Imagine my delight upon receiving the good news that "Abraham Lubelski, the publisher of New York Arts Magazine, and owner of The Broadway Gallery in NYC and Beijing Arts Space in China" wanted my painting Elegance at Rest for his... um gallery? No, his "program."
Being part of this "prestigious program" would only cost me $1900!
But there's more!
Dear David,
I am pleased to inform you of an exciting opportunity to join an international publicity program based in New York City as well as exhibition in Broadway Gallery in SoHo, New York City.
This is exciting! I have never been invited to join an international publicity program. And I get to exhibit in the Broadway Gallery in SoHo?
Oh my gosh! This is amazing. My dream has come true. My ship has come in. I will finally have adoring fans. I will finally be recognized for who I am: The next artist that is better than Sliced Bread!
Oh my gosh! This is amazing. My dream has come true. My ship has come in. I will finally have adoring fans. I will finally be recognized for who I am: The next artist that is better than Sliced Bread!
My name is Abraham Lubelski, the publisher of New York Arts Magazine, and owner of The Broadway Gallery in NYC and Beijing Arts Space in China. I would like to invite you to join our publicity program that includes an exhibition in New York City in January 2012.
You would like to invite me? Well, don't just sit there... invite me! We need to get this thing moving! The show is in January, and it's already the end of November! Your publicity program had better be good, what with only one month to go and magazine advertising usually having a 3-month lead time, not to mention ad design approval and all.
I am interested in your work "Elegance At Rest" and I believe it would be an important addition to our program. The intricate brush strokes and soft colors flow across the canvas beautifully, creating a truly sensual piece. You have a wonderful style. By paying close attention to the intuitive works of each artist, we are hoping to construct an exhibition of works that truly speaks to our viewers and subscribers.
Oh, you sweet-talker, you. You know how to say all the right things. With such flattering language such as "intricate brush strokes" and telling me how my "soft colors flow across the canvas beautifully, creating a truly sensual piece" really caught my attention and made me realize you really do care about art and the artist.
However, "by paying close attention" you should have noticed the large, bold, type next to that painting that form the word "SOLD" — and in most English speaking countries that means NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
How long have you been in this business?
However, "by paying close attention" you should have noticed the large, bold, type next to that painting that form the word "SOLD" — and in most English speaking countries that means NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
How long have you been in this business?
With this program you will get one year of publicity, full page in NY Arts Magazine (sold worldwide in major bookstores), an exhibition in the heart of NYC, in Broadway Gallery, a spread in Art Fair International Newsletter along with a year subscription, for a cost of $1,900. This is a media driven event and offers both emerging and established artists the broadest media coverage possible. You can read more about the program here: NY ARTS Publicity Program & Exhibition.
No, I think you are misrepresenting the program. With this program you get $1900 from naive, unwitting artists. And I am not one of them.
I have been in this business for 30 years. When I started out, people representing artists got a 25% commission, and they worked for it. They printed drop-off cards, they advertised in magazines, they dropped by the homes and businesses of the most likely buyers, visited clients, called people on a routine basis. This is what they got 25% of my fee for — so I didn't have to do all that. I'd rather take 75% of a fee they secured than have to do all that stuff and also create the art for 100% of what I could get.
Then they got cocky and started charging 30% — some even charged 33 1/3%, after all, was I going to let my rep go over a matter of 8.334%? (Well, yes, actually I did — because he wanted the same split on what he was spending on advertising... he wanted me to pay him 33 1/3% of his expenses — so now I was to pay him 1/3 of my money for work I hired him to do, and also pay 1/3 of his expenses that I had no control over? That's when I fired him).
Then a few years later galleries went to 40% commission. You know why? "Because that's the going rate. That's what the Big Boys do." Every little gallery that anyone ever started up took this mentality, without offering the services the Big Boys do. The big boys have mailing lists of millionaires and serious art collectors, they throw wine and cheese Gallery Openings with stuff that's better than Cheez-its and Charles Shaw (their Shiraz isn't half bad, though), they mail out several color postcards, or enveloped invitations, advertise for 3 months prior to the show in all the major art magazines and newspapers.
