Art Auctions
Guidelines for Artists

Prepared and endorsed by the Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake Gallery Association and the Salt Lake City Art Council.

• Choose auctions astutely and sparingly. Pace yourself during the year with your gifts.
• Donate to auctions because you believe in the work of the charity/non-profit.
• Maintain a variety of price range in your work, allowing for lower-cost objects or reproductions to be donated.
• Ask questions as outlined below.

Questions to Ask:

1. Is the organization hosting the auction a bona fide 501(c)3 non-profit institution? Organizers should supply a copy of their IRS tax-exempt letter.
    
2. Will the organizer set a minimum bid for the artwork, below which it will not be sold? Artists should set the minimum bid. Many artists believe the minimum should be the retail price. By maintaining the retail price as the minimum bid, the market value of the artist's work is not compromised and the galleries are respected as well.
    
3. Is the artist offered the option of taking a percentage of the auction sale price? While this limits the lucrative nature of the auction for the organizer, it is respectful and becoming customary to offer 40-50% of the sale price to the artist. This allows the artist to determine if he/she would rather make a complete donation or a partial donation.
    
4. Will the item be returned to the artist if it does not sell? It should be understood that artwork which does not sell at the auction should be returned to the artist, unless specific agreements are in place to the contrary. The artist may determine to donate the piece outright to the organization following the auction, but those arrangements should be separate from the auction agreement.
    
5. Will the items donated for sale be insured at all times while in the possession of the organization until it is claimed by the new owner? Artists should be guaranteed in writing that the work will be insured for the value noted by the artist at all times while in the possession of the auctioning organization. Insurance may terminate upon the piece being turned over to the buyer.
    
6. May the artist have his/her gallery representative noted on identification labels, publicity, promotion? The gallery which handles an artist's work should be mentioned in order to capitalize on the much-touted "exposure" benefit to the artist for being involved in auction. If buyers/browsers at an auction can learn where to go to see more of an artist's work at a later date, then the "exposure" benefit may in fact ring true.
    
7. Will the artist and his/her guest be given free tickets to the auction event? The artist should always be invited to attend the auction event and to bring a guest. The presence of the artist with the audience also allows the "exposure" benefit to be realistic.
    
8. What forms of publicity/promotion will the organization be responsible for in helping to increase exposure for the event and the artist in particular? How can the organizer guarantee this publicity? Will there be press releases? Does the organizer have good relationships with the media? Does the organizer know the appropriate people to send media releases to? Will there be a brochure/catalog of the auction? If so, will there be reproductions included of the works in the auction? Will the artist receive copies of the brochure/catalog/press releases/invitations?
    
9. Does the organizer respect and understand your art form? Will the organizer double-check the spelling of your name in printed material before going to press. Will they print the title and medium correctly? Will the work be described in the auction process by someone who understands visual art?
    
10. What percentage of the gross sales from the auction will directly benefit the charity? Organizers should know what amount of proceeds from the auction will be of direct benefit to the charity. An artist should know whether portions of his/her gift will go to the operations of the charity or to paying for the room to host the auction, the auctioneer, the invitations for the auction, the publicity, etc.
     
11. What is the audience for the auction event? How many people will attend and who are they likely to be? What is the ticket price for the general public to attend? Often the only substantial exposure the artist will receive is during the actual event. Consequently, it is important to know what the organizers expect from possible buyers.
     
12. Will there be appropriate follow-up recognition and correspondence after the event? Artists should be guaranteed that they will be notified after the event of the sale price of the work, the purchaser and the purchaser's address and phone number. Artists should be thanked for their contribution and given a summary of the event within 60 days.
    
13. Does the organizer understand IRS regulations relevant to auctions? If an organizer implies that the patrons attending the auction will be more inclined to buy works of art because they are a tax deduction, they do not understand IRS regulations. Patrons do not receive a tax deduction for purchases of goods/services. However, if the artwork is purchased substantially over its market value, the amount of purchase over the market value may be considered a contribution. (This should be verified with qualified accountants/lawyers).