How to gift artwork to a society far away?

July 20, 2013 10:04 AM

What's the etiquette, practicalities and social norms of sending a piece of artwork to a society as a gift?

So. A society I'm a member of is based in and owns a building with fantastic architecture. I made an abstract lino print of such architecture, along with composing a short poem underneath that riffs on their motto. Anyone who has seen this work says I should donate / send it to them. I would love to do this.

The society does have paintings and prints framed and hanging everywhere, so they must have been donated / gifted by their owners. The society does a lot for artists, so I doubt any money changed hands for these works.

So, if I were to send them my print and poem... do I frame it beforehand (and spend quite a bit couriering it to them so the glass won't break)?

Or is it alright to send it sans frame, either rolled or flat?

Has anyone done anything similar before? Please share your story, I feel like a bit of a boob not knowing the etiquette here...

posted by Chorus to Human Relations (3 answers total)

They may have specifications for their frames (certain colors, styles, UV protection, preference of Plexiglas instead of glass, matting style, etc).

You may just want to have a professional framer hinge it into an archival, acid-free matt, a neutral color. Ship it flat.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 10:23 AM on July 20, 2013

Is this a nonprofit society? If so, they almost certainly have at least one development professional on staff. Try to get contact info for the head of development and approach that person with a proposal to donate your art. If they accept the offer, they can advise you on questions like how to prepare and send the artwork in a manner that will be most helpful to the society.

I would advise against sending your artwork out of the blue, without prior consultation. Surprise gifts (other than money) can pose complications for the recipient organizations.
posted by Orinda at 10:49 AM on July 20, 2013

This gift, generous as it is, could also be construed as an act of self-promotion by you, so that your artwork will be displayed in a public space. It is definitely necessary to propose a donation of the gift before sending it. That is particularly true of artistic gifts. If they have multiple artists' work hanging in the building already, they probably have a procedure in place for accepting such works.
posted by htid at 8:36 PM on July 22, 2013