Saatchi Art

Saatchi Art is an online art gallery and marketplace based in Santa Monica, California, where artists sell original work and, through a print-on-demand service, open edition prints of it. Wikipedia describes the Saatchi Art Group as a Los Angeles-based e-commerce platform and online art gallery that "aims to help new artists enter the global art market," made up of the Saatchi Art online marketplace, The Other Art Fair and a hospitality art advisory business. It suits painters, photographers and other fine artists who want their work in front of collectors, with printing and shipping of prints handled for them.

Background

According to Wikipedia, Saatchi Art was founded on May 1, 2010, in Santa Monica, as Saatchi Online, then owned by Charles Saatchi. Demand Media, now Leaf Group, acquired it in August 2014, and Leaf Group was bought by Graham Holdings Company in 2021. In 2016 Saatchi Art acquired The Other Art Fair, a London-based event founded by Ryan Stanier that now runs across 3 continents and which Wikipedia calls "the largest artist-led art event in the world." In 2018 the company launched hospitality art advisory services for hotels, restaurants, residential buildings and healthcare institutions, and its advisory team has selected artworks for brands including Four Seasons, Nobu Hotels, 1 Hotels, Waldorf Astoria, The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis. Sarah Meller became CEO in 2023, and Rebecca Wilson, formerly a director at the Saatchi Gallery in London, serves as chief curator and vice president.

Wikipedia also records a dispute over the name. In November 2014, Charles Saatchi started legal actions in the United Kingdom's Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice against Leaf Group, alleging a breach of an intellectual property agreement dated February 18, 2010, asking it to stop using the "Saatchi Art" name, and arguing that "the low average transaction price on Saatchi Art might dilute the Saatchi brand's association with the high-end art market."

The print-on-demand service

Two print-on-demand companies describe Saatchi Art's print offer in their own comparison posts, so both are competitors writing about it. The Printful blog says Saatchi Art "offers a print-on-demand service for artists who want to sell open edition versions of their original artwork," and gives the steps: "Simply upload a high-resolution image, choose the print size and material, and set a price. Saatchi Art prints and ships the order directly to the buyer." The Printify blog says that while Saatchi Art is "best known for their original paintings, photography, and sculpture, they also offer a POD service for art prints."

The artist does the creative work and sets the price; Saatchi Art handles printing, packing and delivery. The EntryThingy guide adds that "International shipping" is "handled by Saatchi" and that the platform "takes care of shipping, packaging, and logistics, so artists can focus entirely on creating."

What artists earn

On prints, both Printful and Printify give the same figure: the service is free to join, and artists "earn 60% of the profit" on each print sale, in Printify's words "60% of the profit on each print sale." Neither blog defines profit further. For originals, the EntryThingy guide says listing is free and "Saatchi takes a 35% commission on each sale."

Both print-on-demand blogs stress that the arrangement is non-exclusive. Printify says artists "retain full rights to your work and can sell it elsewhere," and Printful describes a "Non-exclusive agreement, letting you make money from your art on other platforms."

Getting accepted

Joining is not a simple sign-up. Printful's list of drawbacks includes "A formal application process with identity verification." Printify's comparison table lists Saatchi Art as a marketplace that does not connect to outside sales channels, free to start, and best for "Fine artists selling prints." So orders come from buyers on Saatchi Art's own site rather than from a seller's own store.

Products and media

The print service covers wall art. Printful lists its limits as "Limited to wall art and original artwork" and "Less suited for high-volume merchandise sales," and Printify is explicit that there are no t-shirts, mugs or accessories, only made-to-order prints or the artist's own originals. On the originals side, EntryThingy says the marketplace "supports a wide variety of media, including painting, photography, and sculpture," and handles "both original works and limited-edition prints."

Audience and visibility

The reviews agree that Saatchi Art's value is its buyer base. The Singulart blog, from another online gallery, says Saatchi Art made its name in contemporary art by "providing artists with a stage to exhibit and market their work to an international audience," and that, known for its selected collections and prestigious status, it "draws art lovers and collectors." EntryThingy calls it "one of the largest online art galleries" with "millions of monthly visitors," and lists among its features hand-picked collections that give extra visibility and an optional art advisory service in which curators recommend works to buyers, "giving emerging artists a chance to get in front of serious collectors." Printful names "Access to a global collector audience" as a strength, and Printify calls it a space for serious artists with "Great visibility among art buyers and collectors."

Other routes to buyers

The online marketplace is one of three businesses in the group, and the other two are also ways for artists' work to reach buyers. The Other Art Fair, which Saatchi Art has owned since 2016, is an in-person fair that Wikipedia says runs across 3 continents. The hospitality art advisory, launched in 2018, supplies art programming to hotels, restaurants, residential buildings and healthcare institutions, and has worked with the hotel brands named above. On the marketplace itself, EntryThingy describes a free art advisory in which curators recommend works to buyers. EntryThingy sums up the platform as best for "Artists who want to reach global collectors and sell fine art without managing shipping themselves."

Who it suits

Saatchi Art fits working artists, especially painters and photographers, who want to sell originals and offer open edition prints of the same pieces to a collector audience, while the platform prints, packs and ships. The non-exclusive terms mean an artist can sell the same work elsewhere as well. It fits less well for designers who want their art on apparel, mugs or accessories, for sellers who want to connect a printer to their own store, or for anyone expecting to start selling the same day, since the application includes identity verification.