Buying Your First Artwork
Never bought an artwork before? It’s not as scary as you think. It’s kind of like buying milk, except it lasts a lot longer and might cost a little more.
Finding something you like
So you’ve been to an exhibition where works are for sale, and you’ve found something you like..the first step is checking it is available. If there is a red (or other coloured) dot next to it, it generally means sold. If it is a print or multiple (this will be made clear on a room sheet, or you might notice a fraction written at the bottom (i.e. 1/4) there may be more for sale! The fraction indicates how many are for sale (4) and what number of the series this work is (1).
Approach the gallery manager and indicate you are interested in buying the work, and they will be able to tell you more about it, and if there are multiples to buy. Some additional questions you might consider asking the artist or gallery manager about the work you are interested in buying include:
Can you tell me more about the artist and their artistic practice?
How long as the artist been practicing for?
Is this work typical of their style?
Can you tell me anything more about the work or story behind it?
Has the artist been exhibited anywhere else?
How did they create this work?
Gallery staff are there to answer questions and talk about the works – so you shouldn’t hesitate to chat to them. There is no such things as stupid question. Many people aren’t familiar with artwork terms and artistic methods, and there is always more to be learnt.
Making payment
At most exhibitions you will be required to pay a deposit if you wish to buy an artwork. At Temp, this is a 30% deposit. The work remains hanging on the wall until the exhibition closes. The remaining payment is made before the work is delivered to you or you pick it up from the gallery. Alternatively, you can make the full payment up front.
When you make payment, you will be asked for your name, address, phone number and email, for the gallery’s records and so they can contact you to arrange final payment and delivery. Providing these details also allows the gallery to contact you about solo exhibitions by artists you might like, or previews of new works.
When you receive your artwork, you will also receive a ‘Certificate of Authenticity’. This will have details of the artwork, artist, materials, year, price, and a photo of the work. It will be signed by the artist to indicate that this is in fact an authentic, original work. It is recommended you keep this document (soft copy, hard copy or both) in your records, in case you wish to sell the work, have it valued, or you need reminding of details about the work.
Towards the end of the exhibition period, the gallery will contact you to arrange final payment and delivery or pick up of the work. Once you take delivery it is yours to hang and enjoy…you’ve just bought your first artwork!! Check out the next blog post about what to do next and hanging artwork for tips on getting it right.