The important things to know about pricing Affordable Art

The really important things to know 

about pricing Affordable Art

There are two things you need to know about pricing affordable art.

The first is that what the PUBLIC think is "affordable" is the only game in time.
It's emphatically NOT what the artists or the art galleries and art fairs think it is. 
That's because they're trying to make money for themselves so they have a huge incentive to call it "affordable" but then pitch the price high!

The second is that it's the PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE of a number that really matters. A poll I ran revealed that

• Between 64-70% would buy art up to 500 (of whichever currency)
• Between 70-91% would buy art up to 1000 (of whichever currency)
• ONLY 9-10% would contemplate buying art above 1000 (of whichever currency)

The important thing is to identify what are the key hurdle prices which change behaviour. It's akin to the notion that you should always price just below an important hurdle price rather than just above.

IMAGE: My page about The Price of Affordable Art on my website Art Business Info for Artists

Why I got interested in the price of affordable art

I became very interested in the concept of affordable art - and its pricing - back in 2010 (post the banking crisis of 2008 and what followed).  

This was a time when a lot of art galleries were closing - mainly because people were not buying and/or because the people who ran the galleries were not good business people and/or they had no concept of risk management and made no provision for a difficult economic context

The main reason for my interest was that artists were trying to sell in a difficult economic context and kept getting their pricing wrong which meant their sales were also plummeting.

They very much needed to understand 

• what was deemed "affordable" and would still sell.
• what were the key hurdle prices within the range they considered affordable.
• how to avoid shooting themselves in the foot due to poor pricing practices.

We've now had 12 months of a very difficult economic climate with inflation and significant interest rate rises. It's not coming to an end any time soon - even if it has improved somewhat. We are still a long way adrift from where we were two years ago.

Bottom line - we are now back in the same territory as 2010 and the same issues and questions apply re. pricing.

What is an affordable price?

What is "Affordable Art"?

This is a discussion for artists, art galleries, art fairs and art dealers - over three blog posts today, tomorrow and Friday - about:

TODAY

• What is "affordable"?
• What is Affordable Art and how is it defined?

TOMORROW

• How to price Affordable Art - the really important things you need to know - find out:
• who determines what is affordable
• why people attach importance to specific numbers
• what are the big price hurdles and 
• how they can vary between countries

FRIDAY

• The importance of the minimum price to sales in open exhibitions

These all point in the direction of more information on this very important topic for all those trying selling art in a difficult economic context - particularly all artists, art societies, art fairs and art galleries.

________________________________________

What is "affordable"?

"Affordable" means something different to everybody, 

but generally means 'not expensive' relative to income

and can vary over time, place and economic context

It's a concept which relates to a very wide variety of products and services. 

"Affordable" is emphatically not the same as "cheap". 

Very often it means

• the price that people can "afford to pay" for a non-essential / discretionary good or service using any surplus income....
• AFTER other necessary / essential demands on their income have been covered 
• BUT it also depends on 
• how financially secure they feel; and 
• How big a financial 'buffer' they feel they need - and how much is left over for discretionary spending - and hence what feels "affordable"
• 
  

The importance of substitution within the economic context

What seems very affordable in one year can look much too expensive in the next IF essential demands on income have increased (eg mortgage interest rate rises; inflation rate increases)

In this context, people can still have budgets which allow some spending - but not so much as before. Which means "affordable" can have moving goalposts.

Practical examples include:

• people still have treats - but they are maybe not as big or as expensive (equivalent to still buying art - but at lower prices)
• people take staycations rather than holidaying abroad because they are deemed more affordable. ( equivalent to people buying art online rather than from galleries because it's a popular thing to do - and also because nobody needs to know you used to buy more expensive art elsewhere)

What is "Affordable Art" and how is it defined?

In the context of art, very rich people are still very rich and can still afford to buy expensive art. But this is utterly irrelevant for most players in the art marketplace.

In my view (and from observation), in a time of economic difficulty, something usually happens within the vast numbers of people on "middle incomes" who like art and have bought it in the past

• People who have bought expensive art in the past can 
• start trading down and 
• start buying more affordable art when they are feeling the pinch. 
• They're still buying art - but just not spending so much. 
• So they buy less (reduced sales)
• or they buy at lower prices (changing the range of prices they're happy looking at)

Plus let's not forget, many artists who sell their "more affordable" art online commented that they made MORE money during the pandemic than they had ever done because people had the money spare for small treats - and couldn't get into the art galleries who were typically also much less good at marketing online!

So what's my definition of Affordable Art?

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead 2023: A Synopsis

The main point I'd make about the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead which is on Hampstead Heath (about five minutes walk from the Train station is as follows.....

The stars of the show are emphatically the printmakers.  

Walk past an awful lot of 'manufactured art' and head for the Printmaker Stands where you will find artwork which is both good quality and affordable - as in affordable to more ordinary mortals.

Art Affordable Art Fair (Hampstead): My Findings

Here's the criteria for who can get involved in an Affordable Art Fair - all of which are very sensible.

