You often hear that an artist is listed, so what does this mean? Basically, it means that an artist has attained a certain level of recognition.

Just like everyone else, an artist starts their career at the bottom. They start to show their work by attending local shows, having their art in galleries that specialize in emerging artists, listing their art on EBay and Etsy. As their art matures and they develop a signature style, the artist will start winning awards in major shows, have representation in more established galleries, articles written about them and possible museum attention.

This gets the artists noticed by the publishers or sites that reference these artist. These entities report biographies, dealers and secondary market information. The importance of this is that it validates that the artist is a professional, creates quality art, deserves recognition and has a stronger potential for maintaining or increasing in value.

It's the same type of progression as a musician that starts playing at the local pub and graduates to large concerts and the cover of the "Rolling Stone".

During pre-internet days, the major reference books, kind of the "Rolling Stone" for art, that an artist could be listed in were Benezit, Mayers and Who's Who in American Art. Being referenced in these books qualified the artist as being "listed". Now there are major art reference web sites (most are subscription based for all or part of the information). If an artist is referenced on these sites, they are considered as "listed". The major sites are AskArt, ArtPrice, ArtFact and ArtNet. It is very easy to verify if an artist is "listed" by checking these sites.

Just because an artist is not listed does not mean that they are not a creative and accomplished artist, but a "listed" artist has the added confirmation and recognition of their talent.

Most artists never receive this recognition and many times, not until after they have passed away.

Melanie Smith
Melanie is the co-owner of Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC which specializes in original fine art. The gallery was founded in 1961 by her parents and she has grown up in the world of art. She has organized numerous art shows, acted as an art judge and is an accredited fine art and animation art appraiser with the International Society of Appraisers.

Visit: Seaside Art Gallery
Seaside Art Gallery
PO Box 1
2716 So Virginia Dare Trail
Nags Head, NC 27959
info@seasideart.com