The following terms could be the basis of negotiation for an initial contract, and provide some idea of the potential obligations the gallery would have toward the artist.

• One show in the first year.
• Offer of inclusion on the gallery’s stand at art fairs, although not necessarily display.
• Maintenance of a profile of the artist to give to prospective buyers, with digital images of all works available on request.
• On the sale of a work, provision to the buyer of a document of authenticity, with a photograph of the work and high-resolution digital image available, and invoice / bill of sale.
• Insurance of all works whilst in the gallery’s care.
• Ideally, name and address of whoever buys a work of the artist.  Very few galleries will provide contact information, as they’d be worried about collectors and artists striking deals outside the gallery contract, but you should always know who has purchased your work, so at the very least you need to get the names.
• The gallery should pay the artist in full within one month of its own receipt of payment from the client.
• One person in the gallery should be responsible for the day to day relationship with the artist, visiting the studio, arranging delivery of works, transport arrangements, and other points of detail.
• Promoting the artist to curators of group shows.
• Inclusion in the gallery’s website.
• Some collectors arrange to pay the gallery in instalments.  Even if a gallery agrees to this arrangement, the artist should try to negotiate to be paid in full before the gallery retains any of the money, rather than having to wait until the end of the instalment payments to receive payment.
• Fiduciary responsibilities.  This clause concerns ownership of the artwork and the gallery’s financial responsibilities to the artist.  It clearly states that work on consignment is owned by the artist and cannot be taken by creditors in case the gallery goes bankrupt.   A number of high-profile cases make this a good idea.
• Loss or damage to work or equipment – this should be accounted for, and agreed upon in writing
• Insurance for the full wholesale price should be provided by the gallery.  Artist should have control over any repairs, as necessary.
• Copyright.  Artists always retain the copyright to all artwork even after it is sold unless there is another contract, which states that the copyright has been purchased.  Artists should mark all artwork and visual materials with the © symbol and the year the work was completed.  In addition, it is professional to identify the object as one-of-a-kind, a limited edition, or an unlimited edition, with the number of the edition and which number in the series this object is.

© Medeia Cohan-Petrolino

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