• All artists must be living.
• All works must be original, or have an edition of less than the following per media:
• Sculpture – 25;
• Prints – 200;
• Photography – 150.
• All works must be priced under our price ceiling (see Exhibitor FAQs for more info).
• Reproductions, even if editioned, are not allowed.

Here's what I found on my visit on Thursday.

What's Affordable?

The art fair lacks a definition for "Affordable". It needs one. In my opinion, it would get more visitors if it signalled more clearly what the price range of the artwork on show is

See more undr "What's Confusing?" below.

What's Good

The stands organised by groups of Printmakers - including:

• A7 East London Printmakers (busy all day) Facebook East London Printmakers is a not-for-profit, artist run studio based in Mile End. (My other half nearly bought one - we got to the unframed versus framed debate). This is an organisation which also encourages people to use their studios....
• D11 Printmakers in Residence (also very busy) - The studio in Bermondsey produces all the work by Mychael Barratt and Trevor Price, fellows and respectively the Past President and Vice President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Work by other contemporary artists is produced and published by invitation.
• H8 North London Printmakers - a group of printmakers who believe in bringing high quality affordable prints to everyone. They're very much focused on the price range I would regarded as most people's definition of "affordable".
• H1 Rebecca Hossack is showing Professor Phil Shaw is a ground-breaking British digital-printmaker - who produces some unique (and funny) digital art prints. Awarded his Doctorate in ink technology, Shaw uses a specialized eight-colour printing process on fine-grade Hahnemuhle paper. He was the former Professor of Printmaking at the University of Middlesex, where he taught from 1980.
• D7 Arc Fine Arts stand is showing some lovely etchings by Tim Southall 

There's a Route Guide for Photography and Print

Mychael Barrett PPRE with "Made in London"
his new screenprint and woodcut about the creative artwork and products first made in London. Underneath is his Gormley's cat (the dog version sold extremely well at the RA Summer Exhibition)

 

'You can't judge a book' by Phil Shaw

My world is a place where humour is a serious matter, and its purpose is not simply to raise a laugh but to call attention to the puzzling absurdities and the dangerous myths, that permeate all our lives." Phil Shaw

Etchings by Tim Southall

• There are some very good stand displays by long established art galleries. Ones I'd highlight are with a good stable of artists are:
• Linda Blackstone Gallery - you can also see them at a variety of Affordable Art Fairs in the UK and overseas
• Marine House at Beer - run for over 25 years by art collectors who became art gallerists! I very much liked the quirky landscape paintings by Jo March.

Art Society Exhibitions (December 2022 - March 23) - at the Mall and Bankside Galleries

Here's a list of the upcoming Art Society Exhibitions at the two main venues in London over the winter months - the Mall Galleries and the Bankside Gallery.

Click the title of the exhibition to find out more about each exhibition

DECEMBER

Royal Institute of Oil Painters | Annual Exhibition 2022

Venue: Mall Galleries

Dates: 24 November 2022 to 10 December 2022 (10am to 5pm)

Admission: £5

More info:

• ROI 2022 Annual Exhibition – Prize winners | ROI website
• Prizewinners at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2022

Mini Picture Show

Mini Picture Show 
Robin Richmond RWS, Summer Cadaques, Spain (detail),
watercolour & acrylic on handmade paper

Affordable works on a small scale by artists from the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. Contemporary watercolours and original prints, both framed and unframed, may be taken away immediately. Prices start at £50

I'm always rather surprised more national and local art galleries don't do something similar. I've visited this show in the past and come away with what I regarded as some real bargains.

• Artworks
• Venue: Bankside Galley
• Dates: 9th December 2022 - 29th January 2023
• Admission: Free
• 
  

JANUARY

Mini Picture Show (continues)

• Artworks
• Venue: Bankside Galley
• Dates: 9th December 2022 - 29th January 2023
• Admission: Free

Mall Galleries: no exhibitions

FEBRUARY

Mall Galleries: no exhibitions

I can't remember the last time (prior to the pandemic and other than last year due to surgery) when I didn't visit the Mall Galleries in January and February - but maybe that's because there's fewer art competitions?

Personally I don't get it. Summer months provide a lot more competition for people's time. Having a nice exhibition to go to during the winter months is to my mind an excellent outing! Bottom line it all depends on what the impact is on the number of visitors to the exhibition - and the number of sales....

MARCH

RWS Open

• Venue: Bankside Galley
• Dates: 3rd - 19th March 2023
• More Info: Call for Entries: Royal Watercolour Society Open 2023

Royal Society of British Artists 

• Venue: Mall Galleries
• Dates: 3rd - 11th March 2023 (10am to 5pm daily)
• Admission: £5
• More info: Call for Entries: 200th Anniversary Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours - 211th Exhibition

• Venue: Mall Galleries
• Dates: Thursday 30 March - Saturday 8 April, 5pm (10am to 5pm daily)
• Admission: £5