This post is about the sales of artwork - by members and non-members - achieved in each price band at the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2023.
This post considers three aspects
Below is a chart which compares the number of artworks sold (97) to the total number of artworks exhibited (nearly 500) - by price range.
The percentage of artwork sold in each price band has a very pronounced distribution.
From this, some obvious conclusions can be drawn:
This analysis looks at the number of artworks sold in each price range - and notes the proportions for each category in each price band. Some may well be surprised by what I found.
- the number of artworks sold in each price range - analysed between member and non-member artworks
- observations on sales - in different price bands - for both members and non-members.
- pricing lessons for:
- the RBA and Mall Galleries
- member artists
- artists selected via the open entry - when entering in 2024.
My charts reveal
- which are the most popular price bands for sales.
- which price bands have the most unsold work!
Plus I comment on a well-established rumour about the Mall Galleries raising the future minimum price of an artwork - from £300 to £500 - and why this would lose money for the artists, society and the Mall Galleries. i.e in my opinion, a major rethink is required if the rumour is true!
(NOTE:
- A number of you know I'm a qualified accountant and an ex-Finance Director who loves crunching the numbers to reveal what might not be obvious to those artists who are less happy with numbers! I've done quite a few exhibition metrics posts in the past.
- All charts and tables EXCLUDE any unframed sales of prints)
Sales at the Royal Society of British Artists' Annual Exhibition 2023
Number of artworks sold in each price range
In other words approximately 20% of the artwork on the wall was sold either at the Mall Galleries or online.
This chart does not examine whether artworks were by RBA members or open entrants. It purely focuses on:
- the distribution of total artworks hung by price band (pale column)
- the distribution of total artworks sold by price band (blue column)
The percentage of artwork sold in each price band has a very pronounced distribution.
From this, some obvious conclusions can be drawn:
- the most popular price bands are all below £1,000 - with under £500 being the most popular (for what I commonly refer to as "impulse buys")
- for the three price bands below £1,000 identified above the percentage of sales achieved for artworks hung is between 23-30% - which looks like a good result to me
- by way of contrast over 90% of artworks in the top two price bands (above £2,000) failed to sell. (i.e. 7 sales out of 93 hung = 7.5%)
- That's very expensive wall space for a very low return on the 90%
- I have been saying - for a very long time - that the only people pricing above £2,000 in the Mall Galleries should be artists with an established track record in reputable art galleries for sales above this figure.
- The artwork might be great - but if financial targets have to be met then pricing needs to be sensible and sensitive.
I well remember that David Shepherd's sole target for his annual Wildlife Artists of the Year exhibition held each summer in the Mall Galleries was to maximise revenue for his charities - and he was very focused on maximising sales as well as exhibiting good wildlife art. Hence, those people who put very silly prices on their artwork had it changed - or their artwork was excluded from the exhibition. It seemed like an eminently sensible strategy to me
I'm minded to think that such a "weeding and pruning" pricing strategy could be usefully employed for ALL Calls for Entries for ALL FBA Exhibitions at the Mall Galleries because:
- entries are submitted from people living all over the OK as well as internationally
- many of whom will:
- never ever have visited an exhibition
- never noted the price bands which are popular for sales
If there is any serious thought being given to raising the minimum price for artwork exhibited, I'd suggest both FBA Societies and the Mall Galleries need to give serious consideration to the impact on sales at the lower end - as eliminating the below £500 buyers will remove the bottom rung of the ladder for would-be art collectors.
Comparison of artworks sold by RBA members and open entrant - in each price range
Open entrants outsold RBA members on the number of artworks sold at the RBA Annual Exhibition 2023.
- RBA Members - a total of 41%
- Open Entrants - a total of 59%
I've not yet done the analysis of sales by value - but it could also be very interesting. Check out the chart below...
In the chart above,
- the pale block is the NUMBER of artworks by open entrants sold,
- the dark teal block is the NUMBER of artworks by RBA members sold.
RBA Members
- RBA Members are missing out on the impulse sales in the under £500 price band
- my view is that many members are also missing out on sales priced below £1,000. I've got artists who I keep an eye on, mainly because they are consistent sellers and don't indulge in silly pricing. The people I expect to sell are still selling. Which suggests to me that there are some members who need to think much more carefully about how they price - and whether they are pricing themselves out of the market
- only 5 member artists had sales above £2,000 - suggesting that
- either much of the artwork is perceived to be overpriced for the artists
- or overpriced for the location and space
- and/or the Mall Galleries needs to do a lot more - in co-operation with the artists - to market more expensive artwork to people more likely to pay over £2,000. For example, do people who have bought more expensive artwork still get the special previews they used to have in the past? Or is all the marketing online and undifferentiated as to propensity to spend?
- There are two very popular bands for numbers of sales for RBA members
- £501 - £750 - which for me counts as "an affordable smaller art purchase"
- £1501- £2000 - a price band typically inhabited by artists with a good reputation who know how to market their artwork to their fans.
- Members should note that £2,000 is very obviously an important price hurdle for those buying in the all Galleries - and should think long and hard before pricing above this level.
- The RBA should think very carefully whether next year they want to encourage artists to achieve more sales by more sensible pricing - and are active in intervening or questioning when prices are above £2k i.e. what's the justification for this.
Open Entrants
- One thing I'm very pleased about is that it looks to me as if a number of people submitting and getting selected via the Open Entry have read previous posts by me about how to price art for open exhibitions at the Mall Galleries. I've noticed a marked shift - excluding submissions by international artists who may not read English. With the result that
- 59% of total sales came from artwork selected from the open entry!
- open entrants sold four times more than RBA members in the £500 and under price band. I've highlighted before how:
- small artworks priced at under £500 are:very popular and sell well
- very easy to select since you're not taking up a lot of wall space!
- open entrants performed at least as well, if not better, than RBA members on artworks priced at £1,500 or under
In general, the overall performance on sales by the open entrants suggests to me that this augurs well for the future in terms of:
- achieving respectable sales at respectable (i.e. not excessive) prices
- encouraging more artists to submit entries in future and price sensibly for sales
- begin developing their careers as serious artists who can
- continue to provide a good choice of artwork of artwork for art collectors who like to start small before buying bigger and more expensive artworks.
Importantly, without the inclusion of artwork prices between £300 and £500, exhibitions like the RBA's will fail to encourage people to step up to the first level of becoming collectors - which is so very important for the welfare of both artists and art societies.
Advice about Pricing Art
Many readers will know this already - but for those who don't....
I have a very big section on How to Price Your Art in the Money & Tax section of my Art Business Info for Artists website.
It includes sections on:
PS I may come back and tweak this. This is the sort of blog post where I often remember there was something else I wanted to say!
- How important is price when buying art? - Find out how important prices is to those buying art
- Options for pricing art - How to avoid pricing art disasters + Check out different approaches to "how to price art" - including different formulas for pricing your art
- Terminology and formulas for pricing art - Learn the words used when pricing art. Review what influences different ways of pricing art e.g. identify costs that need to be recovered and learn about how place and venue influences prices
- Art experts on pricing art - Find out what art experts recommend as the best ways to price art
- How artists price their art - Find out how other artists price their art - and which are the most popular
- What's the price of affordable art? - find out why people attach importance to numbers + what are the big price hurdles and how they can vary between countries
If you read just one, go for the last one.
Ignore "price hurdles" in relation to affordable art at your peril!
Take account of them and you will sell a LOT more art!
PS I may come back and tweak this. This is the sort of blog post where I often remember there was something else I wanted to say!
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