[ramraj07]

This just seems like a justification of what the art gallery does for the art industry as it exists _now_, perhaps this isn't the best model anyway? I can totally see myself buying a painting from this site if it resonates with me, Im not particularly worried about how the single piece I buy forms a story with other pieces that I'm not going to buy, all I care is what it says in my room. In that regard the single biggest impediment is that I can see myself buying art I want in my home without ever seeing it in person!

Also nothing here says that I represent a viable customer segment either so there's that.

[solomonb]

This is a description of what a gallery does now, not a justification for it.

Here is a justification:

I would say that generally selling art is not the goal of artists. Yes, they want to be able to support themselves through making their art, but generally speaking their goals are likely some kind of combination of obsession with their craft and a desire to make it into the art canon and attain mass exposure via museum exhibitions/acquisitions, inclusion in biennales, inclusion in art history/theory texts, etc. Working with a good gallery helps to promote the (artistic) career of the artist and establishes their art as culturally significant.

[ethanappleby]

Ramraj, if you just want it to look good in your room, are you really going to pay several hundred dollars more over time for what you could get a beautiful poster from art.com? This is the challenge all online platforms (not so much galleries) face - people just want something to look good, and that can cost fully framed $120 from art.com. If you're going to spend $400, $1000, $1800, etc you have to care about the artist.