Sending applications can be and time consuming and sometimes expensive process - not only for their production but also for postage.

VAT is a pain in the arts. My two recent columns on the subject - Vexing Art Toll? (AM No 24) and VAT Revisited (AM No 29) - have aroused so much interest and controversy that I feel some further points require comments.

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.

For reasons stated in Part Two (AM214), gallery-less dealers are not a generally recommended agent for promotion and sales.

Of course, it’s not all a one way street, and artists have responsibilities to act in a respectable and professional manner in their dealings with their galleries.

Although great strength and power can be drawn from legal information and knowledge, the processes of applying and using the law are often regarded as too cumbersome, complex and costly to be of any real use in an emergency.

Selling work is the primary source of income for most commercially successful artists, and is the strongest aspiration of most of those for whom a market place is not established.

Before you begin your hunt for a gallery ask yourself the following questions:

You will be in a more difficult situation if the relationship between you and your dealer / gallery has broken down, and if you do not have a written agreement.

These general points are always worth bearing in mind before entering into any agreement with a commercial gallery.

Now you have your shortlist of commercial galleries you are interested in, work through this list and try to find out more information on the gallery and its director.