The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art [Paperback]

Tad Crawford (Author), Susan Mellon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

Essential reading both for artists and galleries, this book's in-depth discussion of consignment contracts clarifies every aspect of a crucial business relationship in the world of art.




The book presents a provision-by-provision explanation of the Standard Art Consignment Agreement, a model contract between artist and dealer suitable for use. The contract is flexible, making it ideal for establishing consignment arrangements that are mutually beneficial. It covers agency, consignment, warranties, transportation responsibilities, insurance coverage, pricing, gallery's commission, promotion, return of art, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fine example of a truly practical guide to consignment for the artist or craftsperson. ... The Artist-Gallery Partnership is a practical nuts and bolts guide to drafting your own consignment contract and avoiding the pitfalls of an oral agreement based on a handshake and some vague promises or assumptions." -- The Working Arts

"Aimed at clearing away the misgivings that many artists and gallery owners feel about consignment arrangements. Its focus is a model consignment contract with a point-by-point analysis encompassing everything from pricing and commissions, to a gallery's responsibility for promoting consigned work." -- American Crafts

"Emphasizes the need for artists and galleries to work within a written contractual framework. . . . The Guide deals with the legal and technical complexities of this business relationship in straightforward, understandable terms. . . . The book is ideal for artists wishing to enter the legal zone of the art business with some background." -- Sculptors International

"Handles a complex subject in an easy-to-read style and includes a model contract and analysis of it." -- Arts Management

"[The authors] have compiled almost every word there is to be said on the legal aspects of consignment selling. The book is aimed at clearing away the misgivings and misconceptions which abound on both sides of the fence." -- The Crafts Report

About the Author

Tad Crawford, President and Publisher for Allworth Press in New York City, which he founded in 1989, studied economics at Tufts University, graduated from Columbia Law School, clerked on New York State’s highest court, and represented many artists and arts organizations when he actively practiced as an attorney. He has authored more than a dozen books on business, including The Secret Life of Money: How Money Can Be Food for the Soul. The legal affairs editor for Communication Arts Magazine, he has written articles for magazines such as Art in America, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, Lapis, The Nation, New Age Journal, and Self. He has also appeared as a guest on television programs such as Fox on Money; The O’Reilly Report; Good Day, Wake Up; and It’s Only Money as well as numerous radio shows including New York & Company. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 2 edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880559927
• ISBN-13: 978-1880559925
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allworth Press publisher and founder Tad Crawford is an author, attorney, and artists' rights advocate.

Born in New York City, Crawford grew up in the artists colony of Woodstock, New York. Interested in writing both fiction and nonfiction, he majored in economics at Tufts College and graduated from Columbia Law School in February 1971. ("That explains the unusual amalgam of my activities," Crawford says. "A lot of legal skills are crucial for helping the artist and for running a publishing company. Of course, writing is an excellent background for publishing. So it's come together very well.")

Crawford clerked for a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, then went to work for a small general law firm in New York City while writing and teaching writing and literature at the School of Visual Arts. Until he took the teaching assignment at the School of Visual Arts and learned of the need for materials to help artists understand their rights, he had not envisioned being an advocate of artists' rights.

"I found nothing in print to help artists deal with such legal matters as copyrights, contracts, income taxes, the 'hobby loss' problem, estate planning, or even how to get grants," recalls Crawford. And so, responding to what he saw as "an extreme need," he wrote a book dealing with those and other relevant issues, titling it Legal Guide for the Visual Artist and using it as a text for the "Law and the Visual Artist" course that he taught at the School of Visual Arts. Published in 1977, Legal Guide for the Visual Artist is now in its fourth edition and has one hundred thousand copies in print.

He followed this with The Writer's Legal Guide in 1978 (which has been updated and reissued with The Authors Guild as co-publisher and Kay Murray, the General Counsel for the Authors Guild, as co-author). With Arie Kopelman he wrote Selling Your Photography in 1980 and Selling Your Graphic Design and Illustration in 1981. At the same time Crawford served as Chairman of the Board for the Foundation for the Community of Artists, legislative counsel for the Copyright Justice Coalition (which had many arts groups as members), and general counsel for the Graphic Artists Guild. In 1982 Crawford was asked to help publish books for some of the organizations that he had represented as an attorney. In response, he became publisher of Madison Square Press, which issued annuals for such artists'organizations as the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Publication Designers, the Art Directors Club of New York, and the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles.

In 1988 he decided to strike out in a new direction, "to create a press that would offer the kind of information that was more like what I had taught, written about, and lobbied for." Crawford saw the need for a publishing company that would provide practical information to creative professionals, such as artists, photographers, designers, and authors. He knew first hand the issues faced every day by such creative people and could envision a spectrum of books to help them survive and prosper professionally.

In the Fall of 1989, Crawford published Allworth Press's first book, a revised edition of his classic Legal Guide for the Visual Artist. Ten more titles followed in 1990, offering information about marketing, promotion, pricing, copyright, contracts, health and safety, and much more. The first edition of Business and Legal Forms for Photographers was published in 1991. "The information in these books,"Crawford says, "can make all the difference in terms of success and prosperity." Today Allworth Press has a backlist of more than 250 books, publishes 12-15 books annually, and employs a staff of six very talented people.

Crawford's last involvement as an active lobbyist was in 1986, and he's given up active practice of the law to devote his energies to his publishing and his writing. The full list of books that he has authored follows:

AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design (editor)
The Artist-Gallery Partnership (with Susan Mellon)
Business and Legal Forms for Crafts
Business and Legal Forms for Fine Artists
Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers (with Eva Doman Bruck)
Business and Legal Forms for Illustrators
Business and Legal Forms for Interior Designers (with Eva Doman Bruck)
Business and Legal Forms for Industrial Designers (with Eva Doman Bruck and Carl W. Battle)
Business and Legal Forms for Photographers
Legal Guide for the Visual Artist
The Money Mentor
The Secret Life of Money
Selling Your Photography (with Arie Kopelman)
Selling Your Graphic Design and Illustration (with Arie Kopelman)
Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer
The Writer's Legal Guide (with Kay Murray)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book of Its Kind!!!, February 4, 2003

By 

William Flomer (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art (Paperback)

I own a small gallery because I love art and artists, but I was not prepared for the variety of business and legal headaches that this field could produce. During yet another frantic call to my attorney, she recommended this book to me and life has been considerably calmer ever since.

Let's face it: art is a business and if you are an artist or a gallery owner, you can't afford to be without this information. I use this book to maintain records; I check paperwork against it before visiting my accountant; I use its sample forms and agreements every time I get the place ready for a new exhibit; and I follow this book's advice with every sale and display we make. This book should be required reading for everyone who has anything to do with art consignment...

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative and Highly Useful, September 13, 2006

By 

John P Bernat (Kingsport, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art (Paperback)

This book is regarded by many as the "bible" for artists who consign work to galleries. All the pitfalls and potential problems you can imagine are cited here, along with practical, simple advice for making the most of an artist's relationship with a gallery.

Tad Crawford, who has written extensively on the legal and other business aspects of artist practice, has scored again with this great work.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gallerying is not for amateurs, June 12, 2007

By 

John A. Canuteson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art (Paperback)

I have a small space for a gallery. This book taught me that running the gallery myself was more involved than I had thought. I will leave the operation itself to a lessee. Essential first step for people who think it would be simple fun to open an art gallery.