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Buying art from Private Art Dealers vs. Retail Galleries

Blog: #16 of 16 by Alex Adelman

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The answer is fairly simple economics: dealing with a private art dealer doesn't have the typical overheads of a retail gallery.

Retail gallery operations average about $500k per month in overhead costs, and these costs must be factored into the price of the art that the gallery sells.

With a private art dealer, the pricing is able to be much lower because you are dealing directly with the person who owns and sells their own inventory. Private dealers' overhead costs are a mere fraction of the monthly operating cost of a typical retail gallery.

There are no sales commissions to pay with a private art dealer. A good dealer's long-term interests are different than that of a typical retail gallery. A good dealer's overall goal is to build a long-term working relationship with the client and NOT, for example, a one-time sale to help a sales consultant make their monthly rent.

In terms of expertise, most gallery salespeople do not have specialties in fine art, art history, or art techniques and technologies. You typically deal with a salesperson whose expertise are focused on sales and merchandising. This is in no way to discredit the work that these representatives do. They are skilled at selling items. The difference between them and a private art dealer is that the dealer has most likely devoted countless hours of their free time researching as much as they can to educate their clients about the pieces they sell.

Find a private art dealer that is passionate about fine art and believes their clients should share in this passion, curiosity and respect for the fine art they seek to collect. Whether you are seeking a Durer woodcut, a Degas drawing, a Rembrandt etching, or a Warhol screen print, there is someone out there that lives and breathes your favorite artist. Find them, and they will gladly educate you about the artist!

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