Who is this page for?
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What's on this page?
This page has the best art business books I know.
CONTENTS:
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Artists who succeed are those that master the BUSINESS side of the art business as well as producing good art.
Or, at the very least, they find a reliable "somebody" (who is very often a spouse or partner) who does that for them. However, there's not a lot of training around for the business side of being an artist - even if you go to an art school. Which is precisely where the art business book comes in! It doesn't really matter if you are the artist or the partner in your artist's art business, these books are for you! I've split them up into different categories so you can easily find what you want - and also see what are the alternatives. Below I've summarised what they contain, provided a very brief review, indicated who they are suitable for and how they are rated by other artists. |
These are the best books on and about the art business which are available on Amazon. So while you learn more about art you can also save on your business expenses!
This is me being business-like!This website costs money to run and to maintain it I need to raise income to offset the costs of running it. Below you will find associate links to Amazon - in the USA and UK - which means I get a tiny percentage of what the book costs you every time you buy one.
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Learn how to find buyers, get paid ... nicely, deal with copycats and sell more art.
The author has been an art agent for her husband since 2001. Her approach to making money from art and having a successful art business is based on doing it for real. You can read her blog on https://mariabrophy.com/ |
CONTENTS:
A well organised book with a logical structure and no nonsense approach - focusing on
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Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: Son of the Sea, Inc. 1st edition Publication date: May 21, 2017 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Rated an average of:
BUY THIS BOOK Art Money & Success from Amazon UK
Art Money & Success from Amazon.com
Art Money & Success (KINDLE Edition) from Amazon.com
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An essential book for any artist/designer who is thinking of setting up their own business, this book literally covers everything you need. This is the information that should be taught in art schools and isn't!
Written by Alison Branagan, an author, business adviser and visual arts consultant who has devised and delivered courses on the art business for art students at the University of the Arts in London |
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Paperback: 344 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic; 2nd Revised edition edition (9 Feb. 2017) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
BUY THIS BOOK |
Written by a couple of English artists who have exhibited internationally.
A ton of practical information is given, solid information without fluff or fillers. Must read for artists at any stage of their career! |
CONTENTS:
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Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Ilex Press; 1st edition Publication Date: 3 Nov. 2016 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rated an average of:
What They Didn't Teach You in Art School: (hardback) from Amazon UK
What They Didn't Teach You in Art School (Kindle Edition) from Amazon UK
What They Didnt Teach You In Art School from Amazon.com
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If you're starting out and you want a simple guide to the art business and the things you need to think about these books are for you.
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These major on short simple introductions - not in-depth advice. For that you want other books that specialise in the areas you are interested in.
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RECOMMENDED FOR UK ARTISTS Excellent advice for UK artists as it's written from a UK perspective - and generally good advice for everybody else |
Every topic in the book is explained in 250 words or less - so no need to read lots of words to find out what you need to know! It covers:
The author, Alison Branagan, lectures at Central St Martins (part of the University of the Arts in London) about the business side of being an artist and what you need to know about business start-up, self-promotion and generally being an entrepreneur as well as an artist. |
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: A & C Black Publishers Ltd (8 July 2011) Republished: Grey Tiger 2013 Rated an average of:
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This is a book of bite sized stories providing an insight into the realities of the art world. |
This book is a great introduction for those who are "innocents abroad" in the world of art. It focuses on practical issues, challenges and problems and has lots of useful information and stories in bite size chunks which make you stop and think.
Susan Mumford, the author writes Be Smart about Art (her partner takes the pics). She describes herself as a game-changer in the 21st Century art world. She’s an entrepreneur, mentor, speaker and author, born and raised in the USA and now based in London I found it ideal reading matter for travelling on the tube in London. |
Paperback: 102 pages
Publisher: Be Smart About Art Publishing Date: 15 April 2015 [Note It's NOT available on Amazon.com] RECOMMENDED Rated an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars by 7 customers in the UK |
This book is a compilation of contributions, hints and tips from a number of different artists.
It's a small book but there's a lot to read as it's packed full of useful information. The downsides are:
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CONTENTS
This book has four main sections - Making, Showing, Selling and Director. Making covers
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Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Grey Tiger; Publication date: 1st edition (28 Oct. 2013) BUY THIS BOOK It's excellent value given the amazing amount of tips inside! Artists' Survival Guide from Amazon UK
Artists' Survival Guide from Amazon.com
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Rated an average of:
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How to Sell Your Art Online covers
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Cory Huff is the man behind the popular website The Abundant Artist
Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Harper Design Publication date: June 28, 2016 BUY THIS BOOK How to Sell Your Art Online from Amazon UK
How to Sell Your Art Online from Amazon.com
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Author: Annabelle Ruston is an editor with the Fine Art Trade Guild, one of whose main functions is to guide its members through the potential pitfalls of selling their work
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The second edition of this book helps artists to address the demands of marketing and selling work using social networking and e-marketing in an online world.
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Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Herbert Press 1st edition 2005 2nd edition 2013 3rd edition: Publication Date:
RECOMMENDED This has been a best-selling book for over ten years however note most of the reviews relate to earlier editions Rated an average of:
The Artist's Guide to Selling Work from Amazon UK
The Artist's Guide to Selling Work from Amazon.com
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If you want to show you work in art galleries you need to understand how they work.
Both the books below are essentially written for those who manage art galleries or want to start one. However they are also a great education for artists in how art galleries work and the scope for working with them. |
Read more about this topic a A Guide to Art Dealers and Art Galleries in the 'SELL ART' section of this website
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Officially a BEST SELLER - this analysis of research about the inner life of art galleries sold out very fast in the English language edition when first published.
