The consistent price list: the document that structures your career

01Why a price list is not an administrative detail

When a collector enters a studio or discovers your work online, the first question that crosses their mind after the aesthetic impact is the price. If they must send an email, wait three days for a reply, then receive a hastily thrown-together figure, you have already lost some of the trust that leads to a purchase. The price list signals that you take your activity seriously, that you know the value of what you produce, and that you are prepared to discuss it professionally.

Galleries such as Perrotin, Thaddaeus Ropac, and Gagosian provide printed price lists at every exhibition. Even emerging galleries like Balice Hertling or Creve Coeur in Paris prepare this document for each show. It is not a luxury reserved for big names: it is a professional standard you can adopt right now, even if you sell from your studio.

02What your price list should contain

Each entry on your list should include the title of the work, the year of creation, the medium, the dimensions in centimetres, the price excluding tax, and where applicable, whether the frame or plinth is included. If you work in editions, indicate the print run and the number. If the work is sold, note it: a collector who sees that pieces are already placed understands that your market is active.

Photographer Rinko Kawauchi, whose prints are distributed worldwide, uses clear price lists distinguishing formats, editions, and printing techniques. This clarity facilitates the work of the galleries that represent her and reassures collectors about the traceability of each piece.

03The logic of price progression

Your prices must tell a coherent story. A small format cannot cost more than a large format in the same series unless a technical reason justifies it. A drawing on paper cannot exceed the price of an oil on canvas of the same dimensions unless your drawing practice is recognised as your primary discipline.

German artist Neo Rauch, represented by Galerie Eigen + Art in Leipzig and David Zwirner in New York, has built a pricing grid where prices increase proportionally with the size of the work, with clear thresholds between drawings, small-format paintings, and large compositions. This legibility allows collectors to situate themselves immediately and know what budget to expect.

The general rule is simple: your prices should rise steadily over time, never drop. A price drop sends a disastrous signal to the market. Collectors who purchased at the higher price feel betrayed, and new buyers interpret the decrease as a sign of weakness. If you set your prices too high at the start, the solution is not to lower them but to maintain them and work on your visibility so the market catches up to your positioning.

04Adapting your list to each context

You do not need a single fixed price list for eternity. You can have a complete version for galleries and advisors, a selective version for fairs or group shows, and a lighter version for collectors discovering your work for the first time.

British artist Bridget Riley has always demonstrated great rigour in the dissemination of her prices. Her galleries, notably Galerie Max Hetzler and David Zwirner, provide lists tailored to each context: a complete version for established collectors, a selection for fairs, and targeted information for institutions considering an acquisition.

The essential point is that prices remain identical from one context to another. A collector who discovers that the same painting is offered at a different price depending on the interlocutor will lose all trust. Pricing consistency is a commitment to transparency that you must uphold without exception.

05The question of discounts

Whether to grant discounts is a strategic decision. In the art market, discounts exist: galleries commonly offer between five and ten per cent to regular collectors, and sometimes more for institutional acquisitions. But discounts must remain the exception, not the rule.

If you sell directly from your studio without a gallery intermediary, you may consider that a ten per cent discount is acceptable for a buyer acquiring multiple pieces or returning regularly. Beyond that, you devalue your work. American painter Alex Katz, who has worked with galleries for over sixty years, has always maintained a strict pricing policy: prices are prices, and exceptions are rare and justified.

Never mention discounts on your price list. They are negotiated privately, on a case-by-case basis, and must never give the impression that your listed prices are inflated to leave room for negotiation.

06Updating your list regularly

Your price list is not a document you create once and forget in a drawer. It must evolve with your practice. When you complete a new series, it is added to the list. When you raise your prices, the list is updated. When a work is sold, the status changes.

South African artist William Kentridge, whose work is represented by Goodman Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery, maintains rigorous tracking of each work from creation to sale. This tracking feeds not only the price list but also the catalogue raisonne, which will one day become the reference for art historians and curators.

The ideal update frequency is monthly. Take an hour at the beginning of each month to verify your list is current, that sold works are marked accordingly, and that new pieces are integrated with the correct information.

07The presentation format

The format of your price list says something about you. A clean PDF with your name, your logo or typeface, the update date, and your contact details gives an impression of professionalism. A plain text file sent as an attachment to a subject-less email gives the opposite impression.

Galerie Lelong, which represents artists such as Kiki Smith, Jaume Plensa, and Etel Adnan, uses a spare price list format with careful layout that extends the gallery's visual identity. You do not need a graphic designer to achieve a similar result: a well-structured document with a clear hierarchy of information is more than sufficient.

Some artists include a thumbnail image of each work in the price list. This is a bonus, especially when sending the list to someone who has not seen the works in person. It facilitates identification and creates a visual link between the price and the object.

08Your price list as a career tool

Beyond its commercial function, your price list is a career tracking tool. By consulting it, you can see how your prices have evolved over the years, which formats sell best, and which techniques attract the most collectors. This information is invaluable for guiding your production and strategic choices.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose prices have experienced spectacular growth since the 2000s, is an extreme example of what pricing consistency can produce over the long term. Each price increase was justified by a major exhibition, an institutional acquisition, or a retrospective, creating a virtuous circle between recognition and market value.

You are not Kusama, and the aim is not to reach the stratosphere. But the principle remains the same: each price threshold should correspond to a stage in your career, and your price list is the document that materialises that progression.

On Artedusa, each work is presented with its complete information, including dimensions, medium, and price. This transparency is at the heart of the relationship of trust between artist and collector. By structuring your price list upstream, you arrive on the platform with a coherent pricing grid that reassures buyers and enhances your practice. Discover how to present your work at artedusa.com.