Guides
How to Read a US Gallery's Sales Figures Before You Write About the Show
A practical method for arts writers who need to read US gallery price lists, sell-through rates, and consignment terms before publishing a review.
What to take away
- A US gallery price list is an asking range, not a record of completed sales.
- Sell-through rate, commission splits, and consignment terms matter more than gross revenue.
- Ask how many works were offered, how many sold, and what the artist receives.
- Mark each figure as confirmed, estimated, or declined, and name the source.
- Attribute every sales claim to a person or a document, or leave it out.
Price Lists as Asking Ranges
A US gallery price list states what the dealer is asking. It rarely records what buyers paid. Discounts happen, especially for repeat clients and multiple purchases, and they rarely appear in print.
Ask whether listed prices are net or open to negotiation. Ask whether the artist's share is calculated before or after a markdown. Those two answers change the meaning of every figure you quote.
Most US galleries sell on consignment. The artist keeps title until a work sells, and the gallery acts as agent. The Wikipedia overview of art galleries notes that these arrangements vary widely between dealers.
Sell-Through Rate in Five Steps
Sell-through rate is the share of offered works that sold. It is the most useful single number a gallery can give you. Here is one way to build it.
- Count the works on the checklist the gallery provides.
- Ask how many sold before the opening and how many sold during the run.
- Divide works sold by works offered.
- Compare that rate with the same artist's previous show, if the gallery will share it.
- Note which price points moved, since lower prices often sell first.
Gross revenue multiplies sold works by list prices. That total overstates income whenever a discount applied. It also ignores the gallery commission, studio costs, framing, shipping, and the opening. Revenue and profit are different claims, and a review should not blend them.
Consignment Terms and What They Hide
The consignment agreement is a checklist of what a gallery tracks and may not volunteer. Read it against the public story.
| Term | What it controls | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Commission split | The gallery's share of a sale | Does it hold on discounted sales? |
| Discount policy | Who may mark a price down | Who absorbs the markdown? |
| Payment terms | When the artist is paid | Thirty days or ninety? |
| Expenses | Shipping, framing, photography | Are costs capped in writing? |
| Unsold works | Returns after the show | Who pays return shipping? |
If a dealer will not discuss the split, that silence is reportable. Write that the gallery declined to describe its terms. Readers can weigh the rest accordingly.
Example: A Press Release in Ten Minutes
Suppose a release says twenty works were shown and six were sold. That is a sell-through rate of 30 percent. Now check the words. Sold, reserved, and on hold are three different things.
Ask whether the six sales happened before the opening. Preview sales often involve discounts and get announced early to build momentum. Then ask which works sold and whether the largest pieces remain available.
A repeatable script helps. The five direct questions to ask cover sell-through rate and the gap between gross revenue and artist income.
Provenance Checks Before You Praise Scarcity
Primary market coverage concerns new work. Claims about rarity usually concern work that has already changed hands. The Getty Research Institute publishes provenance research tools and databases that let you trace an object's ownership history.
If a gallery calls a piece fresh to market, ask when it last sold, at what price, and through whom. Auction records, catalogues raisonnes, and gallery archives can confirm or contradict that account. A price without a history is just a sentence.
What to Publish and What to Label
- Label each figure as confirmed, estimated, or declined.
- Name the source of every sales claim inside the sentence.
- Report the artist's share only when you can verify it.
- Say when a number came from a press release instead of a dealer.
- Note when a gallery refused to answer a direct question.
Attendance at fairs and previews runs on accreditation rather than sales access. A press pass grants entry, not a look at invoices. Sales data rarely comes with it.
If you need a working set of gallery owner sales figures questions, start there before you file.
