How To Evaluate The Price Of A Painting of an Emerging Artist?

**The image displays the popular paintings of artist Shantala Palat

A question that often comes to an art lover, as well as a first-time art buyer, is – How to evaluate the price of a painting of an emerging artist? Generally, classical artwork of masters are priced through auctions and their prices are mostly evaluated by an expert and are then made available on the site etc.

According to India’s famous contemporary artist, Shantala Palat, the process behind the pricing valuation of a painting is complex. There are no precise rules on the matter. Ultimately, it is up to the artist. They judge and set the price of their work. In order to do so, certain objective criteria are taken into consideration. Some of the important criteria to evaluate the price of a painting are:

1. The format of the Painting

The first basic criteria to evaluate the price is to check the format of the painting. Generally, larger canvases are priced high. Added to this, are other more or less dominant factors.

2. The technique

There is a certain hierarchy between different pictorial techniques. Oil painting is at the top of the list, whereas charcoal (or pencil) drawing is at the bottom. How do you explain such a hierarchy of different techniques? Understand it this way: some techniques are harder to master than others. Oil painting, for example, requires a higher degree of expertise. This is mainly due to its chemical composition. Thus, the type of expertise and the skill of an artist will give the painting a certain value.

3. The path of the artist

When evaluating the economic value of a painting, refer to the artist’s career, check for artist’s bio; find out where the artist was trained? Have she/he ever participated in group or solo exhibitions? Have they won prizes or competitions? These are all elements that can testify to the potential of an artist and influence the value of their work.

4. Time spent and cost of material

The quality of the materials used for an artwork influences the price of the finished product. With a painting, for example, it is the quality of the paint or the type of canvas favoured by the artist which comes into consideration. When looking at time spent on a certain piece, it can be quite relative. Some artists work fast, while others take their time. Nevertheless, it is a criterion that can be taken into account when setting the price of a painting.

5. The market price

The economic value of a painting is also influenced by the laws of the market. For example, if an offer for a unique and original painting is limited to a single piece, then the demand can greatly vary depending on where the painting is exposed and/or put on sale. Indeed, large art marketplaces offer great visibility and strong sales potential that can increase the value of an artwork.