Once you have established a starting price point, you will need to grow gradually upward from there over time.

This may seem obvious, but often recent graduates or emerging artists will price their work at the top of the ‘reasonable’ mark.  Once that artist sells one or two works, they may think that they can start raising their prices.  Bear in mind that you have your entire career to steadily increase your prices and earn money.  You cannot expect to pay back your student loans with your degree show, nor can you expect to increase your prices after every sale.   This is a gradual and slow process.

Artists could consider increasing their prices somewhere between 10% -20% after each major milestone in their career such as:

• After a major group show with significant other artists
• After a sell out solo show
• After winning a major prize
• After a successful year of press and sales

When setting your original pricing structure, remember that it is impossible to reduce your primary selling price (i.e. the price of work that comes from you, as opposed to the secondary market, when people who have bought your work in the past sell it on) so do not set this higher than your market can sustain or is willing to pay.

© Medeia Cohan-Petrolino

• selling
• pricing
• earn money
• fee
• unspoken rules