The commission conversation often starts with, or gets around to, a client telling the chief executive officer of New York’s Petzel Gallery that they love the work of one of the artists represented by the gallery… it’s just that none of the pieces currently in the gallery is right for a particular space in their home or, if they represent a corporation or nonprofit agency, a lobby or some other public area. That’s when Andrea Teschke, also a partner in the gallery, brings up the idea of a private commission. “It happens with some regularity and with some artists more than others,” she tells Observer.

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Petzel Gallery doesn’t advertise that some of its artists take private commissions, and most clients don’t think to ask, she says. But perhaps they should. Many art galleries are happy to entertain the prospect of a private commission for the artists they represent. “One of our strengths is the nurturing and management of private or public commissions by a number of sculptors of the gallery,” says Mary Sabbatino, vice president and partner at New York’s Galerie Lelong. With private collectors, “the client may see an artwork in the gallery that is sold and ask if the artist can make something in the same ‘family.’ At that point, we discuss a commission. Some artists are open to this and like the challenge, while others feel the idea is........

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