< AN INTRODUCTION TO SALES & COMMISSIONS
PRICING YOUR ARTWORK
A good part of any art foundry’s turnover includes work that is funded entirely by individual artists from their own resources. In contrast to formally commissioned artwork, most of these sculptures are financed on a speculative basis by the artist themselves in the expectation (or hope!), that a purchaser will be found once a cast has been produced. It is also reasonable to include in this category, artworks commissioned on an informal basis (such as by a personal acquaintance).
Occasionally founders are asked for guidance on the appropriate sales price of a finished cast. In fact there is no simple or straightforward answer to this (not unreasonable), question. In principle, the market value of a newly cast artwork is dependent upon any number of factors, not least of which is the professional standing of the artist themselves. An obvious illustration of this is that a leading international sculptor could expect to sell an artwork at many times the cost of it’s production, whereas an unknown artist attempting to establish their name may consider a sale at anything over cost a success.
Despite the absence of a quick and reliable guide to setting a selling price for work, there are simple steps that can be taken to calculate the minimum value that a work should be sold at, to both cover expenses and make a fair profit. With a simple, realistic computation of likely production costs, the artist can at least make an informed decision as to whether or not to invest in a speculative cast.
When calculating the sales value of a cast artwork, factors such as the time spent designing and modelling a MASTER PATTERN (the model), studio overheads, travel, administration, foundry fees, transportation, installation and other expenses, must all be taken into account before a profit can be expected. Unfortunately it is far too common for artists to settle upon a sales value for their work that falls woefully short of a profit. A low sales price is often agreed simply to secure a sale; or worse still, because an inadequate allowance was made for the true expense and overhead involved in developing and making the sculpture.
As a very approximate guide, a quick and useful way to calculate a starting point for a sales value is to double the founder’s casting fee (the final figure should also account for any sales taxes or other duties payable which are not redeemable by the artist). Any worthwhile calculation must also allow for payments made to agents or gallery handling fees if applicable. If an intermediary (ie gallery), is handling the sale of a work, it is important to distinguish between the price asked by the artist for themselves and the final sales price asked of a potential purchaser by a dealer.
Bear in mind that any method of rough reckoning such as outlined above is a poor substitute for a carefully made calculation of all the costs incurred. Computer programmes such as Excel, Sage and MYOB etc can make the inputting and calculation of costing data quite straightforwards. Unless some proper account is made for studio time and other overheads, there may be little if any true profit realised on a ‘doubled foundry fee’ sale as described above, especially if making an allowance for income tax deductions.
APPLYING FOR COMMISSIONS >
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