Market an Original Painting
If you own a painting that you'd like to sell, the options for marketing it may seem overwhelming--online auctions, Craig's List, auction houses, dealers, galleries. These are all excellent choices, depending on what kind of painting you're selling. The challenge is to identify the most likely customers for your painting and figure out reach that market. Marketing artwork of any kind is challenging, but with a little planning and patience it can be done.
Instructions
Establish a Value
1. Find how much your painting is worth. If it's an antique or by a famous artist, have it professionally appraised. For example, contact your local art museum to see if a curator can appraise it. Have it appraised by an auction house--major houses, such as Christie's, offer complimentary appraisal services by mail. You don't need to mail the painting to Christie's; photographs are fine, along with a description, history of ownership and any appraisal information you have. You could also hire an appraiser. The Appraisers Association of America (Appraisersassoc.org) offers a "Find an Appraiser" feature on its website.
2. If the painting is by a living artist who sells in galleries, do a Web search to find out where that artist shows. Contact the artist's gallery to find out about current prices.
3. If the painting is by an unknown or unestablished artist, look at auction websites and compare prices of paintings of similar genre, technique and size.
Identify Your Buyers and Sales Venue
4. Create a profile of your ideal buyer--the type of person most likely to buy the painting. If your painting is decorative but without antique or collectible value, your ideal customer might be a homeowner interested in a painting for over the couch. If your painting is a valuable antique or collectible, your ideal customer might be a serious collector or perhaps an art museum.
5. Select a sales venue that fits your potential buyers. Online auction sites such as eBay, or direct sales sites like Craig's List are good for selling inexpensive-to-moderately priced paintings to the general public. If you see paintings similar to yours being sold on these sites, chances are this is a good market for you.
6. If your painting is very valuable, it might make sense to sell it through an art dealer, gallery or auction house. In this case you'll be handing over a percentage of the sale to the seller. At the same time, a professional may be able to get a higher price and will have connections to a network of serious collectors and museums. If you sell through a dealer, it's essential to find one who is reputable and who specializes in the type of painting you have. One source is the Art Dealers Association of America's (Artdealers.org). It has an online membership directory, organized by specialty.
Take it to Market
7. If you are selling the painting online, it's important to take good digital photos of it--this is the first impression your buyer will have. Photograph it in natural light, without flash, in a simple setting, either on the wall or on an easel. Take detailed close-ups as well as full-frame images.
8. Write up a detailed description of the painting, including any appraisal information you have. If you've never sold art online before, spend time looking at how other successful online art sellers present their items.
9. If you're active on social networking sites, promote the painting to your online friends--you never know who might be interested.
