What are art dealers?
An art dealer is a person or company whose business is the buying or selling of a piece of art. He or she is often the liason between an artist and art collectors or musuems. Typically, an art dealer might represent a group of artists or specialize in a particular movement, style or region. Many times an art dealer has a background in art history, museum curation or art criticism. He or she may visit exhibits, auctions or artists’ studios to look for works of art to purchase, and then resell them to collectors or at his or her gallery.
Art dealers are entrepreneurs who facilitate the purchase and sale of art, usually through art galleries. They rarely purchase the art themselves, but display it in their showrooms. When paintings sell, art dealers handle the transaction and forward the sale price, minus their commission, to the artist. Art dealers typically take a commission of anywhere from twenty-five to fifty percent of the sale price of a work of art. The more prestigious the gallery, the higher commission they can command, and the more competition there will be to be displayed in their showrooms.
