Gallery Consignment for Artists: Contracts & Commission

What Is Gallery Consignment?

Gallery consignment is an arrangement where you, the artist, deliver finished artwork to a gallery for the gallery to display and sell on your behalf. The gallery does not buy the work from you. You retain legal title to each piece until an end-buyer pays for it, at which point title transfers directly from you to the buyer and the gallery takes its agreed commission from the sale price.

This is the standard commercial relationship between contemporary artists and galleries. It exists because galleries cannot afford the working capital to buy entire shows outright, and because both sides benefit from the artist retaining ownership and risk in exchange for a share of the upside.

Consignment vs outright sale to a gallery

A small number of galleries — and most secondary-market dealers — will sometimes buy work outright. You issue an invoice, they pay, title transfers immediately, and what they do with the work afterwards is their commercial risk. Outright sale is cleaner but rarer, and the price you receive will usually be lower than your share of a consigned sale, because the gallery is now carrying all the inventory risk.

Consignment is the default. If a gallery has not specified "we want to purchase these works", assume consignment and ask for the agreement before delivery.

Who retains title to the work

Under a consignment arrangement you retain title throughout. The work is yours, on display in the gallery's space, until a buyer pays in full. This matters in three practical situations: if the gallery enters insolvency, your works are not part of its assets and creditors cannot claim them; if the gallery is burgled or damaged, your insurable interest is intact; and if you want a piece back for an exhibition or a private buyer, you can request its return on the terms the agreement specifies.

How Gallery Consignment Works

The mechanics are simple, but each step is where the disputes happen.

The lifecycle of a consigned artwork

A typical consignment moves through six stages: agreement signed; delivery and condition check; display or storage at the gallery; sale to an end-buyer; gallery report and invoice; payout to the artist; and finally return of any unsold works at the end of the term.

You should be tracking each stage on your own side — not relying on the gallery to keep you informed. Treat the consignment as one workflow inside your wider artwork management practice: every work that leaves the studio is logged out, every status change is recorded, and every payment is reconciled against what you sent.

Pricing, payment terms and reporting

The retail price is the price the end-buyer pays. Commission is calculated against that retail price, before VAT is added on top where applicable. You and the gallery agree the retail price together — usually with reference to your wider price structure and recent comparable sales — and you grant the gallery limited authority to discount within an agreed band (commonly up to 10%, with anything beyond that requiring your written approval).

Payment terms in the UK are typically 30 days from the gallery receiving cleared funds. Reporting cadence should be specified in the agreement: a monthly statement of works held, works sold, prices, discounts and pending payments is reasonable for any gallery holding more than a few works of yours. For a deeper look at how retail pricing flows through to your share, see how to price your art.

Why Galleries Use Consignment Agreements

It is worth understanding why the gallery wants this structure, because it shapes what you can and cannot negotiate.

Risk, cash flow and curatorial flexibility

Buying inventory outright would tie up capital that galleries would rather spend on rent, staff, art fairs and marketing. Consignment lets a gallery represent more artists, show more work and rotate stock more freely without carrying balance-sheet risk. It also gives them curatorial flexibility — they can take in a group show, change the programme, or end a relationship without writing off unsold stock.

What the arrangement gives the artist

In exchange, you get sustained representation and selling effort from a venue you could not run yourself, access to the gallery's collector base, professional installation, marketing reach, and — at the better galleries — placement guidance and long-term career building. The commission is the price you pay for that infrastructure.

Typical Gallery Commission Rates

The single most-asked question in any artist–gallery conversation is what percentage the gallery takes.

Standard 50/50 splits and where they apply

50% to the gallery, 50% to the artist, calculated on the agreed retail price, is the working assumption across most contemporary commercial galleries in the UK. It applies to gallery-floor sales, to sales the gallery generates online from its own website or roster, and to art fair sales where the gallery is paying the booth costs.

When commissions go higher or lower

Commissions move down at artist-led spaces, member co-operatives, open studios and some not-for-profit venues, where 25–40% to the venue is common. They also move down for smaller framing or unframed works at café-style or hospitality venues that do not provide a curated sales programme.

