You Need a Good Presentation to Sell Your Art

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Presentation Matters

I recently attended the opening of an exhibition of artwork by a group of artists, and the display raised questions in my mind about the impact of presentation on sales and career development.

The exhibition was a temporary display in a community center. The organizer had little time to make the former gymnasium look like an art gallery. Because of that, the drawings were matted and either tacked to the wall or placed in cardboard bins. And the unframed paintings were hung on the wall covered with colored crepe paper.

There was a huge crowd of people at the opening. but relatively few of the drawings and paintings sold during the reception. Why?

Focus on the Viewer

I contrasted the informal, party-like atmosphere of the opening with the displays I normally see in commercial galleries. Many of those upscale showplaces I visit follow the advice Calvin J. Goodman offers in his book, The Art Marketing Handbook: Art Marketing in the 21st Century.

When a client becomes interested in a painting, Goodman urges the dealer to immediately carry the picture into a private viewing room where the prospective buyer can focus on it without any peripheral distractions.

If that isn’t possible, then nearby paintings or drawings should be taken down from the wall so the client’s attention is directed to the one piece of artwork he or she is considering.

The point of Goodman’s strategy is to elevate the importance of the artwork under consideration, focus the client on one piece at a time. And, avoid having the prospective buyer search for another painting that might be smaller, less expensive or more important.

Emphasize Value

Some of the most successful artists I’ve met over the years have similar strategies for emphasizing the importance and value of their artwork.

“I learned long ago not to let collectors visit my studio,” said Friedel Dzubas (1915–1994) during a graduate seminar at Cornell University, years ago. “As soon as they see unframed drawings scattered around the room, canvases stacked 10 deep against the wall, and new paintings laying on the floor, my work immediately drops in value.”

He continued, “The artwork is no longer precious, unique or the result of magic — and believe me, collectors want to believe that creating art is a form of magic.”

‘Want it Sold? Frame in it Gold!’

The third piece of advice that came back to me as I looked around the crowded group exhibition was offered by my friend, Thomas S. Buechner. He explained a group of his small plein air paintings went unsold when they were first exhibited inside thin wooden frames.

“I first thought those sketches should be presented with simple, inexpensive frames because they were small and didn’t take much time to complete,” he recalled. “Boy, was I wrong. Six months later, I exhibited the same paintings inside gold-leaf frames with three-inch-wide moldings, and every one of them sold. I learned that paintings — especially small ones — don’t look important if the frame doesn’t say they are important. From that point on, my motto has been ‘Want it sold? Frame it in gold.’”

The point of all this is to suggest the way we present our artwork can have a huge impact on the perceptions of potential buyers. When a drawing, print or painting is matted or framed in a way that isolates the image and gives it an air of importance, collectors are more apt to assign a higher value to it.

The presentation may have absolutely no impact on the intrinsic value of a great artwork, but people act on their perceptions as much as on their knowledge.

Do you have tips to offer on the best way to present your artwork? Tell us in the comments!