Pricing Your Art
by Sylvia White

There are few things in the marketplace priced as irrationally as art. As in other areas of business, pricing is mostly determined by the law of supply and demand. Most artists typically have a big supply and little or no demand. Using this most basic principle, an increase in price is only justified when this balance shifts…either the demand increases, or the supply decreases. Although artists and galleries try to set prices based on the law of supply and demand and what the market will bear, there are always extenuating circumstances that contribute to the final price…where the artist is, in his or her career range, is probably the most important and also the most difficult to quantify. Medium, size, complexity, cost of production and previous sales history, also play important roles in determining the final sales price. But the bottom line could just as easily be determined by how much an artist is attached to a particular piece. Although I never recommend artists pricing works of the same size, same medium and same series differently, based on their attachment to it, it sometimes does occur. Artists need to realize the unconscious message this gives to the collector…"I value that piece more than the others." As a professional artist, it is your responsibility to pre-screen all the work you create before it ever sees the light of day. Therefore, the work you present publicly should all be of the highest caliber and of equal value. If you are particularly attached to a particular piece and want to price it twice as much as the other work in the show, it is better to just mark the piece sold and keep it for yourself until your work increases in value to a point where the price you want is justified.
 
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