Commissions move up at blue-chip primary-market galleries representing established artists, where the gallery's brand and collector network materially raise prices — 55–60% to the gallery, or even higher with shared production costs, is not unusual at that level. They also move up for secondary-market sales (work re-sold rather than first sold), where the gallery is taking on more sourcing and provenance work.

Commission on studio visits and private sales

If a collector first encounters your work at the gallery and then contacts you directly, the gallery commission still applies — usually at the full rate, sometimes at a reduced "studio sale" rate if your agreement specifies one. If a collector you already know visits your studio and buys, treatment depends on whether you have an exclusivity clause (covered below). Either way, define this in the agreement. Ambiguity here is the most common cause of artist–gallery disputes.

Worked Example: A £2,000 Painting Sold Through a Gallery

Take a £2,000 retail price (excluding VAT, for clarity) and run it at three commission rates.

The artist's share is simply retail price × (1 − commission rate).

A few things this example makes visible. First, the difference between a 40% and a 60% commission on the same painting is £400 — a fifth of the headline price — which is why the percentage is worth negotiating before you sign rather than after the work has sold. Second, if VAT applies, the gallery typically charges VAT on the full retail price to the buyer and accounts for it separately; your share is calculated on the net retail price unless the agreement says otherwise. Third, if the gallery offers the buyer a 10% discount, the retail price the commission is calculated against drops to £1,800, and your share drops proportionally — at 50% commission you would now receive £900, not £1,000. Discounts come off both sides equally only if the agreement says so.

Gallery Commission Percentages in the UK

UK norms cluster more tightly than international averages, partly because the market is smaller and more London-centred.

Common UK ranges by gallery tier

• Artist-led and not-for-profit spaces: 25–40% to the venue.
• Regional commercial galleries: 40–50% to the gallery, with 50% the most common figure.
• Established London commercial galleries: 50% to the gallery, occasionally 55%.
• Blue-chip and primary-market representation: 50–60% to the gallery, with shared production or framing costs on top for ambitious work.
• Secondary-market dealers: 50% upwards, sometimes structured as a margin on a purchase price rather than a commission.

VAT, ARR (Artist's Resale Right) and what the percentage actually covers

In the UK, VAT applies to gallery sales above the VAT threshold and is handled by the gallery on the gross sale. If you are VAT-registered, you will invoice the gallery for your share plus VAT; if not, you invoice your share only.

Artist's Resale Right (ARR) applies to qualifying resales of original works by living artists (and for 70 years after death) where the sale involves an art market professional and the resale price meets the threshold. ARR is collected by DACS or another collecting society and paid to you separately — it is not part of the gallery's commission calculation and should not be deducted from your share.

What the gallery's commission covers should be specified: it normally includes display space, lighting, invigilation, marketing, opening event, payment processing and standard insurance during the consignment. It does not normally cover framing, plinths, specialist installation, transport, art fair participation fees or photography — those are negotiated separately and should be itemised in the agreement, not absorbed silently from your share.

What Should Be Included in an Artwork Consignment Agreement?

A serviceable consignment agreement is short, specific and unambiguous. Treat the following as the minimum clause set.

Identification of the works

A schedule attached to the agreement listing every work by your inventory number, title, year, medium, dimensions, edition (where applicable), agreed retail price and a clear photograph. If you add or remove works during the term, do it via a signed addendum to the same schedule.

Term, territory and exclusivity

How long the consignment runs (typical: 6–12 months, renewable), the geographic territory in which the gallery has selling rights, and whether that selling right is exclusive or non-exclusive. Exclusivity is a substantive negotiation in its own right — covered in the next section.

Pricing, discounts and commission

The agreed retail price for each work, the commission percentage, and the discount authority the gallery has without consulting you (commonly up to 10%). Anything beyond that band requires your written approval, ideally by email rather than verbally.

Payment terms and reporting cadence

When the gallery pays you (typically within 30 days of receiving cleared funds from the buyer), in what currency, by what method, and how often the gallery reports on works held, works sold, discounts given and pending payments. A monthly statement is reasonable.

Insurance, loss and damage

Who insures the work, against what risks, from what point and to what point. Default and best practice is that the gallery insures the work on a wall-to-wall (or nail-to-nail) basis, from collection at your studio through display, storage and return delivery, for the agreed retail price.