Nothing like it had ever been written before. |
"Entertaining, necessary, in short: brilliant." |
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First Edition in 2015 - SOLD OUT!
First Publisher: Hatje Cantz It sold out really fast! Rated an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars by 9 customer reviews Second edition published in 2016! I ordered and waited and was rewarded! However printing text in pink is beyond a joke - and impacted on reviews! THIRD EDITION 2018 Paperback: 152 pages (+ 12 pages) Publisher: Phaidon Press UK: 13 July 2018 USA: and I bought it again! BUY THIS BOOK USA: Management of Art Galleries from Amazon.com
UK: Management of Art Galleries: REVISED / THIRD EDITION from Amazon UK
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Rated an average of
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The blog became a book!
This book is essentially written for people wanting to become gallery owners. However, it's also very helpful for artists who want to research and understand:
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Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Allworth Press; 1st Edition Publication date: July 14, 2009 2nd Edition Publication date: 13 Nov. 2018 BUY THIS BOOK How To Start Run Commercial Art Gallery from Amazon.com
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It's essential to know about copyright in order to
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You can read more about this topic in my section on Copyright for Artists
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Easy to digest content covers:
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The authors are American and hence much of the content related to law has an American bias. They also write a blog called The Copyright Zone - described as a survival blog for photographers, artists and the confused! Greenberg is a commercial litigator based in New York. Reznicki is an experienced and commercial people and children photographer.
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Paperback: 352 pages
Published by Focal Press in 2015 UK: Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars by 42 customer reviews BUY THIS BOOK USA: Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars by 45 customer reviews
BUY THIS BOOK The Copyright Zone: A Legal Guide For Photographers and Artists In The Digital Age - BUY from Amazon.com
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The audience for this book probably leans more towards museums, professionals in the art business, and lawyers rather than artists and craftspeople working in the art economy.
It's published by the Institute of Art and Law and is
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The book covers:
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Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: Institute of Art and Law Publication Date: January 6, 2015 BUY THIS BOOK |
The Artists Resale Right (ARR) - in the context of the Secondary Art Market (resales) has the potential to be an important factor in the income portfolio of artists whose art continues to sell well - and as part of the income to be derived from the estate of a deceased artist
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For more about this topic see my section on Copyright and resale rights after death
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Paperback: 84 pages
Publisher: Institute of Art & Law; 2nd Revised edition (29 Aug. 2012) BUY THIS BOOK Artist's Resale Right (Droit de Suite): UK Law and Practice from Amazon UK
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The General Data Protection Regulation relates to people's PERSONAL DATA - data that helps identify an individual. It affects
It came into effect on 25 May 2018. |
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Publication date: 23 Jan. 2020 Rated an average out of 5 stars UK: 4.8 by 67 customer reviews USA: 4.7 by 32 customer reviews BUY THIS BOOK GDPR For Dummies from Amazon UK
GDPR For Dummies from Amazon.com
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RATED:
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This handbook covers
The author has a business which has advised on the setting up and execution of artists estates for many years - with a bias towards Germany. |
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Hatje Cantz Published: August 2016 BUY THIS BOOK The Artist Estate: A Handbook for Artists, Executors, and Heirs from Amazon.com
See also The Art Legacy on this website. |
due to be published
3rd September 2020 |
Described as an in-depth guide to practical, legal and financial considerations and best-practice for artists’ estates.
Contributions from: Kathy Battista, Alexandra Bowes-Lyon, Bryan Faller, Nathalie Khan, Christine Kuan, Lisa Le Feuvre, Christy MacLear, Daniel McClean, Tom McNulty, Mark Morris, Judith B. Prowda, Ann-Marie Richard, Christine J. Vincent, Eric M. Wolf, Robin Wright and Loretta Würtenberger. |
Hardback: 192 Pages
Size: 240 × 170 mm Includes 30 b&w illustrations Publisher: Lund Humphries Published: 3rd September 2020 BUY THIS BOOK Creative Legacies: Critical Issues for Artists' Estates from Amazon UK
See also The Art Legacy on this website. |
"This handbook is intended to be a reference for anyone involved in the packing and shipping of painting"
Publisher: National Gallery of Art (June 1991)
Ring-bound edition BUY IN USA Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings from Amazon.com
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Read my review of Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings. This is a very large and comprehensive handbook, written for art galleries and museums, which tells you what to do when packing and transporting valuable artwork. However it's also applicable to all those moving and arranging for the transport of artwork.
It's ridiculously expensive for the ordinary artist BUT This book is also available for free from the Smithsonian Institute (see link BELOW). Which is nice, because copies are now difficult to get hold of and astronomically expensive - however if you want your very own copy..... Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings | Smithsonian Digital Repository: (6.1 MB PDF FILE)
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Copyright: 2015-2021 Katherine Tyrrell | Making A Mark Publications
- all rights reserved If you've got any suggestions for what you'd like to see on this website please send me your suggestion
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PLEASE NOTE:
1) Content and the law change all the time. It's impossible to keep up with it if you're not working on the topic full time. 2) I research topics carefully. However, I am totally unable to warrant that ANY and/or ALL information is
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3) Hence all information I provide comes without any LIABILITY whatsoever to you for any choices you make.
4) This website is FREE FOR YOU but not for me. Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. Buying a book via this website means I get a very small payment which helps to fund and maintain this website. .I much appreciate any support your provide. Adverts are provided by Google AdSense - but the adverts do not mean I endorse the advertiser. |