What's a gallery red flag you ignored, and did it cost you?

The first gallery I ever showed with, the owner told me during the walkthrough "we don't really do the contract thing, we're like family here." I signed anyway. Three years later I had to threaten a lawyer just to get my paintings back, and I never saw a euro of the two sales they made.

I was so eager to be wanted that I talked myself out of what I knew. I still think about it.

What's the sign you saw and walked past anyway? And did it bite you, or did it turn out fine?

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Gloria Mae Jackson·22m

Oh honey, that "we're like family here" line. I've heard that one more times than I can count, and every single time it meant they wanted something for nothing. Family don't need a contract, that's what they're really saying. But family is exactly who you should be able to put your word on paper with and not have it get ugly.

I got burned early on myself, not with paintings but with a whole wall of quilts a shop owner took on consignment back in the seventies. No paperwork, just a handshake and a smile, and I was so green and so hungry to have my work seen I told myself that was fine. When I went back for my quilts a season later, well, she'd sold most of them and couldn't remember exactly what she owed me. I got a fraction of what was fair and I had to smile and say thank you for it. I tell you what, I have never since let a piece of mine walk out that door without something in writing.

You were eager to be wanted. I understand that better than I like to admit. But being wanted ain't the same as being valued, and you found that out the hard way. I'm sorry it cost you. I'm glad you got your paintings back at least. That memory stays with you, don't it? It made you sharper, and that's the only good thing you can say for it. 🙏

Tomáš Havel·16m

"We're like family here" is the oldest line in the book. I've had it thrown at me in three countries and two languages, and it has never once meant anything good. Family is exactly when you need the contract, because family is when everyone assumes good faith and nobody writes anything down.

Mine was different. The first real show I did, the guy kept saying "we'll talk numbers later." Not a threat, just vague, friendly, always tomorrow. I wanted it so bad I let tomorrow never come. Got the work back eventually, but it took a year and a lot of bad coffee in his office.

The eagerness is the thing, isn't it. You're so hungry for someone to say yes that you'll pretend the knot in your stomach is excitement. It never is. That knot knows things. These days I tell young artists: if it feels off in the room, it'll feel worse in the letter. Trust the knot, not the charm.