An art gallery commission agreement is the document that turns an informal show-and-sell relationship into something predictable. It should tell you who can sell, what the gallery keeps, what the artist keeps, how discounts work, who insures the work, and what happens if a piece does not sell. In the UK art market, those details matter because the commercial terms often decide whether a promising relationship becomes a clean long-term one or a source of quiet friction.
The contract should make every commercial term visible before the work moves
- Clear commission language matters more than assumed industry custom.
- Sale commission, exhibition fees, shipping, insurance and VAT should be separated in writing.
- Discount authority, payment timing and return terms need explicit approval rules.
- Copyright usually stays with the artist unless the contract says otherwise.
- In the UK, resale royalties can still apply when the work is later sold through an art market professional.
What an art gallery commission agreement should cover
I read gallery paperwork as an operating manual, not as a formality. If the document does not say exactly how the consignment works, who is allowed to sell, and when money changes hands, it is doing too little work. The agreement should also distinguish between a straight sale arrangement, an exhibition with sales, and any exclusive representation the gallery may want over a defined period or territory.
At minimum, I want the work schedule attached. That means title, medium, dimensions, year, edition number if relevant, retail price, and any special handling notes. For photography and other editioned work, the edition size and artist proofs should be fixed in the agreement, because that detail affects scarcity and market trust later on.
| Clause area | Why it matters | What I would check |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of works | Prevents disputes about which pieces are included | Attach a schedule with titles, prices and images |
| Commission and fees | Determines the actual economics of the deal | Confirm whether the split is based on gross or net proceeds |
| Sales authority | Stops unauthorised discounts or side deals | State who can approve a reduced price |
| Title and risk | Shows who owns the work and who bears loss risk | Clarify when title passes and whether risk moves on delivery |
| Duration and return | Prevents work being trapped in limbo | Set a start date, end date and return deadline |
| Images and copyright | Controls how the work can be promoted | Limit the gallery's licence for website, press and archive use |
| Insurance and damage | Allocates the cost of loss or breakage | Specify transit, wall-to-wall and storage cover |
| Payments and reporting | Keeps cash flow and sales reporting disciplined | Set a payment deadline and statement format |
a-n's exhibition checklist takes the same basic approach: if it is agreed, it belongs in writing. I think that is the right instinct here. Once the structure is clear, the money language becomes much easier to judge, which leads straight into the commission split itself.
How commission, pricing and payments should work
In commercial galleries, a 50/50 split is still common, but I do not treat the percentage as the whole story. The real question is what the gallery is paying for and what the artist is still carrying. If the gallery is funding promotion, staff time, collector outreach, storage and installation, a higher commission may be easier to justify. If the artist is also paying for framing, transport, insurance or a substantial exhibition cost, the economics need a closer look.
I also separate the headline split from the base on which it is calculated. Gross means the public sale price before deductions. Net means the amount left after agreed costs, refunds or taxes are removed. That distinction can change the result more than a small shift in percentage. If a work is discounted, the contract should state whether the artist's share is calculated on the original price, the discounted price, or the discounted net amount. This single line prevents a surprising number of disputes.
- Commission rate: confirm the percentage and whether it changes for different price bands or formats.
- Discounts: require written approval above a set limit.
- Payment timing: fix a deadline, usually 14 or 30 days after cleared funds.
- Card fees and refunds: say who absorbs them.
- Separate fees: do not let exhibition support, framing or shipping get buried inside the commission without explanation.
If the gallery also asks for an exhibition fee, I do not assume that fee is covered by commission. Those are different things. A sale commission pays for selling; an exhibition fee pays for use, presentation or labour, and in the UK that distinction still matters in real negotiations. After the money terms, I move straight to rights and resale, because that is where contracts often become vague.
Copyright, images and resale rights in the UK
I always separate two issues: the right to sell the physical work and the right to reproduce its image. In most gallery relationships, the artist keeps copyright and gives the gallery a limited licence to use images for marketing, press, online listings, fair applications and archive records. That licence should say where the images may appear, how long the permission lasts, whether cropping is allowed, and whether the artist must approve captions or final layouts.