Return of unsold works

How unsold works are returned at the end of the term, who pays for return transit, what condition standard applies and how any losses or damage in transit are handled. Specify a reasonable return window — for example, all unsold works to be returned within 30 days of term end, in original condition, at the gallery's cost.

Termination, default and dispute resolution

How either party can end the agreement early, what counts as default (non-payment, undisclosed damage, unauthorised loan of works), the notice period required, governing law, and how disputes are resolved. For UK galleries, English law and the courts of England and Wales is the default; mediation before litigation is a reasonable middle step to include.

This is guidance, not legal advice. Once you have a consignment template you are happy with, have a solicitor review it once. You will use the same template, with minor edits, for years.

Exclusivity and Representation Agreements

Exclusivity is where consignment shades into representation, and where the agreement starts to affect your wider practice rather than just one show. Treat any exclusivity clause as a separate negotiation, not a default tick-box.

Local exclusivity vs national exclusivity

Local (or regional) exclusivity means the gallery is the only venue selling your work within a defined area — typically a city, a county or a named radius. You remain free to show and sell with other galleries elsewhere, and usually free to sell directly from your studio. This is a workable arrangement for most mid-career artists working with a strong regional gallery.

National exclusivity means the gallery is the only venue selling your work in an entire country, or sometimes globally. It is a much larger commitment. It typically pays off only if the gallery is materially driving your prices, your collector base and your career — a senior London or international gallery, not a regional commercial space. Signing national exclusivity with a gallery that cannot deliver national reach is the single most common over-commitment artists make.

Online sales and direct sales during representation

Two flashpoints sit inside any exclusivity clause: what happens to your own website, and what happens when a collector contacts you directly.

For your website, agree explicitly whether you can continue listing and selling work online, whether you must redirect enquiries to the gallery, and whether online sales are subject to the gallery commission. Many representation agreements now treat the artist's website as an enquiry channel rather than a sales channel during the term, with all transactions routed through and commissioned by the gallery.

For direct collector enquiries, the agreement should say one of three things: all enquiries are referred to the gallery and sold at full commission; studio sales are permitted at the gallery retail price with a reduced commission paid to the gallery (often 10–25%); or studio sales are permitted only for buyers you knew before the representation began. Whichever applies, get it in writing. "We'll figure it out as we go" is the wording that breaks relationships.

Questions to ask before agreeing to exclusivity

Before you sign anything exclusive, work through the following with the gallery:

• What sales volume and price growth are you committing to over the term?
• How many works will you actively place each year, and into which collections?
• Will you commit to fair participation, museum loans or institutional placement?
• What happens to existing relationships with other galleries — wind-down period, carve-outs, named exceptions?
• How are studio sales, online sales and prior collectors handled?
• What is the notice period to end the agreement, and what happens to works held at that point?
• What is your share of marketing, photography, framing and transport costs?

If the gallery cannot answer these clearly, they are not ready to ask for exclusivity.

Inventory and Record Keeping for Consigned Artwork

The agreement is one half of your protection. Your records are the other.

What to log when a work leaves the studio

For every work you consign, log: the inventory number, title, year, medium, dimensions, agreed retail price, commission rate, destination gallery, date dispatched, condition photographs taken on the day, packing details, courier and tracking number, and the date the gallery confirms receipt and condition. A signed delivery note — countersigned by the gallery on receipt — is the document that proves the work is theirs to insure from that point onwards.

If you do not have a system for this yet, build a digital record system before you start consigning at scale. Spreadsheets work; dedicated software works better; doing it from memory does not work.

Reconciling gallery reports against your own records

Each time the gallery sends a statement, reconcile it against your own log: works in, works out, works sold, works returned, prices, commissions and payments. Flag and resolve discrepancies inside the same reporting cycle. The longer a discrepancy sits, the harder it is to unwind, and the more it costs you in trust on both sides.

Carrying the studio inventory number through to the gallery

Every artwork should retain the same inventory number used in your archive, artwork management and documentation systems. The number on your studio shelf is the number on the consignment schedule, on the delivery note, on the gallery's stock list, on the sales invoice, on the certificate of authenticity and on the buyer's record. One number, one work, one chain of custody — from studio to collector and into any future resale or museum loan.

