How to Price Art

It's a validating experience, for an artist, the first time a stranger asks "How much?" for a piece of her work. Unless, of course, she doesn't have an answer. Art, while tangible, tends to be personal and equating a piece with dollars and cents may seem impossible. This is even more difficult on the spot so it makes sense to stop and give the matter some thought now if you haven't already.

Things You'll Need

• Art
• Receipts
• Calculator
• Access to local galleries

Instructions

1. Know your costs. By this I mean your actual material investment into the piece. Paints, canvas, kiln or forge time. The actual bits and pieces you put into your work should always be the basis for pricing.

2. Determine an hourly wage. Make it a living wage, if possible, and definitely above minimum wage. Multiply your rate by the number of hours that went into the piece. Add this to your material costs and you have a break-even price.

3. Double that amount. This is your retail price. At this price you will have covered production costs plus an hourly wage for yourself. Since most galleries or representatives take a 50 percent commission you will not lose money if you sell through a gallery.

4. Price by square inches. This method comes in handy when asked to give a quote on a commissioned piece as well as to stabilize your rates. Once you know your average retail, divide it by the number of square inches in an average piece for your price per inch. For sculpture, metalwork and other three-dimensional pieces you could translate it into a per pound or ounce price based on your chosen medium.

5. Comparison price. Check out local galleries and note what sells at what price. This will give you an idea of what buyers in your area are willing to pay. Look at your prices again. You want to remain competitive, not the lowest or highest price in your region. Remember to look at the medium you work in, since oil paints will price differently than watercolors, metal different glass, porcelain different from earthenware.

6. Leave emotions out of it. While creating art may be an emotional process, the pricing should not reflect this. When you inflate the price of a piece over an otherwise similar one, you are telling the prospective buyer that your other pieces are less valuable, less worthy. Either exhibit those pieces as 'sold' or keep them in your studio until your market will bear the price you want for it.

Tips & Warnings

• Always try to have pieces available in a variety of price ranges.

• Consider selling limited-edition signed prints of your more precious, more expensive works.

• Keep your prices consistent for buyers no matter where they live or if you are selling direct to the public or through a gallery.

• Do not change your prices frequently. Try to stay with a particular pricing structure until either your recognition or demand increases, or inflation requires it. Dropping prices should only be done if you are not selling anything, in which case you should probably revise your pricing structure as a whole.

• Never under-price your art because of low self-confidence. Know that your art and your time have value that deserves to be paid what it is worth.