I have been showing and selling for 30 years. The only galleries I`ve had problems with are the ones that have had contracts. The 3 galleries I`m showing now are all handshake chords, if they don`t trust you, you shouldn`t trust them. I have been in these galleries for 2, 10 and 20 years. I would not exhibit with a gallery that needed a contract, my personal opinion. Q: I`ve spoken to a local gallery that wants to give me an exhibition in about six to nine months. So far, so good, but I don`t really know them well. What kind of questions should I ask? Should we have a contract? Do I have to use a standard contract that I can find online? What happens if the gallery does not use contracts? Would an informal agreement suffice? What should be included in a contract or agreement? Excellent article, Dan! I appreciate this conscientious approach to avoid misunderstandings and protect the interests of both parties. Oh for the good old days when a handshake was all it took! Those days are long gone and contracts are very useful in the market. Nevertheless, many people will prove to be trustworthy and abide by the contract. 😊 10th transport of works of art. If the artist or gallery has a preferred sender, it could be added to the contract under this section. Note that not all galleries or venues that show your art are interested in signing contracts or agreements.
Or the documents they want to sign don`t necessarily cover everything you want to cover. Unfortunately, many artists are so eager to have their art shown that they are willing to overlook gaps, hope for the best, and accept any contracts or documents presented to them. That`s fine, as long as you`re aware of the risks involved and know what you`re going to lose if things don`t work out. If you agree with that, then that`s fine, but if you feel uncomfortable when you go ahead, maybe wait until the next time the terms of the deal are more to your liking. There are organizations that provide voluntary or pro bono legal services for art-related topics, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts. These services are not necessarily free, as membership fees or administrative fees may be incurred, depending on the organization. But these are probably inexpensive options. Some of the above organizations may also offer workshops and courses on art-related legal topics, including contract drafting. VLA, for example, offers courses on copyright, freelancer protection, and specific legal issues from various disciplines and artistic media. Recordings of their courses are available upon request on their website, as well as a calendar in which upcoming events are published.
Click here to download my sample contract for an art gallery in PDF format. You can then copy and paste the text into your favorite word processor to enter your specific details. I based my art gallery contract on a model by Scott Burdick and Susan Lyon. Thank you for your review, Stephen. I`m glad you were very lucky with your galleries. The advice I think we should take from your comment is to make sure there is trust between the artist and the gallery. Which is a great point. It doesn`t matter how long you`ve been exhibiting with galleries or whether or not they use contracts. I`m sure there are success stories and horror stories in both directions. My goal with this article is just to encourage artists to think about terms that are important to them so that both parties can discuss and reach mutual agreement. As a preface to the shipping contract, the following overview provides a brief explanation of each part of the contract.
There are different types of contracts that come into play for artists who work professionally – whether in the context of representing galleries, receiving commissions or financing, selling a work of art or a temporary work for a temporary exhibition. 15. Security. This is a legal clause that protects the artist and stipulates that the artist is the owner of the delivered work until full payment. Few states have laws that protect an artist`s work on behalf of the gallery`s creditors. This is an important reason why artists must use contracts with a security clause. The creditor`s rights are also cut off if there is a sign on the gallery indicating that the work sold will be sold on commission, but such signage is rarely used. In general, artist contracts can take different forms depending on the situation. But there are also a few important sections and details that are common in different types of contracts: including the full and complete details of a work of art or proposal; copyright and documentation permits for works of art; the timing of the agreement, milestones and deadlines; the applicable law under which the Contract is performed; and dispute resolution and termination procedures….