By Sarah Seamark

In this recessionary economy, with fewer people coming up to the bar to buy artwork, galleries have to move faster, with all the tools they can muster, to close the sale. To assist galleries in this process, MAC ART Group is enabling its dealers to keep their websites up to date with new content, available inventory, and materials to provide sales support for its 16 artists.

Says MAC’s webmaster Jerry Barker, “We had asked our trade clients and partners what we can provide to help them promote and sell our artwork during these difficult times. We found that a great many have a problem with keeping their gallery websites updated.” Many felt that their probability of sales and the success of their business would greatly improve by adding MAC’s current inventory, selected groupings of available art, and sales information on artists that they choose to show, says Mr. Barker.

As a result, MAC has been working with new technologies to provide a simple way of fulfilling that need. Now the company is ready to launch its “Dynamically Integrated Content” program that provides its clients (or their webmasters) with a line of code that they can drop into their websites which will project a custom page of images and content directly from MAC’s website: www.macfineart.com.

Each client can have content that is tailored specifically to their clientele and market environment. Content projected to the client’s website has no reference back to the host so that it has the look and feel of the gallery’s website. MAC used its own gallery on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to test the program. “Sometimes you have to put yourself into the shoes of the gallery owner,” notes Mary Ann Cohen, owner of MAC ART Group, Miami.

MAC houses close to 600 images at: www.MacFineArt.com, divided into originals and limited editions, that are available for viewing by trade clients who have been granted access, but not by the public. As such, if a dealer sits down with a client at the computer and shows them the available inventory at MAC, the customer would see they were looking at MAC’s website.

Ms. Cohen believes that this does not serve the gallery as well as having the MAC images on the gallery’s own website where the public can view them—and associate the artwork with the gallery. “We wanted to be able to find a way to give our trade clients that information and put it on their websites so that they can show it directly to the client who can peruse all our information (via the gallery website) at home, at leisure.” As she points out, if a client sees the MAC website, then they might just want to try to deal directly with MAC. So the fact that the client views the work on the gallery’s website allows the retailer to keep a hold of the client.

“Taking it one step further, it is also in real time.” Everything on the site is current. If a change is made by MAC, that change is immediately effective on everyone else’s website who is participating in the program. For instance, when a piece of art is sold and that change is made on MAC’s website, the MAC page that appears on gallery websites also changes to reflect the sale.

One of the biggest problems, Ms. Cohen says, “was that customers were seeing artwork they loved and then found it had been sold. They had money in the bank to buy, but could not have the image they wanted.” Having the ability to view MAC’s current and available inventory via their chosen gallery’s website “gives that gallery owner an edge—and it gives them confidence.

“It really can make a small gallery appear as if they have so much more. I call it ‘virtual consignment.’” She, in fact, no longer does consignment because of the manpower and time needed to control it, and hence the cost involved, especially of shipping. When MAC did a lot of consignment it did not immediately know the status of artwork and whether it could quickly be retrieved for a sale. “That became difficult. If I have a piece parked in Ohio in a gallery’s back room and a gallery in California has a client that is interested in it, I need to get a hold of that piece and put it into the hands of the best person to sell it.” In other words, she needs to tightly control all of MAC’s inventory in order for galleries to achieve optimum sales. “The Web page is a wonderful way to get work into the hands of galleries so they can show it to clients and make a presentation.”

“There is a lot of selling still going on but it is through personal relationships that galleries have had with clients for a long time,” Ms. Cohen observes. “The client is buying when they trust the gallery—so getting more tools into the hands of dealers is key.” The Web page works particularly well with seasoned clients who know an artist’s work. It is also effective, Ms. Cohen believes, for an emerging artist if the client has trust in the gallery. “Faith and personal relationships make this program come alive.”

Ms. Cohen sees the Web page as representative of the new way of doing business as opposed to the old school when galleries mailed out customized brochures to their clients announcing artists’ happenings. “The new school is that everyone has a computer and you can jump online and show clients what is currently in stock.” Ms. Cohen concedes that it is still difficult to sell off the computer and that is why she suggests a gallery have at least one painting by each of its top artists on the wall. If the gallery can’t afford an original, she says a print will work—and the customer can choose an original online.

In summation, she observes, “You think about what you are becoming and what is necessary in this flattened post recession economy. We have become almost an artist agency with all kinds of services that we are offering.”

In the January issue of Art World News an article described how the dynamic website, www.MacFineArt.com is designed to act as a forum for the art business, and that MAC ART Group is offering artists the ability to post their portfolios online and receive such services as marketing, publishing, and management of their careers.

MAC FINE ART editorial in Art World News - Jan 2009

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MAC FINE ART announces expansion and launches brand new
"cutting edge" location!

Mary Ann Cohen (MAC) announces the formation of MAC ART Group. MAC Fine Art Publishing & MAC Art Gallery are now divisions of the global brand MAC ART Group.
MAC ART Group has now opened the corporate office and newest contemporary exhibition space in Miami's prestigious Wynwood Arts District; close to Art Basel, Art Miami, Scope, Pulse and many other world class art fairs. The new location houses a framing center, graphic design studio and printmaking facility as well as a large contemporary exhibition space which hosts world class artist exhibitions monthly.

MAC ART Group is representing & exhibiting a collection of contemporary master artists including Vicente Dopico Lerner, Maxim Lipzer, Georg Vihos, David Middlebrook, Laddie John Dill as well as several new and emerging artists including Adam Collison and James Arthur Mills. MAC Art group is pleased to offer these exceptional artists to our network of galleries throughout the US and abroad.
This month opening on November 8th is "Emotion & Chaos" a collection of new works by Latin American master artist, Vicente Dopico Lerner. The entire Dopico show is available to view on line at the newest website: www.macartgroup.com All interested clients may contact the corporate office or sales rep for inquiries.

MAC Fine Art Publishing division still represents the works of many of your favorite artists including: Tomasz Rut, Hua Chen, Alfred Gockel, Holland Berkley, Elena Bond, Marko Mavrovich, Charles Lee, CM Gross & Jeaneen Barnhart so please phone us with your inquires on graphic and original artworks. As always visit www.macfineart.com for more information and don't forget to sign-up for access to the exclusive wholesale section where you can privately view all current inventory for your clients.

MAC ART Group invites all of our Fine Art Gallery clients to visit us soon at our exciting new facility in Miami during Art Basel on Dec 4-7th or during our first important group show "Basal Instincts" opening the same week on Saturday, December 13th or anytime this winter when you want to plan a Florida art escape! Call us for details on planning a visit. Tel: (305) 572-9860.

Personal Message:

I am very pleased to announce the relocation and development of the MAC ART Group global brand. This transformation will enable us to bring our clients the most innovative and unique array of fine artists and services available in the art business today.
At MAC we understand the challenges facing us in the economy and are extremely progressive in adjusting our business model to suite the changing needs of our clients going forward. Let our 12 years of incredible experience and success help take your gallery to the next generation of art sales. Times have changed and we have responded. We hope you will love what you see!!

Mary Ann Cohen