How to commission a piece of art for the first time

Commissioning a piece of art for the first time comes down to four things agreed in writing before the artist starts: a clear brief, a realistic timeline, how payment is staged, and how many rounds of changes are included. Get those settled at the beginning and the rest of the process is mostly waiting, trusting, and enjoying watching something made for you take shape.

A commission is simply an artwork made to order rather than bought finished off a wall. It might be a portrait, a landscape of somewhere that matters to you, a large piece sized to a particular wall, or an abstract work in colours that suit a room. The appeal is obvious: you end up with something that exists nowhere else. The risk is equally obvious, which is that you are paying for something you cannot yet see. Handled sensibly, that risk is small.

How do I start a commission?

Start by deciding what you actually want, then find an artist whose existing work already points in that direction. The single most common mistake first-time commissioners make is choosing an artist and then asking them to paint in a style that isn’t theirs. You will get the best result by commissioning someone to do more of what they already do well, not something different. Spend time looking at portfolios, in person where you can, and shortlist people whose finished pieces you would happily own as they are.

Galleries are a natural place to begin, because many represent artists who take commissions and will broker the whole thing for you. Select Gallery in Notting Hill, for instance, offers bespoke commissions alongside home visits, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of sizing and colour. If you are not sure where to look, browsing the galleries in a city near you, such as those listed under London, is a good way to find someone working in a medium you respond to.

What should I tell the artist?

Give the artist a clear brief on the constraints, and generous freedom on everything else. The things worth being specific about are the practical ones: the dimensions, whether it needs to suit a particular space, your rough budget, and any hard requirements such as a likeness in a portrait or a particular place in a landscape. Photographs, reference images and a sense of the mood you are after all help enormously.

Where you should hold back is on dictating every brushstroke. You are paying for an artist’s eye and hand, not hiring a printer. A good artist will ask questions, push back gently where your idea won’t work, and offer a perspective you hadn’t considered. Trusting that judgement is usually what separates a commission you love from one that feels stiff and over-managed.

A commission works best when you are specific about the constraints and generous about the creativity.

How does payment work on a commission?

Payment is almost always staged, with a deposit upfront and the balance on completion. A deposit of around a third to a half is standard, and it does real work: it covers the artist’s materials and time, and it signals that you are serious. Agree the exact split in advance, along with what happens to that deposit if you pull out partway through. Reputable artists and galleries will be entirely comfortable putting this in writing, and you should be wary of anyone who isn’t.

Be honest about your budget early rather than coyly waiting to be quoted. Telling an artist what you can spend lets them propose a size, medium and level of detail that fits, instead of designing something you then have to negotiate down. It is a far more pleasant conversation than haggling after the fact.

What if I don’t like the finished piece?

Agree the revision process before any work begins, and the chances of disappointment drop sharply. Most commissions include one or two natural check-in points, often a sketch or a photo of the work in progress, where you can steer things while changes are still easy. This is the moment to speak up if something feels off. Once a painting is largely finished, reworking it may be difficult, costly, or simply impossible, so silence early on helps nobody.

It is worth being clear-eyed about what a commission is not: it is not an infinitely editable product you can send back. A handful of artists offer some form of guarantee, but many do not, which is exactly why the brief and the check-ins matter so much. This is also where going through a gallery earns its keep, because a good gallerist mediates if expectations and reality drift apart.

Is commissioning worth it for a first-time buyer?

For most people, yes, provided you go in with realistic expectations. A commission gives you a personal connection to a work that buying finished rarely matches, and the process of watching it develop is part of the pleasure. Keep the brief clear, the money staged and documented, and the communication open, and your first commission is far more likely to become the piece you point to when guests ask where you found it.