Artist Contract Template: The 4 Contracts Every Artist Signs, With Samples

An artist contract is a short written agreement, signed by both sides, that sets the price, the payment terms, the timeline and who holds the rights. Over a career most artists sign four kinds: a commission agreement, a gallery consignment agreement, a business or licensing agreement, and a bill of sale. You don’t need legal language for any of them. You need them in writing, before any art or money moves.

A contract saves you from finding out, after the painting has shipped, that you and the buyer remember the deal differently. Below is what each of the four has to say, the clauses worth pushing back on, and a plain sample you can copy and adapt. It all comes from the business lessons in the Mastery Program, Milan Art Institute’s career course for artists. It isn’t legal advice, so bring a lawyer in when the stakes get high.

What should every artist contract include?

Every artist contract needs the same core: both names and contact details, what the artwork is (title, size, medium), the price, when and how you get paid, who pays for shipping or delivery, and who holds the reproduction rights. Then both people sign and date it.

Our lesson on taxes, licenses and legal basics puts the rule bluntly: never rely on a verbal agreement. Put it in writing for both of your protection and make sure both people sign. It doesn’t need legalese and it doesn’t need a lawyer’s review. It needs to be as simple and readable as possible. Save the lawyer for deals where more is at stake.

One more line belongs in almost every contract you write, and it’s the one artists forget. As soon as you create a painting, you own the copyright. Selling the painting doesn’t sell the copyright. The collector owns the object and can hang it, show it or resell it, but the right to make prints, cards or licensed products stays with you unless you sign it away in writing. So say it in writing: the buyer gets the artwork, and you keep the reproduction rights. (More on this in our guide to copyright for artists.)

What are the four types of contracts artists sign?

The four you’ll meet most are a commission agreement for custom work, a consignment agreement with a gallery, a business or licensing agreement when a company buys or uses your art, and a bill of sale for a finished piece. Our distribution lesson notes that the side of the art world where someone else sells for you (galleries, publishers, licensing agents, businesses) runs on more contracts than selling your own work, because those are businesses with real revenue at stake.

1. The commission agreement

A commission agreement sets the terms for a piece you haven’t painted yet. Our commissions lesson calls it a one-page simple contract: no lawyer, no legalese. Name the collector and yourself, your addresses, what’s being commissioned and its size (a 24 by 30 original, for example), the price, the deposit and the timeline.

The lesson’s reason is worth repeating. A written policy lets you go into a commission with confidence and some authority, so you don’t get pushed around. It’s also how you avoid the story artists tell too often: they ship the piece and never get paid. Add one line that protects your style, too. The collector is commissioning your interpretation of their idea, and you can’t paint the exact picture in their head.

Our full guide to the art commission contract walks through seven clauses with a template. For the questions collectors ask before they sign, see our commissioned artwork FAQ.

2. The gallery consignment agreement

A consignment agreement covers work you place in a gallery that the gallery doesn’t own. In our gallery business model lesson, Jake Dunn, our CEO, who co-owns our gallery in Sarasota, lists what that agreement has to state in writing: the split, the payment timeline after a sale, how long the consignment lasts, and who pays shipping if the work doesn’t sell. Usually the artist ships to the gallery and the gallery ships back.

When a gallery asks you to send work, our lesson on prospecting galleries says to ask one question first: do you have a gallery contract? Read it thoroughly. If the language loses you, the lesson suggests pasting it into an AI tool and asking it to explain each clause. Then check these terms:

1. The split. 50/50 is typical. A gallery in a very high rent, high traffic area may ask for 60/40 in its favor. That’s rarer.
2. Payment. Within 30 days of a sale is reasonable. Anything longer is worth negotiating.
3. Exclusivity. Exclusivity in one city is fair, and it helps you too, since two outlets in the same city would undersell each other. Exclusivity across a whole state or county isn’t reasonable, and no gallery should bar you from selling other work online.
4. Online sales of gallery work. It’s common to agree that a piece hanging in the gallery comes off your website, and if it sells online anyway, the gallery still gets its half.
5. Insurance and shipping. Who covers the work while it’s on the wall, and who pays each leg of the trip.
6. Length. Give a gallery at least 6 months, and ideally a full year, before you pull work or decline to renew. Many galleries are seasonal, so a slow summer tells you little.

And two red flags, straight from the lesson: a gallery that wants money up front (including asking you to share its marketing costs), and exclusivity that reaches past one city. Those are also the marks of a vanity gallery, one that earns its money charging artists instead of selling their art. For the full path in, see how to get your art into a gallery.

3. The business or licensing agreement

A business agreement covers art that a company buys, commissions or puts on its products. Our lesson on selling art to businesses says to be more careful here: read contracts carefully, never do a deal without one, and negotiate both the payment schedule and the rights.

