Collecting Basics: Artist's Careers How do artists set their prices? How do we know if the work we buy today will still be important 50 or 100 years from now? Assigning value to contemporary art may be difficult, but much is revealed through a careful reading of the artist's resume. If the artist's resume is not provided by his or her art dealer, you should be very careful about investing in that artist's work. All artists at NextMonet have an abridged resume attached to their profiles. When you add an artist's work to your collection, you're contributing to that artist's reputation and validating their efforts. By becoming a patron of your favorite artist, you help ensure that the artist will be appreciated for years to come. The following are important elements in determining how contemporary art is priced. Click on a topic to learn more. Artist's education Exhibition record Sales history Quality Gallery representation Grants, awards, and residencies Reviews Artist's education Eurydice Thomas Many fine artists are self-taught, but in general they learn their craft at colleges and universities. Most large universities have art departments staffed by working artists that offer Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees. There are 30-40 very good degree programs in the United States, and about as many others scattered around the world. Degrees from community college programs tend to carry less weight as an art world credential. Judge the quality of a degree program by its faculty and reputation; good faculty should train and open doors for their students. Examples of excellent programs include: School of the Museum of Fine Arts; California Institute of the Arts; Cooper Union; Glasgow School of Art (U.K.); Goldsmiths College (U.K.); Hunter College; Maryland Institute, College of Art; The Kansas City Art Institute; Parsons School of Design; Pratt Institute; Cranbrook Academy of Art; Rhode Island School of Design; Royal College of Art (U.K.); The San Francisco Art Institute; School of the Art Institute of Chicago; School of Visual Arts; University of California-Los Angeles; Yale. Exhibition record There are benefits to investing in works by artists who are shown in major galleries all over the world, but also rewards from supporting the work of emerging artists whose careers are gaining momentum. Most serious collectors possess works by both emerging and established artists; pieces by renowned artists offer prestige and lasting value, and works by up-and-coming artists feature fresh new perspectives — and reasonable prices. Squeak Carnwath Artists generally start out showing their work in small venues and, if very successful, end up in museum retrospectives. It's more prestigious to have work exhibited in one-person shows than group shows, and in commercial galleries rather than public spaces. The exhibition path typically starts with shows at school, café and not-for-profit spaces. The artist moves on to rural galleries and competitions, then major gallery shows. Eventually, an artist might receive invitations to participate in museum theme shows, and ideally (although very rarely) retrospectives in major museums. As their careers progress, artists tend to drop the smaller shows off their resume. Sales history The most important measure of the monetary value of a work of art is the artist's previous sales history. In prints, typically the price increases as the edition is sold (as we might expect, given the rules of supply and demand). Prices for the work of emerging artists are often initially determined by the dealer. Dealers who are more established will start out new artists at higher prices than less well-known dealers. Once an emerging artist has shown in a few major galleries, their works may go up in price dramatically. Generally, established artists will see a steady rise in their prices over their career. If the economy takes a nose dive, however, their prices may fall. The most important benchmark in an artist's sales history is auction price, but few living artists have their work sold at auction. Quality Michael Brown Some works are just better than others. These can be works that took longer than usual to produce, demonstrate an artist's mastery of his or her medium, or in some way push an idea further along than most of their work. An outstanding piece may have been the cornerstone of a traveling exhibition, or the subject of a critic's review. Also, artists often work in series, and some series may be stronger or more critically acclaimed than others. This means that work produced by the same artist at the same time may be priced differently. Gallery representation There is a noticeable hierarchy in the gallery world. The top galleries are the ones that represent a number of the best and most accomplished artists. The quality of a gallery can also be measured in a number of quantifiable ways, including how often it is reviewed in the mainstream press and arts publications, and its memberships in professional organizations such as the Art Dealers Association of America. One measure of an artist is the number and quality of galleries he or she is affiliated with. Resumes that show regular exhibitions at reputable galleries indicate a serious artist. Keep in mind, though, that emerging artists typically have just a few galleries on their resumes; once they have more gallery shows to their credit, their work may be harder to come by and their prices will usually rise. Grants, awards, and residency programs Sukey Bryan Talented artists are constantly applying for grants, awards and fellowships — rarely do art sales keep bread on the table by themselves. NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and Pollock-Krasner grants are difficult to get and highly regarded in the art world. Additionally, there are numerous local, state, and private grants and awards that enable an artist to realize their vision without starving in the process. Residencies are generally regarded as research and development opportunities for artists; they provide a place to work and innovate, away from distractions. Again, these are highly competitive, and only a select few artists receive invitations to residency programs. Reviews Robin Lasser When reading a review, look not only for what the review says, but also who wrote it. Reviewers have their own pecking order, and the most influential are at reputable, widely-circulated newspapers or magazines. Critics may not always be very complimentary, but getting reviewed at all is a feat worthy of note — critics only write about a small percentage of the art out there, and they don't bother to cover commercial art. So even a bad review may mean the work is being taken seriously. Next: Taste — Do I have taste?