Purchase or Commission?

Most metal wall art on the market consists of a design created by the artist that is sold in unlimited amounts. These are made available for as long as there are buyers for the sculpture, and are referred to as "open edition". They may vary somewhat in size and colors due to their handcrafted nature, but the design remains unchanged. Bovano's "Cardinal on Cherry Blossom  is a good example of a popular open edition.



Some artists restrict the number of copies of a design to a preset number, say 100. The artist assigns a sequential numbers to each sculpture as in "15 of 100". In this example, the artist is indicating this particular sculpture is the 15th out of a total of 100 that will be made. Once the artist has sold 100, the design is then "retired" and no longer produced. Open edition metal wall hangings tend to be less expensive and are not as exclusive as numbered editions.

In both of the above cases, the customer accepts the art work as designed. Most people find that this approach meets their needs.

Those desiring special sizes, colors or themes can commission an artist to create their special vision. This approach produces very unique metal wall hangings that more closely reflect the tastes and needs of the individual purchaser. The costs depend on the magnitude of the project. If small changes to a production sculpture are required, the additional costs can run 10% to 30% of the price of the standard piece. If you request a major scale-up of a production piece, you can expect 2 to 4 times more expense, depending on the magnitude of the scale-up. A brand new piece can be much more expensive than an adaptation of an existing piece, because the artist must spend extra time designing the piece as well as determining how to best execute the design. A sample of a commissioned piece by Bovano of Cheshire is shown below


Follow the links below for additional information and "how to" suggestions.