Consigning Artwork to a Gallery: Paperwork, Commission and Protecting Your Work

Consigning artwork to a gallery usually starts with a good feeling. A gallery in Castlemaine or Byron likes your work; you load the car with bubble-wrapped pieces, drop them off, shake hands, and drive home happy. Then six months later you're trying to remember which pieces you left there, what price you agreed on, and whether that small bowl ever actually sold.

Most of the trouble artists have with galleries isn't about bad intentions. It's about nothing being written down. Do delivery documents have to be boring? Not really. But they do have to exist.

Key takeaways

• On consignment, you still own the work until it sells. The gallery sells it for you and takes a commission.

• Get the agreement in writing: commission, payment timing, insurance, freight, and how the work comes back.

• Every delivery needs a consignment document listing each piece, its retail price and its condition, signed by both of you.

• Photograph every piece before it leaves the studio.

• In Australia, registering consigned work on the PPSR can protect it if a gallery goes broke.

What consignment actually means

Consigning artwork to a gallery isn't the same as selling it to them. You're lending it to them to sell on your behalf. The work stays yours until a buyer pays for it. Then the gallery keeps its commission and passes the rest to you.

That's different from a gallery buying work outright, which some do for smaller pieces like ceramics or jewellery. If you're not sure which arrangement you've got, ask. It changes who carries the risk, and it changes your paperwork.

What to put in writing before consigning artwork to a gallery

A handshake is lovely. A written agreement is what you'll actually rely on. The NAVA Code of Practice is the standard reference for Australian artists, and it says commission for full representation at a commercial gallery generally sits between 40% and 50%, exclusive of GST. Whatever the number, it should be in writing, along with:

• Commission: the percentage, and whether it changes for different types of sale.

• Payment: how soon after a sale you'll be paid, and how often you'll get a statement.

• Insurance: who covers the work for loss or damage while it's at the gallery and in transit.

• Freight: who pays to get the work there and back again.

• Display and storage: how the work will be shown, stored, and looked after.

• Discounts: whether the gallery can offer a discount, and who wears it.

• How long, and how it ends: the length of the consignment and how either of you can bring work home.

If you'd rather not start from a blank page, the Arts Law Centre has a consignment agreement for artists and galleries you can buy and adapt, with notes explaining each clause. Getting the commission maths right matters too, and our guide on how to price your artwork walks through working back from what you need in hand.

The consignment document: your receipt for every delivery

The agreement covers the relationship. The consignment document, sometimes called a delivery docket, covers each drop-off. It's the list of exactly what you handed over that day, the piece of paper you'll reach for if anything goes wrong, and the most useful habit you can build when consigning artwork to a gallery.

For each artwork, list:

• Inventory number and title

• Medium and dimensions

• Retail price and what you'll receive after commission

• Condition, including any small marks that are part of the piece

• A photo, or a reference to one

Both of you sign it, and you each keep a copy. When work comes back, do the same thing in reverse. If you keep your records in a spreadsheet, our post on the art inventory spreadsheet shows how to pull a consignment list straight out of it.

Tip: Photograph every piece on a plain background the day it leaves the studio, with the date visible in the file. If a frame gets chipped or a glaze gets scratched at the gallery, those photos settle the question in about thirty seconds.

Condition reports, and why they save friendships

Nobody wants to argue with a gallery they like, and when you're consigning artwork to a gallery for the first time it's easy to skip this step to keep things friendly. A quick condition note on the consignment document avoids most of those conversations before they start. A crazed glaze that's meant to be there, a tiny knot in a timber frame, a slight wave in a large print: write it down, and it stops being a surprise later.

For bigger or more valuable pieces, some artists and galleries do a short condition report together at drop-off. It takes ten minutes and protects both of you.

Protecting your work if a gallery goes broke

This is the part of consigning artwork to a gallery that most Australian artists have never heard of. Under the Personal Property Securities Act, work you've consigned to a gallery can be treated as security for the gallery's debts if it goes into administration. In plain terms, if a gallery collapses owing money, your unsold work could get caught up with everything else.

NAVA points out that most artists don't know about this and simply rely on their consignment agreement. The protection is to register your interest in consigned work on the Personal Property Securities Register, the government's online noticeboard of who has an interest in what. It costs a small fee and takes some getting used to, so it's worth doing for valuable work or galleries holding a lot of your pieces. If you're unsure, talk to the Arts Law Centre before you deliver.

It sounds dramatic, and most galleries never get anywhere near it. But galleries do close, and it's a far easier job to register before work goes out than to chase it afterwards.

Getting paid and keeping track

A good gallery will send regular statements showing what's sold, what's still on the wall and what you're owed. If statements stop arriving or payments drift, ask early and politely. Most delays are admin, not anything sinister.

On your side, keep your own record of what's where. Work tends to drift between galleries, markets, exhibitions and your studio, and the moment you lose track is the moment something gets sold twice. Our guide to preparing work for an exhibition covers the paperwork side of a show if you're delivering for one.

Bringing work home

Consigning artwork to a gallery isn't forever, and consignments end for all sorts of reasons. The work didn't move, the gallery's changing direction, or you've got a solo show coming up and need the pieces back. Check your agreement for how much notice either of you needs, arrange freight, and do a return document listing everything that comes home and its condition. Then update your records the same day.

How ArtFlow handles consignment

This is exactly the admin ArtFlow was built to take off your plate. Each artwork already has its photos, size, medium and price on record, so a consignment document is generated from it rather than typed out again. You can send it straight to a connected gallery through the gallery portal, or save it as a properly formatted PDF to email or print. Clear, fully priced, and gallery-ready.

Every piece then keeps a history: consigned, dispatched, accepted, sold or returned. So when a gallery in Hobart emails asking what they've still got, you already know. You can see how it works on the features page.

Questions artists ask about consignment

• What commission do Australian galleries take on consigned work? For full representation at a commercial gallery, the NAVA Code of Practice says commission generally sits between 40% and 50%, exclusive of GST. Other outlets vary, so always check.

• Who owns the work when you're consigning artwork to a gallery? You do, until it's sold. The gallery holds and sells it on your behalf.

• What should a consignment document include? Each piece's inventory number, title, medium, size, retail price, your share after commission, its condition, and ideally a photo. Both parties should sign and keep a copy.

• Do I need to register consigned art on the PPSR? It isn't compulsory, but registering protects your work if a gallery becomes insolvent. NAVA recommends artists understand the risk, and Arts Law can help you decide.

• What happens if consigned work is damaged at the gallery? That depends on your agreement, which is why insurance should be in writing. Your consignment document and photos show what condition the work was in when it arrived.

The short version

Consigning artwork to a gallery works best when the friendly handshake is backed by paperwork. Agree the terms in writing, list every piece on a signed consignment document, photograph everything, think about the PPSR for valuable work, and keep your own records up to date. If you'd like the documents to write themselves, start a free ArtFlow account and send your next delivery straight from the artwork records.