The 2001 Art Business News Perspectives on Printing (POP) Survey, an in-depth survey of the sale of prints at more than 500 galleries nationwide, has uncovered a variety of revealing trends about the market.
The survey has been on hiatus since 1998, but in the interim, several significant trends have emerged. In general, galleries are carrying more limited- and open-edition prints, and the number of galleries carrying open-edition prints has increased. As in the 1998 survey, galleries continue to sell lithographs more than any other type of print. However, the industry is feeling the impact of giclee printing, which is the leading type of print galleries have added to their mix of art offerings.
Landscapes remain the top-selling subject for galleries, and Realism remains the top-selling style, outpacing the next-best seller, Impressionism, by a two-to-one ratio. Another trend that has emerged is a dip in the number of artists carried by galleries. The survey also reports growth in inventory other than prints, such as originals, sculpture and photography, at galleries.
The 1998 survey revealed a large number of smaller galleries with sales volumes under $100,000. This year, the survey reports a range of mid-size and larger galleries as well as smaller ones.
Within this context, the typical gallery in this year's survey posted an average sales volume of $323,000 in 2000. Galleries in the South and Mountain/Pacific regions posted above-average sales volumes ($450,000 and $388,200, respectively) while those in the rest of the country posted below-average sales volumes that ranged from $312,000 in the Midwest to $292,500 in the South Atlantic states and $246,300 in the New England/Mid-Atlantic states.
Survey results showed that 2000 was a year of growth for half of the galleries, which reported sales increases that typically ranged from six to 10 percent or 11 to 20 percent over their sales volumes from 1999.
Regionally, a variety of sales volume trends emerged, including:
* Galleries in the Mountain/Pacific and New England/Mid-Atlantic regions were more likely to have sales increases than galleries in other parts of the country, and galleries in the South and South Atlantic states were the segments that were most likely to have lost sales dollars.
* The regional proportions of galleries reporting sales increases were as follows: New England/Mid-Atlantic-59 percent; Mountain/Pacific-58 percent; Midwest-50 percent; South Atlantic-41 percent; South-37 percent.
* The regional proportions of galleries reporting sales decreases were as follows: South-25 percent; South Atlantic-24 percent; New England/Mid-Atlantic-22 percent;Mountain/ Pacific-16 percent; Midwest 16 percent.
The overall growth in sales prompted an increase in print purchasing for one-third of the galleries from 1999 to 2000. One-third of the galleries surveyed did not change their print purchases from one year to the next. One out of five galleries decreased print purchases.
The Print Mix is Changing
Nearly every gallery surveyed carries limited-edition prints (95 percent, up from 88 percent in 1998), and 83 percent of galleries surveyed also carry open-edition prints. This number is an increase from 1998, when 63 percent of galleries carried open-edition prints. Each sale of a limited-edition print generated a gross profit of 49 percent (down down from 63 percent in 1998). Each sale of an open-edition print generated a gross profit of 47 percent (down from 62 percent in 1998).
As the 1998 survey found, galleries continue to sell lithographs more than any other type of print. Posters and giclees are the second and third top-selling prints, followed by serigraphs/silkscreens and etchings. Overall, a net of 47 percent of the surveyed galleries added one or more types of prints to their inventories over the past year or two. For the most part, these top five types of prints are sold most extensively by galleries in the New England/Mid-Atlantic states and by galleries with sales volumes of $100,000 to $250,000.
Another significant change from the 1998 survey involves the number of print artists carried by galleries. All of the surveyed galleries carry the work of an average of 38 different print artists. Specifically, one-quarter of the galleries carry fewer than five artists' work; 18 percent carry five to 10 artists; 14 percent carry 11 to 20 artists; 27 percent carry 21 to 100 artists; and 11 percent carry more than 100 artists.
Galleries offered a variety of explanations for expanding their inventories and adding new print artists. Thirty-five percent of galleries grew because they wanted to represent a particular artist. Twenty-six percent of galleries wanted to keep up-to-date. Customer demand prompted expansion of inventory for 22 percent of galleries, and 20 percent of galleries said they wanted to add variety or something new to their inventories.
The Impact of Giclee
Giclees are the leading type of print galleries have added to their inventories. A net of 31 percent of all galleries added giclees, either in the past year (24 percent) or the past two years (17 percent).
Half of the galleries that carry giclee prints carry both giclees-on-canvas and giclees-on-paper. The number of galleries that carry both types tend to increase directionally with sales volume, ranging from a low of 39 percent among small galleries (sales up to $100,000) to a high of 67 percent among large galleries (sales of $500,000 or more).
There are also geographic differences in the percentage of galleries that carry both types of giclees. These differences range from a low of 40 percent in the South Atlantic states to 46 percent in the Mountain/Pacific states, 52 percent in the Midwest, 54 percent in the New England/Mid-Atlantic states and 87 percent in the Southern states.
When only one type of giclee is sold, giclees-on-paper are twice as likely to be sold exclusively as giclees-on-canvas (33 percent vs. 16 percent).
Giclees-on-paper are carried most extensively in the South Atlantic states and in small galleries with 2000 sales volumes up to $100,000. Giclees-on-canvas are carried most extensively in the Mountain/Pacific states and in galleries with 2000 sales volumes of $250,000 to $500,000.
Regardless of the type or types of giclee prints they carry, galleries say giclees-on-paper are better sellers (by a wide margin) than giclees-on-canvas (50 percent vs. 34 percent).
About controversy over giclee printing in the publishing world, most of the galleries that carry giclee prints seem have upbeat opinions about them. Fifty percent have a positive reaction to the recent growth of the giclee market and the same number have a favorable (or positive) reaction to the impact that giclee prints have had on the art market in general.
Top-Selling Subjects and Styles
When it comes to top-selling subjects and styles, the results haven't changed much since 1998. As in 1998, landscapes are once again the top-selling subject (68 percent vs. 68 percent in 1998), leading by a wide margin over the next three top-selling subjects, which are florals (38 percent), wildlife (28 percent) and figures (23 percent). There are some distinctive patterns in the geography and sales volumes of galleries where landscapes, florals, wildlife and figures are the top-selling subjects:
Landscapes sell best in the Midwest and in galleries with 2000 sales of $100,000 to $250,000.
Florals sell best in the Midwest, the New England/ Mid-Atlantic states and in small to mid-size galleries with sales volumes of $100,000 to $250,000 or $250,000 to $500,000.
Wildlife sells best in the Midwest and in galleries with sales volumes of $250,000 to $500,000.
Figures sell best in galleries with 2000 sales volumes of $250,000 to $500,000. Geographically, figures sell about equally well in the New England/ Mid-Atlantic states, the Midwest, the South Atlantic states and the Mountain/Pacific states. In comparison, figures are relatively weak in the South.
When it comes to style, Realism is the hands-down winner, outpacing the next best seller, Impressionism, by a two-to-one ratio. The third top-telling style is Abstract, and other styles include Primitive/Naive, Pop art, Art Deco/Art Nouveau and Surrealism.
