Commissioning Original Art Work
Commissions are important for artist because they can keep 100% of the money for their work and do not have to give 50% of the price the work to a gallery handling the sale of the work. Commissioned work also can be much less expensive than buying from a gallery because the cost of a work is often higher due to the gallery’s commission. For example a work I just commissioned was $15,000 but would have cost $30,000, if I had purchased it from the artist’s gallery.
Also, when buying from a local gallery you are typically subject to very high sales taxes unless you live in a tax free state. This is sad because local galleries in smaller art markets should be a less intimidating and lower cost place to learn about collecting and be a lower risk starting point for new collectors. We want to help collectors in training by providing an inside look at the commissioning process and so they can learn from our mistakes and regrets.
The process of requesting a commission can be terrifying but fortunately Instagram and artist websites make the process more approachable. However, knowing “How to ask”, “What to ask for” is essential.
What to consider like:
Sales Tax, Excise Tax
Exchange rates, Money Transfer fees, International Shipping
Negotiation
Developing compositions or even being an active part of the design process
Commissioning a work from an experienced artist whose career has been longer than five years. A more experienced artist who has had many commissions can clearly articulate their boundaries around creative control, and have set processes for, payments, delivery and discussions.
Those are all aspects of commissioning artwork and that process can be fraught with peril. Considering that the average price of midrange original artwork can be from $500 to $20,000, mistakes can be very costly and bitter.
We have to admit sometimes, we don't learn from our own mistakes. Often, we definitely overstep the mark with our desire for a particular subject of a commission. Sometimes we don't know best! We have missed out on truly great work by artists because we did not ask what the artist was planning in the future… a lot of times the artist has ideas for a work that you will love in already in development. If you don't ask about it, you'll only see that work after your commission, and the artist releases a new work that you love more than your commission, for a gallery show. This has happened to us once and it hurt!
Always ask to see what the artist has for available work either in studio, at galleries or what they have in progress
If you can find something that you love from an artist that you can purchase immediately and directly from them, it is almost always better to do that over having to commission a artwork
We know what we like and what we want to look at, but sometimes the artist is not there for that! They may want to make only what they are interested in making. The boundaries of an artist’s creative control are really something you can only feel your way through in the dark.
When working with international artists language can be a very big barrier in communication especially around expectations. We made the mistake of illustrating ideas for a commission in a drawing. We know a lot of artists don't like this and we try to avoid it but sometimes if there's a language barrier or its very hard for us to convey what we want in written terms, it’s the only way.
Do not expect that all artists will have and use contracts for commissions. I have not had a formal written agreement or contract for most of the commissioned pieces in my collection. It would be great if all artists wanted to do this and had a base agreement or contract template drawn up already. In my experience this is the exception not the rule.
Where to start? You Ask First!
I will not go into to much detail on this as I provide a copy of my correspondence with the artists for most of the work in the gallery section. This includes my initial commission request emails. Beware of having an artist’s gallery connect you with a commission in mind, some galleries see this an opportunity to make a commission for themselves or they may have an agreement in place to collect a fee for any direct client referrals, or even bar the artist from taking commissions.
If I cannot find the artist’s Instagram or locate their website, I reach out to the gallery asking for that information in particular but don’t mention commissions. The gallery should be the last resort! I have been forced to work with galleries to coordinate commissions and it almost never works out.
Do's and Don'ts of Commissioning an Artwork | Artwork Archive
10 Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Art Commission | Artwork Archive