Why is selling through galleries not a realistic path for most artists?

While galleries handling all marketing and sales sounds ideal, the math doesn’t work for most artists. If you do $100,000 in gallery sales, the 50% commission leaves you with $50,000. After studio rent, materials, and other expenses, you’re down to around $35,000-$40,000—not a living wage. More importantly, less than 5% of artists attempting to sell their work ever reach even $100,000 in annual gallery sales. Those doing $300,000+ (taking home over six figures after commission and expenses) represent less than one-tenth of 1% of artists. The odds are comparable to becoming a professional athlete in your sport—possible but extremely unlikely for the vast majority.

---

Asked by general teaching point · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2023-07-19