During our first Anderson Center presentation, we learned that the photographs we were displaying could be offered for sale.  That put us in a tailspin trying to figure out what value to put on each piece.  So, after some deliberation, prices were posted on some of the work.  But we priced the photos without serious consideration for their value.  That prompted me to do some research to find out how to price our photography.  Here is a synopsis of what I learned.

 

 

Here's the basic theory. Take two identical artworks. One you know nothing about; the other you know a whole bunch about. Now they're both the same price, you like them both equally well, and you can buy either one or the other. Which one are you going to buy?  The one you know a whole bunch about. Why? Because the more you know about a work of art, the better you understand it, the more you appreciate it, the more meaning it holds for you on a variety of levels, and with respect to the marketplace, the more attractive it is to buyers, and the easier it is to sell.  

 

You add value to artwork by informing, enhancing, and deepening the experiences people have when they see it, and any artist, including you, can add value to any work of art almost instantly-- and ultimately increase the price that buyers will pay to own it.

 

First and foremost, sign it. Or if it is signed, but only people who know you can read the signature, sign so people who don't know you can read it. You can't do anything more important than sign your art legibly because, without exception, the number one most common question people ask when they first see a work of art is, "Who's the artist?" And given two identical works of art, one signed and the other not, the signed one is worth more and will sell for a higher price than the unsigned one.  You can sign your artwork on the back, on the edge, on the top, embedded within the composition, wherever. Your name should not stick out or interfere with anything, but it has to be there, and it has to be legible. If you have an illegible signature and you like it, fine. But sneak a legible one onto the art somewhere, so you can be identified. Even if everyone on the planet already knows who you are, sooner or later, people will be born who won't. And if any of them ever inherit or otherwise acquire your artwork, they won't know what to do with it because they'll have no idea who you are or how famous you've become, which means they might throw it in the trash.

 

Title it. If it doesn't have a title, then title it "Untitled." Given two identical works of art, one titled "Untitled" and the other untitled, the one titled "Untitled" is worth more than the one that's untitled. Why? Because you're sure the first one is titled "Untitled," but you have no idea whether the second one ever had a title or not. If you don't like titles or you don't use titles, explain somewhere why you don't title your artwork. Given two untitled works of art, one with an explanation of why it's untitled and the other with no explanation, the one with the explanation is worth more and will sell for a higher price than the one without.

 

Date it. Some artists don't like to date their artwork because they think buyers only want the fresh new stuff, or they want to be able to quote whatever date they think buyers want to hear, so fine. Then date it in secret, in code, hidden in the compositions, in your daily journal, on an inventory list. When you get old and famous, those dates will come in mighty handy. Given two identical works of art, one dated and the other not, which would you rather own? People prefer knowing its age to guessing its age. The more popular you get, the more significant your earlier work becomes in relation to your current work; savvy competitive collectors like to say things like "Mine is older than yours" or "The artist made mine first, and first is better." If you get really famous, your early work will likely sell for more money than your later work. When you're young, buyers want the new stuff; the older you get, the more they want the older stuff.  

 

Number it. Set the edition size, never change it, and consecutively number every piece in the edition.  People who buy Limited Edition pieces expect exclusivity based on edition sizes, and they equate those edition sizes with value (the fewer there are, the more they're worth). Before they buy, they want to know how many there are, which one they're going to get, and most importantly, that their interests are protected by your promise never to make any more of them again.

 

Explain it. People want to know what your work is about, what happens in it, where it starts, where it ends, and what it does along the way. You don't have to get technical or tedious. A simple paragraph or two is fine. Either write a brief explanation for each photo, or generally explain your work in your statement, a gallery catalogue, an essay, a website, or in a published article about yourself. If you don't know what your work is about, write about your process, what you think about while you work, how you start, how you proceed, how you know you're done, and so on. Anything is better than nothing. Given two identical works of art, one with accompanying text and the other with nothing, the one with the text is worth more than the one without. Similarly, photography with text written by the artist is worth more than work with text written by third parties (although under certain circumstances, informed or famous third party commentaries can influence value). One caution: Be careful not to get dictatorial and tell people what your artwork should mean to them. Instead, tell them what it means to you, and let them decide what it means to them.

 

Document it. Has it been exhibited, written about, mentioned, illustrated somewhere, included in a catalogue, received an award, selected by a jury, posted on a website, commented on, or critiqued in any formal circumstances? This information is extremely important, especially with the passage of time, and can substantially impact value. For instance, given two identical works of art, one that was exhibited and the other not, which would you rather own? Would you be willing to pay a little extra for the one that was exhibited? Suppose the exhibit was important. Would you be willing to pay more than a little more? Savvy buyers would, and they do-- all the time.

 

A few more effortless value enhancers:

Keep track of who owns your work.

Always remember: You can never provide too much information about a work of art, and the more you do, the more they pay.