Vault Canvas

Artwork Inventory

An artwork inventory is the master list of every piece you have ever made. For a working artist it is the single source of truth about your output: what exists, where it is, who owns it and what stage it is at. A solid inventory records the title, year, medium, dimensions, catalogue number, current status (available, sold, on loan, destroyed), location and linked documentation such as images, condition reports and certificates. Keeping it up to date makes pricing consistent, applications faster and sales easier to track. It also underpins your professional practice: galleries, curators and collectors expect artists to know exactly which works are available and on what terms. Treat your inventory as a living document, update it the moment a work moves, sells or changes status, and back it up in your digital archive.

An artwork inventory is the master list of every piece you have ever made. For a working artist it is the single source of truth about your output: what exists, where it is, who owns it and what stage it is at. A solid inventory records the title, year, medium, dimensions, catalogue number, current status (available, sold, on loan, destroyed), location and linked documentation such as images, condition reports and certificates. Keeping it up to date makes pricing consistent, applications faster and sales easier to track. It also underpins your professional practice: galleries, curators and collectors expect artists to know exactly which works are available and on what terms. Treat your inventory as a living document, update it the moment a work moves, sells or changes status, and back it up in your digital archive. Inventory is the record, not the activity that produces it. Artwork cataloguing is the ongoing studio process of numbering, photographing and describing each work; the inventory is what that process leaves behind, the master list you read from when you need to find, price or sell a piece.