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Once a gallery has agreed to accept your work on a consignment basis, a delicate
relationship is set into motion. Each side of the gallery-artist equation
has a right to certain expectations from the other side. Even though a
gallery might offer a written contract, nothing can supplant ethical, common
sense behavior by both parties.
Most gallery-artist relationships go awry because of unreasonable
expectations by one or both sides. Let's start with what the artist can
and cannot reasonably expect.
First, don't expect even the best gallery to turn you into a star overnight.
Building a solid clientele can be a lengthy process. Buyers are for the
most part cautious about investing in the work of new and unknown artists.
Remember to be persistent and patient.
Secondly, do expect a gallery to provide a full accounting of each and every
sale. This would include the name and address of each person who buys your
work (unless the buyer requests anonymity). Of course, you would be
expected not to use this information in an unethical manner.
Once you are "in", you have a right to expect the gallery to
display your work in an acceptable manner, consistent with the display of other
artists in the gallery. You should expect to be paid in a timely fashion
and in full for each sale. If the gallery has a customer payment plan then
the artist payment schedule should be made clear to the artist and a
pre-agreement should be made. The gallery should handle your artwork
carefully at all times and you should be fully aware of all insurance
considerations.
Many of the minor details of the artists-gallery relationship may be worked
out verbally. For example, who pays for shipping, who pays for
advertising, who pays for "customer discounts"? Each gallery has
its own policies, which you will be expected to abide by. If you have any
doubts - get it in writing. And if you are not comfortable with the
policies of a particular gallery, it is best not to commit.
Galleries, on the other hand, have an equal right to certain expectations
from their artists. Galleries expect artists to deliver their work on time
and in pristine condition, ready to display, ready to sale.
Galleries expect artists to attend opening receptions and conduct themselves
in a professional manner. It is reasonable for a gallery to expect an
artist to do his or her share in selling the artwork, above and beyond the
actual creation of the work. A gallery expects an artist to meet the
demands for artwork that the gallery has created.
Of course, there are numerous other expectations that galleries and artists
must deal with, many of which are quiet unique to a particular situation.
Because I cannot cover each and every eventuality here, my advice, as stated
earlier, would be to rely on your own standards of ethical behavior and your own
common sense.
With high standards and good old horse sense,
you'll never go wrong!
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