Reviewed as of 27 September 2026. If anything has changed, let me know and I will update it with the date of the change.
There is no universal formula for pricing an artwork. However, there are criteria that prevent costly mistakes: selling below production cost, varying the price depending on who is asking, or discounting a series without considering the impact on previous sales.
This guide organises these criteria. It does not determine the value of your work nor does it replace knowledge of the market in which you operate.
Cost, price, and value
Cost is what is required to produce and circulate the work: materials, time, studio, collaborators, documentation, framing, packaging, transport, or installation. Knowing this allows one to understand which operations are sustainable, but it does not, by itself, generate a market price.
Price is the amount for which you offer the work. It may be set by the artist or agreed upon with a gallery. It should relate to the rest of the production and applied consistently.
Value may refer to artistic appreciation, historical relevance, institutional recognition, utility, or economic worth. It is not a single magnitude, nor does it necessarily coincide with the price. What makes a work valuable as art is not reduced to what someone pays for it.
The actual cost
Calculate at least:
- materials and external production;
- hours of work and collaboration;
- studio, tools, and attributable supplies;
- photography, framing, packaging, and certification;
- transport, installation, storage, and insurance when they form part of the operation;
- commissions, taxes, and other sales expenses.
Not all costs should be transferred mechanically to a single piece. Some belong to a series, to annual activity, or to an exhibition. The important thing is not to confuse gross income with actual return.
Criteria for building a scale
Format, technique, and edition
Many artists group comparable works by size, technique, series, or complexity. A stable scale makes it easier for similar pieces to have similar prices. It does not mandate a formula per centimetre, nor does it prevent justifying exceptions based on production, rarity, or importance within a series.
For serial work, record the total edition, artist proofs, and the expected price evolution between copies. Changing the edition size after selling alters the information upon which the first buyers purchased.
Trajectory and circulation
Exhibitions, documented sales, collections, commissions, and representation can support a price evolution. They do not act as an automatic tariff. An isolated exhibition or a mention does not, by itself, justify a jump that is difficult to sustain.
Comparables
Observe artists with comparable trajectories, techniques, formats, territories, and sales channels. Distinguish published prices from effectively realised sales. Figures from a secondary auction, an international fair, or an established gallery are not interchangeable references with an initial sale from the studio.
Own sales
The sales history is the most solid reference for maintaining continuity. Record the work, date, public price, discount, channel, buyer, and costs. Protect personal data and separate the internal archive from any public listing.
Consistency between channels
A specific work must have a consistent public price across the studio, website, gallery, and art fair. Two comparable works should also adhere to the same scale, unless there is an identifiable reason to differentiate them.
When a gallery is involved, the public price should not be calculated by subsequently adding their commission to a supposed 'artist price'. The distribution, taxes, and discounts must be resolved within the agreed price. Selling directly at a lower price may damage the relationship with the gallery and the trust of those who purchased through another channel.
Consistency does not mean that all markets must necessarily have the same final price. International transport, currency, tariffs, taxes, or local costs may introduce differences. These must be documented and must not become disguised discounts.
Discounts
There is no rule stating that prices can only increase, but general price reductions may affect the credibility of the scale and previous buyers. Before lowering prices, distinguish between:
- a one-off commercial discount;
- a sale to an institution;
- conditions for an acquisition of multiple works;
- works on paper, studies, or editions with their own scale;
- the liquidation of a series;
- a structural review of prices that had become uncompetitive.
Agree with the gallery on who may authorise discounts and how their cost is shared. Always record the public price and the final amount, without fabricating a sale at the full price.
Taxes and advertised price
When a business or professional offers a work to consumers, the prior information must include the total price, including taxes and, where applicable, additional charges. The obligation depends on the existence of a consumer relationship. Not every occasional sale between private individuals is subject to the same regime.
In transactions between businesses or professionals, it is customary to negotiate amounts excluding taxes and to itemise them on the invoice. This does not eliminate the need to clearly state the total that must be paid.
Specific taxation depends on who is selling, who is buying, the type of work, the territory, and the transaction. Review this before publishing a rate or accepting a net price.
When to review the scale
Review prices when there is a change you can sustain: repeated sales, new representation, a stable increase in demand, different structural costs, or a clear transition in format and production. Avoid modifying prices after every exhibition or according to the perceived economic capacity of the buyer.
If an initial scale was set too high and does not produce sales, correcting it may be more honest than maintaining a fiction. Do so in a general, documented manner, and coordinate with those who offer your work.
Checklist
- Calculate the full cost and distinguish expenses by work, series, and activity.
- Group comparable pieces by format, technique, edition, or complexity.
- Compare published prices with your own actual sales and comparable works.
- Define a public price and the distribution for each channel.
- Agree on discounts, taxes, and expenses before offering the work.
- Record every sale and retain the documentation.
- Review the scale based on criteria, not according to who is asking.
On the open conversation
This guide gathers professional practice criteria. It does not propose commission percentages, multipliers, or market figures as if they were universal. If you work in a gallery, an art fair, or in valuation and notice a necessary precision, the guide remains open.