The Internet today does not only serve data gathering, but also includes a wide variety of online commerce. Many people have taken on online transactions, buying items through the Internet because of its practicality and convenience.
Through online commerce, numerous transactions have already taken place across various services and commodities, including art. Artistic abstract paintings, landscape pictures, portraits and other art pieces that people usually see and buy in galleries can now be purchased online; and the Internet is helping maintain, if not grow, art’s steady market. According to Chris Grant-Peterkin in an article for The Guardian:
“A change in how art is sold has historically played an important role in the expansion of the art market. The salons helped expand the art market in the 19th century, the commercial galleries in the 20th century and now the internet has the potential to help expand the art market in the 21st.
With an expanding art market, we’re not just seeing changes to how art is sold, but also changes to what art is bought, why it is bought and by whom. The ability of online art platforms to empower the public as tastemaker is an example of one such change, one which has many positive outcomes: for the public, who will be able to refine their judgments of art; for artists, who desire a level playing field; and for culture, which will become far more representative of all society, not just the curator classes.”
The article highlights the positives of online selling in the art market, as well as using the Internet as a strategy to promote upcoming artists, and established artists’ new artworks. Yet, the article also emphasizes the need to understand both the online and traditional way of selling art; including knowing the difference in the functions of selling sites and personal networking sites. Likewise, the writer stresses the need for traditional offline galleries. In the end, the idea of selling fine art paintings online, directly from the artist Catherine Andrews, through portals like www.ArtByCatherineAndrews.com, can help in building a market; but meeting with clients face-to-face is still essential in art management and marketing.
(Source: Selling art online and reaching new markets: 5 tips for artists, The Guardian, 28 Jan, 2014)