ABSTRACT
A large part of the commerce in newly made artworks goes on unnoticed, and essentially outside of the activity of primary market galleries. The declining costs of production, such as the introduction of linen canvases, and the wider availability of certain pigments such as cochineal acquired through European imperialism, began to allow artists to make speculative ventures of painting pictures before any collector had ordered, or even expressed interest in such a work. Regional galleries are frequently owned and operated by an artist who opened the business in order to give themselves a place to exhibit and sell. Nonetheless, in many markets the regional model is the only one that can work because Chelsea-type galleries require far-higher price-points in order to sustain that higher-cost model. In order to add a layer of authority to serial artworks, many galleries offer certificates of authenticity to verify that this is their print and in the numbering that is reported.
