Artist/Gallery Relations???

[Anthony Emmolo]

Heidi's thread, and my own response to it has prompted this thread. In hers she mentioned having had to wait a year for payment. I've had a similar situation, and don't know if I was too quick to respond. Please give me your thoughts.

I had a string of sales during my first 18 months with my Napa,CA gallery. 19 sales in 18 months. It was very good for both me and the gallery. I was never sure of the man's honesty. He had to give discounts a lot to sell. My Carmel gallery sold just as many, but never had to give a discount. Also, it was becoming obvious that if I didn't bring a painting, I would not be paid as quickly for the previous sale. However, I was giving him new work each month, so I was getting paid, and all was fine.

Upon a divorce, I moved to Taiwan, my home for six years in the past, and things immediately began to fall. A painting was sold, and I was not told. A friend let me know, and I had to beg for six months to be paid. A number of promises, and three bounced checks later, I was finally paid. But only after finding out from a new staffer that two paintings had sold that day, not only one.

I moved back to CA for six months, and all went well again. The lifestyle I have is that of a traveling artist, so I moved to Shanghai, my present home, in Feb. 2004. The whole thing happened again. A painting was sold, and I had to wait six months for payment. There were many promises, and finally a lawyer (a friend of mine) had to get involved. When the lawyer finally went to the gallery to pick up the artwork, he found that six other pieces had sold. I've since been paid.

I miss the sales very much. My career was much stronger with the gallery than without, but I lost too many nights of sleep wondering if they were going out of business and I'd get stuck not being paid. From so far away, I couldn't tell if they were having trouble paying all of their artists, or was it just me. The dishonesty also hurt.

My present situation is that I go to California four times per year to deliver artwork to my Carmel gallery. (It was costing me $150- $200 per painting to ship). I can deliver paintings to this Napa gallery as well, if I go back to them. I assume I can bring things back to normal where I'll be paid for past sales upon delivery of a new piece. (I hope).

My questions are:
Did I jump the gun by getting a lawyer involved? It seemed to be my only option since in Shanghai I couldn't protect myself.

Is this a common practice that we all have to learn to deal with if we want this career? My Carmel gallery has been terrific, so I know there are good ones out there.

Knowing that I can return to this gallery if I choose to, would I be a fool to do that? I miss the sales very much.

I hope it does not matter to the forum, but although I am a portrait artist by passion, I cannot at this point in my life make a living from it. I make my living through still-life sales, ad the gallery in question was selling my still-lives.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Anthony

[Chris Saper]

Wow, what a tale.

Although I don't have any experience with gallery representation, I know many who have.

First, I do not think that you jumped the gun by getting a lawyer. You got a good result without having to go to court.

Second, I think it would be a mistake to resume relations with the Napa gallery. You've been burned more than once - I think most psychologists will tell you that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior - and I think you should expect the owner to continue his unethical ways.

Can you speak to the owner of the Carmel galley to see if they have other locations? Or whether they can recaommend a wine contry gallery?

Good luck. I knew there was reason I had a bad feeling about galleries...

[Anthony Emmolo]

Hello Chris,

I appreciate your thoughts. I can also see you are correct. The desire to relive the days of many sales would have brought me back to that gallery (with regrets I assume.)

It is a difficulty that we have to deal with in this business, but still I cannot think of a better lifestyle. Ours is a life of growth in an area we love. It is not the life of eight hours a day and then try not to think of the office until the next morning. When we do have to work another job for a living, hopefully it is part-time and not a competition for our energies that can go into our art.

The difficulties that we have to put up with are the food for further growth if we use those difficulties correctly. By this I mean that an artist who can learn to accept the pains in life, and those pains will come, and still consistently do his or her art, becomes an artist of higher spiritual being than that same artist would be not given the pains to transform. This is true whether or not the person's studio skills actually grow. It is also the motivating force for me.

Let us all learn to take the pains as they will happen in every field, and use them toward our own growth. And then we will realize how lucky we are to be artists living and growing through something we love.

Anthony