Not every little mom and pop gallery does that. Hardly any do, in fact.
But they all started taking a 40% commission, regardless. And artists everywhere bought it.
Then shortly thereafter they simply announced they would be taking 50% commission. HALF of what I charge for a painting! My work! My effort. Some now charge 60%! Where does it stop? 99.9%?
And what do I get for a 50% fee? I get the reality that only the wealthy can buy paintings, now. Because these galleries warn me that I cannot destroy my investor relationships by lowering my painting prices 'just because we're in the worst depression this country has seen since the dust bowl.' Stocks can go down, HDTV prices can drop, housing can sell for less, but the artist is instructed not to lower his prices to make the paintings accessible to more collectors.
And then you come along and ask me to send you $1900 so I can be part of your program in 30 days?
No gallery EVER in the history of art sales has ever had to charge an artist to get their art on a wall.
Do I have Idiot written on my forehead?
To the art-creating public: here is the name of a mass-marketer, who does not do his homework, flatters his prey and lavishes praise appealing to naive artists who do not know you do not ever have to pay for good representation, any more than a model ever needs to pay to be represented by a good modeling agency:
I have been in this business for 30 years. When I started out, people representing artists got a 25% commission, and they worked for it. They printed drop-off cards, they advertised in magazines, they dropped by the homes and businesses of the most likely buyers, visited clients, called people on a routine basis. This is what they got 25% of my fee for — so I didn't have to do all that. I'd rather take 75% of a fee they secured than have to do all that stuff and also create the art for 100% of what I could get.
Then they got cocky and started charging 30% — some even charged 33 1/3%, after all, was I going to let my rep go over a matter of 8.334%? (Well, yes, actually I did — because he wanted the same split on what he was spending on advertising... he wanted me to pay him 33 1/3% of his expenses — so now I was to pay him 1/3 of my money for work I hired him to do, and also pay 1/3 of his expenses that I had no control over? That's when I fired him).
Then a few years later galleries went to 40% commission. You know why? "Because that's the going rate. That's what the Big Boys do." Every little gallery that anyone ever started up took this mentality, without offering the services the Big Boys do. The big boys have mailing lists of millionaires and serious art collectors, they throw wine and cheese Gallery Openings with stuff that's better than Cheez-its and Charles Shaw (their Shiraz isn't half bad, though), they mail out several color postcards, or enveloped invitations, advertise for 3 months prior to the show in all the major art magazines and newspapers.
Not every little mom and pop gallery does that. Hardly any do, in fact.
But they all started taking a 40% commission, regardless. And artists everywhere bought it.
Then shortly thereafter they simply announced they would be taking 50% commission. HALF of what I charge for a painting! My work! My effort. Some now charge 60%! Where does it stop? 99.9%?
And what do I get for a 50% fee? I get the reality that only the wealthy can buy paintings, now. Because these galleries warn me that I cannot destroy my investor relationships by lowering my painting prices 'just because we're in the worst depression this country has seen since the dust bowl.' Stocks can go down, HDTV prices can drop, housing can sell for less, but the artist is instructed not to lower his prices to make the paintings accessible to more collectors.
And then you come along and ask me to send you $1900 so I can be part of your program in 30 days?
No gallery EVER in the history of art sales has ever had to charge an artist to get their art on a wall.
Do I have Idiot written on my forehead?
To the art-creating public: here is the name of a mass-marketer, who does not do his homework, flatters his prey and lavishes praise appealing to naive artists who do not know you do not ever have to pay for good representation, any more than a model ever needs to pay to be represented by a good modeling agency:
Abraham Lubelski
Publisher
NY Arts Magazine
abraham@nyartsmagazine.com
473 Broadway, 7th floor, NY, NY 10013 | 212-274-8993
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