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It combines digital
printing with elements of
serigraphy that creates a
sculptural relief print.
(Read more about this
elsewhere in this issue.)
Distribution
Big box retailers continue
to make inroads into
framed art sales. Retailers
with the ability to place
large orders command a
larger percent of business
from art publishers,
especially those offering
open-edition prints.
Allposters.com acquired
Art.com. As established
Internet art retailing
behemoths, both sites
generate eye-opening
large volume business
from publishers. Again,
Art Print Market 2006 (continued from Page 1)
Page 4
primarily open edition and
poster publishers.
I don’t have the research
to back this idea up. So, I
use the S.W.A.G. Factor.
If you have read my book,
you know S.W.A.G. is an
acronym for Scientific or
Stupid (You choose
dependent on how well
you like the answer) Wild
Ass Guess. I believe the
growth of new
independent galleries and
dealer in the print market
is at best stagnant, and
more likely on a decline.
That’s not to say it’s an
endangered species, but
it’s not a growth business
either. Some reasons for
this are the Internet, big
box competition, high cost
of start up, stagnant
economy, worrisome war
efforts, competition from
self-published artists
selling direct to
customers.
This year, Hadley House
and Somerset House
changed their distribution
and began to offer
previously exclusive
prints through
Lieberman’s Gallery.
Lieberman is the
industry’s largest and
most important print
consolidator. Its business
model is to take small
onesy-twosy orders from
galleries and place large
consolidated orders to
publishers and then
distribute to the galleries.
Lieberman’s also came
out with a program to
Art Print Issues
allow galleries and dealers
to sell art online populated
from its database with
template Websites.
Sites such as eBay, Yessy
and EBSQ continue to
grow their capabilities and
sales. Other sites such as
Absolute Arts and d’Art
maintain growth and sales
in the higher end of the
market. All this means
consumers are
increasingly willing to
buy art online. Even giant
warehouse retailer,
Costco, is in the act
selling fine art prints by
Dali, Chagall, Miro and
others and even a
$150,000 crayon drawing
Art Print Market 2006 (continued from above)
by Picasso, which is as
much a marketing
gimmick as anything.
Marketing
For many years, the
traditional means of
getting to market for most
artists has been
tradeshows and
advertising. That hasn’t
changed. These venues
remain important despite
an apparent downturn in
booth sales and ad pages.
No doubt, this is due in
part to the economy.
Other factors include
competition from new
shows and different
directions. For instance,
the Surtex show has
gained importance for
publishers and artists
seeking licensing deals.
The new World Market
furniture expo in Vegas is
stealing business from
High Point and Surtex.
Overall, it’s more
complicated than ever to
dial in a marketing
program designed to get
art to market and keep the
pipeline full. It requires
more attention to what is
going on in the market,
who the players are, how
decisions are made, et
cetera.
New Faces
Once again, applying the
(continued on page 5)
Dear Barney,
I bought your book a
few weeks ago and
read it cover-to-cover,
highlighting many
areas to return to for
review. Your invaluable
information helped me
make the decision to
work with a publisher
rather than self-publish
my own artwork.
Following your advice I
created a website, had
4x5 transparencies
taken of my artwork,
prepared a portfolio
and submitted it to a
publisher. Within a
week, they contacted
me and I now have a
contract with a global
publisher and am
delighted. You have
provided me with a
wealth of information
and I highly
recommend your book
to all artists looking for
information about the
art print market. This is
a new beginning for
me and I am looking
forward to see where it
will lead. Your book
was my guide and I
Thank You!!
Sincerely,
Jaime Ellsworth
Order It Now:
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