Most galleries that survived the great recession have made their way by selling work with a telephone, email, and the internet.  In 2011, 3% of fine art sales transactions took place through the internet.  In 2012 this number jumped to 13%.  Results for 2013 aren't in yet and if they're good you may not hear about it.  An astute observer may notice it but competitive advantage will keep, and has kept, most dealers mouths closed.  As the art buyers habits change the sellers will surely follow.

In an age when you can get nearly anything the internet, legal or illicit, the world of art has remained a hold out for a long time.  The art openings, the art shows, art fairs, workshops, and all the associated art happenings that involve human interaction will continue as long as there are people who want to go.  It's been difficult for many people to let go of.  Conversations about art, collections, and opinions in homes, institutional collections, and internet forums will continue as well.  People and their opinions will stick around.  There's no doubt about that.  This is a good sign.  It shows that art has a function in the world.

Recent press is showing signs of easing on the old ways of selling art.  The following two quotes are from an article published in the New York Times entitled "Art Collections a Click Away":

"When Judy DeFord, a retired high school art teacher in Seattle, received an e-mail from Catherine Person Gallery recently, she saw a familiar name on its list of artists. It was a former student of hers, Allyce Wood. “I thought, ‘Great!,’ and I decided to make a purchase,” Ms. DeFord said.

But instead of making the 10-minute trip to the gallery, she logged onto Amazon Art, a fine-arts and collectibles category that Amazon introduced on Aug. 6. She clicked on images by Ms. Wood, selected a pen-and-ink drawing of an unearthed plant root titled “Excavated” and, with a few clicks of the mouse, bought it for $160.

“I bought it through Amazon because it was quick and easy,” she said."

"The online activity reflects a shift in consumer behavior. Increasingly, buyers have shown a willingness to select art online and pay for it online, too, without ever seeing the original work."

Just like online dating, people feel confident in the information they're getting off the internet and the level of trust is only growing.  It wasn't 10 years ago that most people thought twice about putting a credit card number through a website out of fear that they would have their identity and their money stolen.

The times have changed.  You can see how buying art has changed in the ARTCHAUCER artgallery on Amazon Art.

The ARTCHAUCER artgallery opened a new gallery on Amazon's new site selling high end art through Amazon Fine Art.  Coverage on Amazon's launch has been wide spread and the time is right for it's success.  Art sales have followed trends in the economy leading consumers to purchase goods and services on line for years.  The mainstreaming of fine art promises to provide collectors with greater access to more art. 

As part of the initial launch of Amazon Fine Art the ARTCHAUCER artgallery is committed to offering a growing collection of fine art to collectors around the world.

Visit the ARTCHAUCER artgallery on Amazon Fine Art

ARTCHAUCER showed work at the Affordable Art Fair Seattle with work by Jay Schmidt, Kathryn W. Schmidt, Harold Schlotzhauer, and Chaucer Silverson.  Hosting 50 galleries and a huge array of contemporary art, the first-ever edition of the Affordable Art Fair in Seattle took place November 8-11, 2012 at the Seattle Center.

The Affordable Art Fair concept is an inspiring atmosphere in which you can find thousands of original paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs all under one roof, ranging from $100-$10,000, with more than half priced under $5,000. The work of young, emerging artists hangs alongside some of the biggest household names, and the Emerging Artists Exhibition provides a chance to snap up work by a future art world star.

The A R T C H A U C E R art gallery at the Affordable Art Fair Seattle received coverage in the Art Nerd New York art blog along with many other galleries and artists in attendance.  You can see images of the fair, including two shots of the ARTCHAUCER booth on Lauren Albrecht's New York City based blog.

The fair hosted work from the Smart Ship Gallery in Tokyo to the Civilian Art Project Gallery in Washington DC.  Many galleries from Seattle represented the Pacific Northwest and Galleries form many points in the U.S. were in attendance including the Galleria el Arupo form Equador and the Villa del Arte Galleries from Barcelona, Spain.   Work by Damien Hirst was shown by the Manifold Editions gallery in London and numerous other galleries contributed to provide an accessable collection of affordable art.  If the market doesn't come to Bozeman, Montana then Bozeman will have to go to the market. 

Chaucer Silverson is an Artist and Art Consultant representing a collection of artwork and providing a variety of Arts Management Services.  Chaucer also offers custom Art & Culture Tours at www.sketchytours.com.

Selected works from the ARTCHAUCER  artgallery booth at the Affordable Art Fair Seattle:

ARTCHAUCER artgallery will show the work of 4 artists at the first edition of the Affordable Art Fair Seattle November 8-12, 2012 at the Seattle Center.  Art by Harold Schlotzhauer, Kathryn W. Schmidt, Jay Schmidt, and Chaucer Silverson will be on display.  Visit http://affordableartfair.com/seattle/ for more information.