Pricing by surface area

What is pricing by surface area?

It is a method of valuation in which the price of a work follows from its size: put simply, a coefficient times the number of square centimetres. The larger the canvas, the higher the resulting figure. It is an attempt, then, to reduce the value of a work to a simple formula.

How is the price by area calculated?

You take the area of the work in square centimetres and multiply it by a coefficient customary for the given artist or period. A small format thus comes out at a fraction of what a large canvas by the same painter costs. That is precisely why a large work usually costs several times more than its more intimate sibling.

Why does it matter to a collector?

Because it gives a quick sense of whether a price is at all in reasonable relation to the size and to the artist's other works. It is a useful rule of thumb when comparing several offers. It also helps reveal when a lot is markedly more expensive, or cheaper, than one would expect.

What should you watch out for?

Area is far from everything. A small but pivotal work can be worth more than a large canvas from a marginal period. The formula takes no account of rarity, condition, provenance or how significant the work is within the artist's output. Take it as a first rough estimate, then, not as the last word on value.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club