This sounds trivial. It is the single biggest predictor of how easily you will manage 200 works across five galleries in ten years' time. Inventory numbers do not change because a work moved buildings.

Provenance, Certificates of Authenticity and Sales Records

Sales through galleries are where most of your provenance trail gets written, so the documentation you send out matters.

What documents travel with the artwork

Each consigned work should leave the studio with — or have lodged with the gallery for the buyer at sale — a certificate of authenticity bearing the inventory number, full work details, your signature, and the date. The agreement should specify that the COA is delivered to the buyer on completion of the sale and that a copy of the signed sales invoice (with buyer details where permitted) is returned to you for your records.

This is the moment the artwork provenance chain is established for that work: artist → gallery → first owner, with the certificate, invoice and inventory number tying it together.

Capturing buyer information at the point of sale

Galleries vary in how much buyer information they will share. At minimum, you should receive the buyer's name and country, the sale date and the sale price. Better galleries will share the full contact details where the buyer consents, allowing you to write a thank-you note and to track the work over time. Capturing this once, at the point of sale, is far easier than reconstructing it years later — and it slots directly into your wider collection management records.

Insurance and Risk Responsibilities

Insurance is the clause artists most often skim and most often regret skimming.

Transit, storage and on-display cover

The default and the standard you should hold out for is full cover — transit to the gallery, on-display, in storage, transit to a buyer or back to you — provided by the gallery's commercial art insurance policy, with the work valued at its agreed retail price. Confirm in writing before delivery.

Wall-to-wall vs nail-to-nail policies

"Wall-to-wall" and "nail-to-nail" describe the same idea: cover starts when the work leaves your wall and ends when it is hung on the buyer's wall (or returned to yours). Both terms are used; the substance is the same. Avoid policies that begin only on receipt at the gallery, because the transit leg is where most damage actually happens.

What to check on the gallery's certificate of insurance

Ask the gallery for a copy of its certificate of insurance and check: the insured value matches the agreed retail price of your works (not the artist's share); your works are covered as consigned stock (not only the gallery's owned inventory); transit and off-site loans are covered; and the policy is current. If any of these are unclear, do not deliver the work until they are resolved.

Common Gallery Consignment Mistakes

Most disputes come from a small number of recurring failures.

Verbal agreements and undocumented loans

"Just leave them with me for the summer" is how works disappear, get damaged, get sold at unknown prices, or end up in unknown collections. Every work that leaves the studio needs a written record, even for short-term loans, even for galleries you trust, even when you are in a hurry. Especially when you are in a hurry.

Unclear discount authority

If the agreement does not say what discount the gallery can offer without consulting you, the gallery will set its own ceiling and you will discover it after the sale. Pin discount authority in writing, with a band (typically 0–10%) and a rule for anything beyond it.

No agreed return process

At the end of the term, who organises return transit, who pays, in what window, and what counts as acceptable condition on return? Without an agreed process, works sit in gallery storage indefinitely, get crated and recrated by different hands, and eventually come back with damage no one can account for. Write the return process into the agreement at the start.

Gallery Consignment Best Practices for Artists

A short, practical checklist organised around the moments where mistakes happen.

Before signing

• Read the agreement end-to-end, even if it is a "standard" template.
• Check term, territory, exclusivity, commission, discount authority, payment terms and reporting cadence are all explicit.
• Confirm insurance cover in writing, with the policy detail.
• Agree the works schedule with photographs, prices and inventory numbers.
• Have a solicitor review your template once.

During the consignment period

• Log every dispatch, receipt and return against your own inventory.
• Reconcile every gallery statement inside the same reporting cycle.
• Approve discounts beyond the agreed band by email, not by phone.
• Visit the gallery, see the work on display, and check condition periodically.
• Keep your wider studio records, glossary and documentation aligned with what the gallery is doing.

When the work sells — or comes back

• Confirm sale details in writing: buyer name and country (at minimum), price, discount applied, date.
• Issue the certificate of authenticity to the buyer through the gallery and retain a copy.
• Invoice the gallery for your share within the agreed window and track payment.
• Update your inventory: status, sale price, buyer, date, location.
• For returns, inspect each work on arrival, photograph any change in condition, and update inventory the same day.