The rights question is the big one. Does the business get to use the painting in a marketing campaign or other commercial work? If so, you charge more, because repeated use is worth more. And the contract should make clear they don’t own the image unless they’re buying those rights from you, at a higher price. Expect business deals to take weeks or months to close, since more people have to say yes.

Licensing works the same way: the rights you grant set the price. A licensing agent places your art with companies that print it on stationery, bedding, puzzles or dishes, and our licensing lesson says the agent typically splits the income with you 50/50. You can also approach companies directly and keep all of it, with more legwork. Either way, the agreement should name the products, the term and your share.

4. The bill of sale

A bill of sale records a finished painting changing hands. It’s the shortest of the four: the artwork, the price, the payment, the date, both signatures, and a line saying you keep the copyright. If the buyer is a dealer, designer or business, read their paperwork for a clause like “all rights transfer.” Our legal basics lesson says to negotiate that separately from the object, because transferring all rights makes the deal worth much more.

Sample artist contract templates you can copy

Below are two plain samples, a consignment agreement and a bill of sale. Fill in the brackets, read every line, and change anything that doesn’t match your deal. For a commission, use the template in our art commission contract guide.

Sample consignment agreement

This agreement is between [Artist name, address, email] (“Artist”) and [Gallery name, address] (“Gallery”), dated [date].

1. Artwork. The Artist consigns the works listed in the attached inventory (title, size, medium, retail price) to the Gallery. The Artist keeps ownership of each work until it is sold and paid for.
2. Split. On each sale, the Gallery keeps [50]% of the retail price and pays the Artist [50]%.
3. Payment. The Gallery pays the Artist within [30] days of each sale and sends the buyer’s name and contact details with payment.
4. Term. This consignment runs from [start date] to [end date]. Either party may end it with [30] days’ written notice.
5. Shipping and insurance. The Artist pays shipping to the Gallery. The Gallery pays return shipping and insures the works while they are in its care.
6. Exclusivity. The Artist will not consign work to another gallery in [city] during the term. The Artist may sell other work anywhere, including online.
7. Pricing. Retail prices are set by the Artist. No discounts without the Artist’s written approval.
8. Copyright. The Artist keeps all reproduction rights. The Gallery may photograph the works to promote them.

Signed: [Artist], [date] / [Gallery representative], [date]

Sample bill of sale

[Artist name] sells to [Buyer name, address] the original artwork [title], [size], [medium], [year], for [price], paid in full on [date] by [payment method].

The Buyer owns the physical artwork. The Artist keeps the copyright and all reproduction rights, including prints, cards and licensing, unless both parties agree otherwise in writing.

Signed: [Artist], [date] / [Buyer], [date]

Which contract clauses should artists push back on?

Push back on any clause that costs you money up front, holds your payment past 30 days, locks you out of more than one city, stops you selling online, or hands over your copyright without a separate price. Each of those is a red flag in our lessons, and every one is negotiable.

You don’t have to be harsh about it. When a gallery asks you to share its marketing costs, our prospecting lesson suggests a polite no that leaves the door open: you’d consider pitching in on a special event once you’ve built a record of sales and some mutual trust. That way you keep the gallery and your terms.

Why does a contract matter more than it looks?

A contract matters because it turns a hope into a promise you can point to. Our legal basics lesson ends on the real payoff: once these questions are answered, you stop hesitating. You can talk to a collector at an art show, or to a gallery, or set up your website without that knot of worry about what you might be missing.

That’s what these four agreements are for. They give you the freedom to say yes to good opportunities and know exactly what you said yes to. Pick the one you’ll need next, fill in the sample, and keep it ready before the next conversation starts.

Frequently asked questions

Do artists need a lawyer to write a contract?

Not for everyday deals. Our business lessons teach that an artist contract doesn't need legalese or a lawyer's review. It needs to be simple, easy to read, and signed by both people. Bring in a lawyer when more is at stake, like a large corporate deal or anything that transfers your rights.

What is a standard gallery split?

50/50 is typical: half the retail price to the gallery and half to you. A gallery in a very high rent, high traffic area may ask for 60/40 in its favor, but that's less common. Get the split, the payment timeline and the consignment length in writing.

Does selling a painting give the buyer the copyright?

No. The buyer owns the object and can hang it, show it or resell it. The right to reproduce it stays with you unless you sign it away in writing. That's why you read every contract for phrases like all rights transfer.

How long should a gallery consignment agreement last?

Give a gallery at least 6 months, and a full year is better, before you pull your work or decline to renew. Many galleries are seasonal, so a few slow months don't tell you whether your art fits there.

What are the red flags in an artist contract?

Money up front from you, exclusivity that covers a whole state or bars you from selling online, payment later than 30 days after a sale, and an all rights clause buried in a commission. Each one is negotiable, and asking about it is normal.