per square inch formula. He also set an annual date and raised his rates by 10% each year on that date. This method simplified his decisions about pricing. It also created a selling opportunity weeks before the annual price increase. This is good if your work is already getting top dollar, or close to it, within your comps.

Genn advised younger artists to start cheap. I understand why. Nevertheless, I think his advice should consider other factors, such as the quality of the work, the reputation, such as it, and anything else that bears on the situation. Of course, you can never outrun that pricing is subjective. So your job is to maximize what you get at every career stage.

Genn also published the Ten Commandments of art pricing.

Artists young and old — particularly those who have the intention of staying in the game — ought to strategize for the big picture and honour their strategy with Biblical tenacity. Here are the Ten Commandments of art pricing:

Thou shalt start out cheap.
Thou shalt publish thy prices.
Thou shalt raise thy prices regularly and a little.
Thou shalt not lower thy prices.
Thou shalt not have one price for Sam and another for Joe.
Thou shalt not price by talent or time taken, but by size.
Thou shalt not easily discount thy prices.
Thou shalt lay control on thy agents and dealers.
Thou shalt deal with those who will honour thee.
Thou shalt end up expensive.
~ Robert Genn

Getting Top Dollar vs. Being in the Sweet Spot.

If you are not yet close to top dollar, you need to find ways to ramp up your prices before settling on a published annual 10% increase. That is because it takes too long to compound your rates to the point where they should be at only 10% annually.

As discussed here, I realize a dichotomy between being in the sweet spot, as mentioned above, and getting top dollar. For the sake of this post, let’s consider “top dollar” to mean you are hitting the high end of the “sweet spot.” Hitting the upper end of the sweet spot usually happens when you are an established artist with a track record of consistent sales. You will want to strive for it if you are not there yet.

Use the Masterpiece Theory to Take Your Prices Higher Fast!

I have often suggested using the Masterpiece Theory to lower your prices in a short amount of time. You make something bigger, better, and more elaborate than your norm. Then you price it much higher because it is your “Masterpiece.” This activity changes your price range, making regular prices more of a bargain. And, in turn, it gives you a chance to hit it big when someone has to have your masterpiece.

This theory works. Many artists say they had good—and sometimes surprising—experiences when they used the method and found it worked better than they could have imagined. Read this How to Price Your Art to Make More Money post for a beautiful example of how the masterpiece theory in action works.

Be Realistic — Know Your Comps

Art is not sold in a vacuum. It is sold in a competitive marketplace. There is nearly always comparable work to what you are making. Yours might be unique, but it has enough similarity from a consumer perspective to allow an informed decision. If your potential buyers judge your prices based on what they know about other art and other artists, you need a working knowledge of your competition.

Aim to be in the sweet spot where your art is neither the highest nor the lowest comparable prices you are checking. Doing this helps make your pricing competitive. Knowing your competitive pricing will give you confidence in your presentation and help you sell more work.

The Balancing Act of Pricing Art

There is more to learning how to price art than deciding between the abovementioned methods. At the end of the line, where the money is spent, you need awareness of your competition and the markets you serve. If you are not in sync with those factors, you risk losing sales if you are too high or losing profits if you are too low.

As recently as twenty years ago, artists could still price works based on local factors when the Internet was in its infancy. For example, they might have sold for lower prices in rural areas or around where they lived and then charged much higher prices for galleries in significant art districts. Those days are over, done, and finished.

How the Internet Changed Everything

The Internet is the great equalizer. Thanks to smartphones and tablets, people can check prices, where something came from, and much more immediately. My friend, Jason Horejs, says buyers in his gallery started researching his art prices and the artist’s reputation while still in the gallery.

This ubiquitous type of pricing data access means you need a consistent pricing strategy and structure. Your integrity and reputation are at stake when you undercut yourself and your distributors. I have heard too many artists argue that it’s okay to cut their prices when selling to buyers directly.

Discounting Direct Sales Is the Same As Cheating Yourself

Since they have cut the gallery’s 50% commission out of the deal, they should lower the price to encourage sales. Discounting direct sales is a bad idea for many reasons. First and foremost, you are giving yourself an intentional pay cut. Why would you want to take money from your pocket?

Secondly, cutting rates is bad for your reputation and your pricing’s integrity, especially for those who paid top dollar. Consider how you would feel if someone else purchased your work at a significant discount from its total price. Finally, you put your best-paying customers in the position of feeling betrayed, like a fool, or both. No matter what, it leads to ill feelings and distrust.

There Are Viable Alternatives to Discounting As a Sales Tool

Never be so desperate you feel you have no choice but to cut rates. Usually, this happens when an artist feels outmatched in negotiating a fair price or lacks selling and presentation skills to validate the cost.

Don’t feel bad if that describes you. Many artists are in the same boat. The good news is you recognize a weakness, and there are many ways to shore it up. If you are willing to learn, there are numerous resources to help.

Tap the Knowledge and Wisdom Around You

Jason Horejs has written an excellent and highly recommended book, How to Sell Art. Grab a copy of “Getting to Yes, one of the best books I’ve read on negotiation. If you use just a fraction of the advice in both these books, you can pull yourself out of feeling anxious in sales situations. In fact, with some studying and practice, you will find newfound confidence that will help you in every aspect of your life.