For photography, prints and editioned work, this section deserves extra care. If the gallery can keep using images after the show has ended, I want that permission stated plainly rather than assumed. If a gallery wants perpetual use of installation photos or detail shots, that should be negotiated rather than smuggled in through vague wording.
According to GOV.UK, the UK Artist's Resale Right applies when original works of art are resold through an art market professional. The royalty starts at sales of at least £1,000, follows the artist for life plus 70 years after death, and is capped at £12,500 for a single sale. That is not a primary-sale commission, but it can matter later if the work moves on through a dealer or auction house.
For an artist, the useful test is simple: if the gallery wants more than a one-off promotional licence, I want to know exactly why, for how long, and in what media. From rights, I move to logistics, because a good split can still go wrong if the work is badly handled.
Delivery, insurance and the risk of damage
Consignment means the gallery holds the work for sale without owning it. That sounds obvious, but the practical consequences are easy to miss. Who pays for transport? Who insures the work in transit? When does the risk pass from the studio to the gallery wall? If those points are left unclear, a small accident can become a large argument.
My preference is for wall-to-wall insurance, which simply means cover from the moment the work leaves the studio until it is safely returned. That should be backed by a condition report at dispatch and again on return, especially for painting, works on paper and delicate photography. If the gallery is storing work before the show, the storage period should also be covered.
- Pre-delivery condition report: note existing marks, mounts, frames and edition details.
- Insurance value: state whether the insured amount is retail value, replacement cost or another agreed figure.
- Installation costs: specify who pays for hanging hardware, mounting and specialist handling.
- Damage claims: require prompt written notice, ideally within 24 to 48 hours of delivery or de-installation.
- Unsold returns: set a clear deadline so the work does not sit in limbo for months.
If a gallery asks for open-ended storage or repeated extensions, I treat that as a soft risk flag. The longer the work sits without a defined return date, the easier it is for ownership, condition and accountability to drift. Once the logistics are clear, the last step is to negotiate the clauses that usually move the deal from acceptable to genuinely fair.
Where negotiations usually improve the deal
The strongest contracts are rarely the most aggressive ones. They are the ones that give each side enough certainty to act quickly without second-guessing the other. In a softer market, that matters even more, because the hidden costs are often not the headline commission but the discount, freight or storage charge that nobody priced properly at the start.
These are the clauses I usually push hardest on:
- Exclusivity: limit it by medium, territory and time rather than giving the gallery a blanket claim.
- Discounts: cap reductions or require written artist approval above a small threshold.
- Sales channels: say whether online sales, art fair sales and private introductions count the same way.
- Reporting: ask for sales statements on a fixed schedule, not only when the gallery feels ready.
- Termination: define how quickly unsold work must be returned if the relationship ends.
- Costs: keep separate any framing, shipping, installation or marketing expenses that are not part of the commission.
If the gallery is asking for a large commission but offering no clarity on promotion, discounts, returns or insurance, the split is probably carrying too much weight. I would rather see a slightly smaller commission with cleaner reporting than a glamorous percentage tied to vague obligations. A transparent structure protects the gallery too, because collectors are more comfortable when the sales process is orderly and professional.
The six points I read twice before signing
- Is the exact work schedule attached, with titles, prices and edition details?
- Is the commission based on gross or net proceeds, and are VAT and card fees treated separately?
- Can the gallery discount without my written approval, and if so, by how much?
- Who insures the work, from when, and to what value?
- What image rights am I giving, and for how long can the gallery use them?
- How and when do I get paid, and what happens if the work is returned unsold?
If one of those answers is fuzzy, I treat the draft as unfinished. The point of this kind of contract is not to replace trust; it is to stop trust from being the only thing holding the deal together. In a gallery relationship, that is usually the difference between a smooth sale and a slow, avoidable dispute.
