Robert McGowen
01-13-2012, 5:53 PM
There always seems to be the "How to get in a gallery?" threads and the different commission rate threads, etc., etc. almost every week. Getting INTO a gallery does not really mean that the battle is over. There are still a lot of things that can go wrong. So just to shed a different light on things for people trying to get into a gallery, how many of you have had a problem with a gallery?
My example: This just got settled for me a couple of days ago. I had quite a bit of work in a really nice gallery that has been in business for years. They had even done a private show for me a couple of years ago and the gallery owner had purchased a piece during the show. Fast forward a few years. I had not heard anything from them for a few months and went to the gallery to see how things were going. I had quite a few items that were not displayed and asked about them. I found out that 2 vases had been sold the month before and 3 had been sold that month. The OWNER then told me that he was having trouble paying his rent on the gallery due to the economy and that he could not pay me for the vases because he had used the proceeds from the sale to pay his rent. I pretty much explained to him what I thought about that, immediately picked up all of my remaining work, and left with it right then. A few months of phone calls passed with no payment, so after Christmas I went to the gallery, as I would think that that would be the best time for them to have made a profit. They were having a moving sale with 20% off everything in the gallery if you paid CASH. There was no indication at all where they were MOVING to on any of the sale signs. BIG RED FLAG! I spoke to the bookkeeper right then, explained to her what the Texas theft statutes stated, told her I would make sure she was in the middle of things, asked her if she was sure she didn't want to pay me, and suddenly a miracle occurred and I got paid right then.
I guess that means I sold 5 vases this week? :eek:
One other thing I found is that some places will remove your work from display in December and not show it again until later in the next year. Something about paying taxes on end-of-the-year inventory. :(
Anyone else..............
My example: This just got settled for me a couple of days ago. I had quite a bit of work in a really nice gallery that has been in business for years. They had even done a private show for me a couple of years ago and the gallery owner had purchased a piece during the show. Fast forward a few years. I had not heard anything from them for a few months and went to the gallery to see how things were going. I had quite a few items that were not displayed and asked about them. I found out that 2 vases had been sold the month before and 3 had been sold that month. The OWNER then told me that he was having trouble paying his rent on the gallery due to the economy and that he could not pay me for the vases because he had used the proceeds from the sale to pay his rent. I pretty much explained to him what I thought about that, immediately picked up all of my remaining work, and left with it right then. A few months of phone calls passed with no payment, so after Christmas I went to the gallery, as I would think that that would be the best time for them to have made a profit. They were having a moving sale with 20% off everything in the gallery if you paid CASH. There was no indication at all where they were MOVING to on any of the sale signs. BIG RED FLAG! I spoke to the bookkeeper right then, explained to her what the Texas theft statutes stated, told her I would make sure she was in the middle of things, asked her if she was sure she didn't want to pay me, and suddenly a miracle occurred and I got paid right then.
I guess that means I sold 5 vases this week? :eek:
One other thing I found is that some places will remove your work from display in December and not show it again until later in the next year. Something about paying taxes on end-of-the-year inventory. :(
Anyone else..............