How should I price my artwork for gallery representation?

Pricing artwork for gallery representation requires accounting for the gallery's commission rate (40–60%), ensuring consistency across all sales channels to maintain collector confidence, and establishing a pricing logic that scales credibly as the practice develops. Price inconsistency — different prices for the same work depending on the buyer — is one of the most common structural errors artists make when entering gallery representation. The Strategic Workbook covers pricing architecture in Part IV, including a structural formula, career-stage coefficients, and a six-trigger revision gate.

What does a gallery representation contract typically include?

A gallery representation contract typically defines: the geographic territory covered by the exclusivity clause, the commission rate on all sales within that territory, the duration of the agreement and renewal terms, the promotional obligations of the gallery (exhibitions, fairs, publications), inventory rights and return conditions, and the payment timeline to the artist. Part VI of the Strategic Workbook covers representation contracts in full, including benchmarks and negotiation framework.

2026 Edition

The Strategic Workbook

€ 150

A 250-page structural reference covering the primary art market from its macro-economic dynamics to the granular decisions that determine a career. Pricing architecture, representation strategy, collector development, institutional positioning — nine analytical parts, three interactive diagnostics, two 2026 operational calendars. The complete framework for practitioners who want to understand the system before navigating it.

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Structure Ten analytical parts — Introduction and Parts I through IX — covering the mechanics of the primary art market: included key market data, strategic insights, applied data analysis. Fully readable in PDF format (printable) + HTML format, with a comprehensive guide to using the book, each part and its instruments.

Instruments Three interactive HTML diagnostics with tailored outputs and precise action plans: A-01 Self-Positioning Diagnostic, A-02 Pricing Calculator, A-03 Gallery Strategy Diagnostic. Three printable PDF action plans for gallery submission, representation negotiation, and situation audit. Two interactive 2026 calendars of international contemporary art fairs and prizes.

Format Complete dossier: workbook in PDF (printable) and HTML format + three interactive HTML tailored diagnostics + three printable PDF tools + two interactive calendars. Immediate download upon purchase.

Structure

Nine analytical parts

Each part of the workbook addresses a distinct layer of the primary art market — from its macro-structural dynamics to the granular decisions that shape a career.

Introduction

Foreword & How to Use This Book

Analytical framework, audience, scope, methodology, and a complete guide to using the workbook and its instruments.

Part I

The Market Landscape

Market scale, segment distribution, and key structural dynamics from Art Basel & UBS Arts Economics 2026. Six chapters covering the economic reality of being an artist today.

Part II

Understanding the Institutions

How galleries, collectors, advisors, and auction houses operate — their economic models, selection criteria, and relationship dynamics. Six chapters.

Part III

Positioning Yourself in the Market

↗ Diagnostic A-01

Career-stage mapping, market segment identification, and a 12-metric positioning diagnostic with tailored action plans.

Part IV

Pricing, the Architecture of Value

↗ Calculator A-02

Structural pricing formula, career-stage coefficients, peer benchmarking, and a six-trigger revision gate. Covers pricing artwork for gallery representation specifically: the structural formula that accounts for gallery commission rates (40–60%), production costs, and market-stage positioning — and the consistency logic that prevents price signalling errors across sales channels.

Part V

Professional Infrastructure

↓ Infrastructure Audit

Photography standards, website architecture, artist CV, dossier, inventory, and a full annual audit protocol.

Part VI

Gallery Strategy

↗ Diagnostic A-03 ↓ Pre-Submission Checklist ↓ Exclusivity & Commission Guide

Gallery targeting, submission protocol, contract negotiation, and representation management. Addresses gallery commission rate structures, the standard terms of a primary market gallery representation agreement, exclusivity clause logic, and the contractual benchmarks drawn from active market data.

Part VII

Visibility, Distribution and Presence

↗ Prizes Calendar 2026

Channel strategy, social media architecture, residencies, prizes, and institutional presence. Six chapters.

Part VIII

Art Fairs: Economics and Strategy

↗ Fairs Calendar 2026

Fair economics, tier classification, selection strategy, and cost-benefit framework.

Part IX

Outlook 2026–2030

Structural forces shaping the primary market over the next five years — and how to position a practice accordingly.

The Workbook is paired with operational instruments designed to produce a result, not just a reading.

A pricing calculator, two interactive diagnostics, three printable PDF tools, and two 2026 calendars covering every significant deadline in the primary market.

Interactive HTML

Pricing Calculator & Diagnostics

A pricing calculator with four modes — price a new work, revise existing prices, price a full exhibition, and audit price coherence — and two diagnostics (self-positioning, gallery strategy) each generating a tailored action plan.

Printable PDF

PDF Tools

Infrastructure audit, pre-submission checklist, exclusivity and commission guide. Structured for direct operational use — to be filled in, printed, and applied at the moment a decision is being made.

Interactive HTML

Calendars

Two complete 2026 calendars — international art fairs and contemporary art prizes — with dates, submission deadlines, tier classification, and filtering by region and career stage.

The Strategic Workbook

Nine analytical parts

Pricing Calculator & Diagnostics

PDF Tools

Calendars

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