What Should I Charge for My Art?

Most people price their work by instinct. Some follow formulas and others guess based on what they’ve seen online or what someone once said their art was worth. But pricing isn’t a feeling. Nope. It’s a framework.

You don’t start with a number. You start with a structure: cost base, brand role, and market tier. Stay with me.

First, your cost base. Materials, time, studio expenses, and overhead. This is the baseline. If it costs you $150 to create a piece, pricing it at $200 might cover your costs, but it won’t grow your business. What you charge needs to reflect more than just inputs. It needs to reflect purpose.

Every piece in your portfolio should serve a function. Some are anchor works, designed to build long-term positioning. Others are accessible entry points or repeatable offerings that help your work circulate more widely. Pricing should signal which is which.

For emerging artists selling direct, original work might range from $300 to $1,500. High-volume pieces such as studies, small works, or prints might sit between $40 and $250. As demand builds and your positioning sharpens, those numbers rise. Mid-career or established artists with gallery traction typically price originals between $2,000 and $15,000, and limited editions from $250 to $2,000. Don’t worry because these aren’t rules, they’re just ranges. What matters is that your price matches the role of the work.

Here’s the question to ask before setting a number: is this piece meant to anchor or circulate?

Anchor pieces are rare. They’re priced to stay with serious collectors. To build reputation and to mark a body of work. Circulating pieces are meant to move. To invite participation. To give people a way to enter your world. The mistake most people make is trying to make one piece do both.

A $600 piece isn’t trying to prove legacy. It’s inviting connection. A $6,000 piece isn’t about impulse. It’s about commitment. Both are valid as long as the pricing reflects what the piece is meant to do.

When you start thinking this way, pricing stops feeling personal. It starts feeling structural. And that’s what allows your business to grow. Because you’re no longer reacting or being passive. You’re designing the experience and making it worth it.

This is exactly what we work on in the 1:1 Strategy Sessions. We don’t just talk numbers. When your pricing has a purpose, buyers feel it. And more importantly, they trust it. Click here to book a session with me and let’s decide on the pricing of your artwork to sell.