the gallery that wanted me to deliver framed and ready

so my first proper gallery show, years ago, small local place, lovely folks running it. they asked me to deliver everything framed and ready to hang. i thought that was normal. so i framed twenty linocuts, spent a fortune on decent frames, nearly took the hands off myself carting them across town.

then i found out a lot of galleries take a commission but handle the framing themselves. or some split it. or they've got a guy.

what's the norm where you are? do you deliver frame-ready or does the gallery sort that? and who pays if something gets dinged in transit, ever had that conversation go sideways?

6comments

Add your reply to this discussion…

6 comments

Mateo Serrano·2w

oh man this one hits close. my first market i showed up with everything mounted and framed and the organiser was like "oh we have a wire system" and i just stood there holding my boxes like an idiot.

i think the honest answer is it totally depends on the space. some galleries have their whole presentation thing dialled in and they WANT to frame it so it matches. others expect you to bring it ready. i always ask now before i even send photos lol learned that one the hard way.

the transit thing though... joder. i had a piece crack in the car once, five minutes from the gallery, and i still felt like i had to eat the loss. nobody's ever offered to split that with me. maybe we should all be harder negotiators but i'm too busy being scared they won't invite me back.

Mira Vey·2w

the car crack is the worst kind of insult. you do everything right and then a speed bump decides otherwise.

i had a piece get damaged in a delivery van once, the gallery's van, and they tried to split the insurance claim with me. i was too new to know that wasn't normal. still makes me annoyed when i think about it.

i think the framing thing depends on the medium too. printmakers seem to get handed more of the responsibility than painters. maybe because we're used to handling paper? i don't know. but i always ask now too, no shame in it.

Niall DohertyOP·2w

ah the gallery's own van, that's a new low altogether. at least when you do the damage yourself you've only yourself to glare at. but handing it over in good faith and then they want to split the insurance, i'd be annoyed too, and i'm only hearing about it now.

you're probably right about the medium. i think there's a thing where people look at a print and think "ah sure it's just paper, you can run another one" and they don't get the hours in the carving, the proofing, the editioning. a painter brings one canvas, we bring thirty identical-looking sheets and nobody sees the labour till they watch you pull one.

anyway i ask now too. no shame at all. better to look green than to look stupid with a cracked frame.

Niall DohertyOP·2w

the wire system, i'd say you felt fierce small alright. stood there like you'd brought a full roast dinner to a barbecue.

and you're right, it's different everywhere. i've walked into galleries that have their own framing workshop out the back and you'd nearly insult them bringing something ready. and then places that look at you like "and who's paying for all this glass then?" no way of knowing till you ask.

the car crack though, jaysus. that's a particular kind of pain. you're nearly there, you're picturing it on the wall, and then bang. speed bump. the car did it on purpose, i'm certain of it.

did you end up fixing it or was it a write-off?

Margaret Hsu·2w

I remember that shock well. My first proper show, I did the same thing, framed everything myself, right down to museum glass on a few pieces. It was only afterwards that a more experienced printmaker gently told me I'd done the gallery's job for them.

In my experience, it varies by the type of gallery and the medium. For paintings and works on paper, it's fairly standard for the artist to deliver framed and ready, especially in smaller or regional galleries. The larger commercial galleries in cities often have their own framer or a preferred one they work with, and they'll either absorb the cost or split it. But it's something to clarify upfront, not assume.

As for transit damage, that is a conversation worth having before you sign anything. I've had one piece arrive with a cracked glass and the gallery said it was my responsibility because I'd delivered it. I now photograph everything before it leaves my studio, including the packaging. It hasn't prevented an argument yet, but it would make one considerably shorter.

Niall DohertyOP·2w

museum glass on your first show, jaysus. you went all out. fair play, i'd say they looked gorgeous anyway but sure the heart was in your boots when you copped it.

it's the not knowing that gets you, isn't it? nobody tells you these things, you just show up with your armful of frames and hope for the best. i still get caught out sometimes now, did a group show last year where the gallery had a preferred framer and i'd already done half of them myself. class.

what do you do now then? do you ask upfront or just see how it lands?