He's asking way too much!

At a recent show opening I was hanging out in the crowd making small talk. A couple of people I didn't know were considering one of my larger metal prints. "I really like this, but he's asking way too much for it!" Other artists will likely recognize this sort of comment, I'm sure. The price listed next to the print was $700. This certainly sounds like a lot of money, but let's look at the math. The roughly 40" by 50" print cost me about $500 from the lab. I usually wait until the lab runs a 'sale' but that basically helps offset the $100 or more extra for shipping and taxes. The gallery takes 30% in commission, leaving my take at less than $500. In other words, I would actually have lost money.

How about smaller pieces that I print at home on my photo printer? I just brought home a new black and white print I took years ago on my trusty Pentax 6x7. At a local frame shop, the standard framing (metal frame, mat and UV glass) cost me more than $350 (with a professional discount). If I price this at $450, I will just about break even- ONLY if I don't include the price of the print itself.

It is understood that most artists make little or nothing from selling their work. I have a couple of friends that call themselves professional photographers. But they make the bulk of their income from selling their services and expertise (tours, articles, books) and almost nothing from selling the artwork itself. In general, art is valued by the fame level of the artist, rather than the quality level of the art. This is why a mediocre painting priced at $5 at a garage sale is suddenly worth millions when it is discovered that it was actually painted by a famous painter. In the meantime, we're competing against mass-produced $50 posters at the discount store.

The painters and photographers that I know locally are not looking to get rich or even make a living from their work. And we understand that the price point for artwork in a small city in the Midwest will be a lot lower than in a professionally lighted and curated gallery in Santa Fe or Chicago. But before commenting on how much the artist is asking for the piece, consider that there is a good chance that he or she may not even be breaking even.