Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many art galleries worldwide were forced to close their physical galleries down as people were no longer visiting them. The result was that we saw a surge in galleries offering art online.
The change had both positive and negative outcomes. Whilst people were no longer attending exhibitions and viewing art on gallery walls, the cost savings of galleries not having to pay rent, staff, insurance and other related costs meant that art became more affordable.
Galleries typically take a 50% cut to cover these costs but are now able to reduce that figure substantially. The biggest cost now has become the costs of selling online. People want to see websites that display the art effectively so that the buyer can make an informed decision about its physical quality.
Purchasing high value items online means that it is crucial for the purchaser to be protected by a trusted formal returns policy and other guarantees. Fortunately, mainstream banks are very strict when it comes to issuing a seller with a merchant license. The banks even do a physical check on where the owner lives along with a multitude of other thorough checks checks on sellers. Legitimate merchants typically offer a 3-D secure payment method linked to well established credit card facilities such as MasterCard and Visa etc.
Many online sites offer photography prints but often they are mass-produced and are printed on poor quality paper with solvent inks. The result and dead give-away is usually the price. Legitimate fine art prints, on the other hand, are printed on a minimum of 270GSM fine art paper and usually are cotton-based, and of high archival quality. Only pigment inks are used which ensure durability and are guaranteed to last a lifetime without fading.
Wet darkroom prints, typically on on Silver-Gelatin paper for classic Black and White prints and the paper will usually not be perfectly flat due to the wet process. Prints made within 1-3 years after being captured are considered ‘Vintage Prints’ and hold greater value. These will always be signed and dated on the back with a carbon based pencil.
Original fine art prints will be signed by the artist and as an extra protection to its authenticity, an original Certificate of Authenticity will accompany the print. These certificate often feature security measures such as a holograms or embossed stamps or both.
Legitimate online gallery websites and blogs typically have a professional, well laid out appearance, with correct spelling and natural human language, not AI-generated.
The art offered will be authentic photography art, sourced from renowned locations, and will have no traces of AI generated imagery. The artists will be either well-established and emerging artist or a combination of both.
