Blog

Art Just for You: The Dos and Don'ts of Commissioning Art

By Janet Buckingham

"An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision." 

James McNeill Whistler

Ever notice when you go to an art museum how many formal portraits are gracing the walls? Men, women, families, horses or dogs, portraits have historically been a favorite form of art. Historically, commissioning portraitures of loved ones was a way people around the world demonstrated their wealth and power. Artists the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci and Diego Velazquez gained popularity because of a high demand for portraiture.

Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress, Diego Velazquez, 1659, Kunsthistorioches Museum, Vienna, Wikipedia Commons, public domain

Of course, commissions are not always portraits. Pablo Picasso was asked to commemorate the bombings of Guernica, which became one of his most famous paintings. Andy Warhol was often commissioned to do pop art for clients. Customers in Gallery Moab frequently ask about the possibility of painting a landscape which was the site of a wedding ceremony. I commissioned a piece for my husband, which pictured his cabin at the foot of the La Sal Mountains near Moab, which both my husband and I loved!

Cabin in Old La Sal, by Larry Christenson

Knowing commissioned art is a common occurrence, however, doesn't make it less fraught with anxiety or potentially complicated nuances both for the customer and the artist. Commissioning gives you the opportunity to work with an artist to create a personalized work of art, but it requires developing a relationship with the artist and keeping an open discussion from beginning to end. One Gallery Moab artist told a story of her first commissioned piece: "My first experience was a small pastel landscape done for some people who liked my style and wanted a small, inexpensive souvenir of Arches. First they wanted Double Arch. I rendered a conceptual sketch. Then they changed their mind and wanted Delicate Arch. I should have backed out of the process then, but went ahead with it. By the time I made changes and packed and shipped the piece, it was way more work than it was worth," shared Thea Nordling.

"I find commissions much harder to do than working from my own inspiration, so a client should expect to pay more for custom work than something off the wall," Thea explains. Thea also emphasizes that clients need to be very clear about what they expect, be willing to participate in the process and pay a percentage of the agreed-upon price up front. Communication is essential.

You may be asked to enter into a contract with an artist. That's to protect you and the artist. It should contain payment terms and expenses related to creating the art. Some artists will ask for 50 percent or a deposit. Also, a timeline is a good addition to a contract along with a clear delineation of the approval process. If you are wanting a painting for an upcoming special occasion, you need assurance it will be ready. Finally, the contract would outline what rights you and the artist have for reproducing the art. Most artists retain legal rights to their paintings even though it is hanging on your wall.

One artist, who doesn't often engage in commissioned paintings explained that people simply have too high of expectations. He emphasized that whatever the commission is, it needs to speak to him personally and not just be reproducing an image for a client.

You may be catching the drift that not all artists are going to jump at the chance to do a commission. Some artists are happy to; others have no interest. Always be prepared to answer the question: Why is the painting is important to you and why is that particular artist of interest to you. And don't take it personally if your request is declined. Sometimes an artist may simply be too busy to accept or deeply engaged in another piece of art they don't want to stop working on. Or, they may simply feel it's not a good fit. A few years ago, I had someone ask me for a portrait and I had to politely decline while I laughed at the thought of what the finished product would look like; portraits are just not my wheelhouse.

Therefore, one of the most critical components before you speak to an artist about a commission is being familiar with that artist's style. Page Holland, who has done more than a few commissions in her career, comments, "It's helpful to the artist if the buyer can identify a few pieces of the artist's work that they like." She also mentions that size, media and framing should be discussed early on and, in fact, would be good components of a contract. Typically, Page says, price quoted should be unframed. Agreeing with Thea, Page notes that the buyer should expect to pay more for a commissioned piece because it involves concept sketches, communication and considerably more time than a piece where the artist is free to adjust things on a whim.

"And portraits," says Page, require more time for the artist to get it right. Every additional subject past the first, whether human or animal, adds time equal to the first subject."

Page further details items that may find their way into a contract: "Time frame, size, subject, media, substrate, price, cost for changes after a certain point, amount of deposit, whether a deposit is refundable, disposition of the artwork if it is not accepted, when the agreed price will be paid, shipping costs and logistics and whether the copyright is retained by the artist or goes to the buyer." She states it doesn't necessarily need to be a formal contract; a series of written emails should suffice as long as terms are written down. Ultimately, Page says she declines more commissions than she accepts, primarily because she only wants to take on projects that she will enjoy doing.

Peggy Harty, a pastel artist at Gallery Moab, has only done one commission and it worked out well for her. But later she tried re-creating a painting that had sold before she was able to have it professionally photographed. She found that the spontaneity and joy of the initial painting was missing. Clearly there's a recurrent theme among artists: they want to be excited and experience joy while they are creating and sometimes that experience is harder to capture in a commission or reproduction.

Mary Collar has done several commissions but they've all been for close friends who ended up loving the finished paintings. There is already trust built into the relationship, which helps the process enormously. Mary shares that her commissions have always been challenging, but a lot of fun. "They have gotten me out of my comfort zone many times, but I feel as an artist each has been a learning experience."

Finally, one of Gallery Moab's potters had this to say: "As a potter I am often asked to do commissions. I used to take them more readily than I do now. I have had some negative experiences with customer dissatisfaction or damage in shipping, but mostly it worked out. My policy is that I don't work outside my style, can't work on a hard and fast deadline, and no money is exchanged unless the customer is completely satisfied. Since my craft is subject to many variables outside of my real control, I also won't agree to replicate any past designs or glaze finishes."

Hopefully this article hasn't discouraged you from inquiring about a commissioned work of art. Rather, I hope it gave you valuable information and clarity on what to expect when you do seek a commissioned piece. You can contact Gallery Moab artists through our website at www.gallerymoab.com, or inquire in the gallery. Most artists have business cards with contact information and email is likely the easiest way to start the communication.