What to Record for Every Artwork

The records you keep about a piece are as much a part of your work as the piece itself. Years from now, a gallery, a buyer, an insurer, a curator or an executor will ask the same handful of questions: what is it, when was it made, where has it been, and is it genuine? A good record answers all four without anyone having to guess, and without anyone having to phone you.

Most artists know this and still put it off, because the work in the studio is more interesting than the paperwork around it. This guide is meant to make the paperwork smaller. It lists what is worth capturing, in the order you will actually meet it, and describes a routine that takes minutes rather than afternoons.

Start with identification

Every piece needs something that separates it from every other piece, however similar. Two small oil studies from the same week, a pair of prints from the same plate, a series of twelve photographs with near-identical titles: without a clear identity, they blur together within a few years.

A reference you never reuse

Give each piece a unique inventory reference the moment it exists. A simple pattern works best: the year followed by a running number, such as 2026-014, or a short series code followed by a number. What matters is that you assign it once, never reuse it and write it somewhere on the piece or its packaging. The same reference then ties together the record, the invoice, the certificate and any label on the back.

Title, date and series

Record the title, and keep working titles if the final one changed, because a piece is sometimes known by its earlier name in correspondence or in a gallery's records. Record the year of creation, and a start and end date for long projects. If the piece belongs to a series or a larger body of work, say so: it keeps related pieces together and makes a show or a catalogue far easier to assemble.

Describe what it is made of

This is the part of the record buyers, insurers and conservators rely on most, and the part that is hardest to reconstruct later. Be specific while the memory is fresh.

Medium, materials and support

"Oil on linen" tells a reader far more than "painting". Add the support (stretched canvas, panel, paper weight), the finish (varnish, wax, fixative) and anything unusual, such as pigments you mixed yourself or materials that need particular care. For mixed-media and installation work, list every component.

Dimensions that can be trusted

Record height, width and depth in a consistent unit, and state whether the measurement includes the frame, the base or the mount. Give both when it matters: an unframed canvas and its framed size are two different numbers, and shippers, insurers and galleries all ask for the one you did not write down. For sculpture and installations, add the weight and a note on how the piece is installed.

Editions deserve their own fields

For prints, photographs and casts, the edition is part of the identity of the piece. Record the edition size and the number of this impression (for example 3/10), any artist's proofs, the printer or foundry, the paper or material, and the date of printing or casting. Buyers of editions depend on these details, and they are almost impossible to reconstruct after the fact, particularly once a printer has closed or a plate has been cancelled.

Photograph it properly, before it leaves

Images are the part of the record people look at first, and a studio photograph taken before the piece goes anywhere is worth more than any later snapshot. The aim is a small, consistent set, not a photo shoot.

• A straight-on photograph of the whole piece, evenly lit, with no distracting surroundings.
• The back, including labels, stamps, inscriptions and any gallery or printer marks.
• Your signature and any other marks, so they can be compared later.
• One or two details that show texture, brushwork or technique.
• Installation views for large or site-specific work.

Photographs also protect you. If a piece is damaged in transit or a dispute arises about what was delivered, dated images of its condition on departure settle most arguments quickly.

Track where it is and what has happened to it

The first group of fields describes the piece as an object. This second group describes its life, and it changes. It is also the group most often left out of date, which is why it deserves a deliberate routine.

Status and location

Give every piece a status: in progress, available, reserved, sold, on loan, not for sale. Pair it with a location that is specific enough to act on: the studio, a named storage unit, a named gallery, a named client. "With a gallery" is not a location; the name of the gallery is. Update both the moment something moves, because a location that is only right most of the time is no use when you need it.

Price and sales

Record the list price and, once the piece sells, the sale price, the date and the buyer. When a piece is sold through a gallery, note the gallery and the commission. This history becomes the backbone of your accounts and, later, of the piece's provenance.

Exhibitions and publications

Note where and when each piece was shown, and any catalogue, review or book in which it appeared. Exhibition history adds to the standing of a work and is exactly the kind of information that is lost when it lives only in old emails.

Condition

Add a dated note whenever a piece travels, is restored or visibly changes. It does not need to be long. "Light surface scratch lower left, noted before loan to the gallery, 12 March" is enough to protect you and the borrower alike.

Attach the documents that belong to the piece

Preparatory sketches, contracts, correspondence with the buyer, shipping papers, consignment agreements and the certificate of authenticity all belong with the work, not in a separate folder you will have to search through. When the record carries them, the whole history of the piece is in one place and travels with it if the work, or your archive, ever changes hands. The guide Certificates of Authenticity & QR Verification shows how a certificate fits into the record.

The note that no photograph can replace

Add a few lines about the idea behind the piece while it is fresh: what prompted it, what you were trying to solve, what you would say to someone standing in front of it. It costs a minute now. Years later, it gives a curator, a writer or an heir the context that no image and no measurement can supply.

Make it a routine, not a project

The records that survive are the ones that are easy to keep. Nobody maintains a system that demands a weekend each month, so aim for a routine that fits around the work.

1. At creation: reference, title, year, medium, dimensions and photographs, before the piece leaves the studio.
2. At every move: update the location and status, even if the piece is only going next door.
3. At every sale or loan: record the buyer or borrower, the date and the terms, and attach the paperwork.
4. Once a year: walk through the records, correct the gaps and check that every location is still true.

If you are starting late

Most artists begin keeping records after years of work, not before. Do not try to catch up on everything at once. Start with the pieces that are available or on loan, because those are the ones people ask about. Then add recent work, and fill in older pieces as they come up in conversation or when you pack them for a move. A partial record that is accurate is far more useful than a complete one that never gets finished.

Bringing it all together

Art2App Artist Studio keeps all of this on one record per piece, with fields you can adapt to your medium, and the same record feeds your invoices, certificates and catalogues, so nothing is typed twice. If your records still live in several files, Spreadsheet or Studio Software? When to Switch explains when it is time to bring them together.