Feature
Artist records: one place for name, bio, works, and portal access
Every work in your inventory should point at a real artist record, not a typed name that will spell three different ways by fair season. This guide walks through the Artists list, the tabs on an artist detail page, how biography and CV files reach your public website, and how to mint an artist portal link for the studio.
Open the Artists list
In the sidebar, open Artists (`/artists`). The list works like Contacts or Works: search, sort, advanced filters, and optional columns.
Useful filters include Missing bio, Missing statement, On exhibit, and Has artist portal. Run Missing bio before a press cycle so you know which records still need copy.
Create a record and fill Details
Click Add artist (or convert an existing contact to type Artist on the Details tab). Section nav on the artist page: Overview, Details, Images, Files, Links, Notes, Activity.
On Details, set at minimum: First name / Last name, Nationality, birth date (and death date for estates), Inventory number prefix if this artist gets auto-numbered works, Email / Phone, Website and social handles, Tags, and Addresses when you need them on loan letters.
Scroll to Statement (short artist statement) and Bio (longer biography). Both are rich-text fields saved on blur. Your Website Studio artist page can show either block depending on template settings.
Portrait, files, and the public CV download
Images holds the profile photo used on lists and public pages. Files is where PDFs live: contracts, press, loan paperwork.
To expose a CV on the public artist page, upload a PDF on Files, mark it Public, and use the biography document type so it appears as Download artist's CV on the live site. Re-upload when the artist sends an updated PDF; the link on the public page follows the file on the record.
Private files stay gallery-side only. The artist portal (below) can expose selected documents without publishing them on the website.
Link works and exhibitions on Overview
When you catalogue a work, pick this artist on the work Details tab instead of typing a free-text name. The work then appears under the artist Overview preview and in Works filtered by artist.
Add the artist to an exhibition from the exhibition Links tab (Artists). Solo and group shows on the public site pull from those links.
Overview also surfaces linked Invoices, Exhibitions, Groups, and Campaigns so you can jump to active commercial work without opening each module separately.
Share the artist portal
From the artist header menu, open Artist portal. The panel lets you Create share link, Copy link, Preview, email the link, or Revoke access.
The portal (scoped by the share token) shows the represented artist their consigned Works, Sales, Statements, Exhibitions, and shared Documents. It is read-only for the artist; pricing and collector identity stay under your control in the workspace.
Mint one link per artist you represent. Revoke when representation ends; the historical record on the artist page stays for provenance.
Turn on the public artist page
Open Website Studio → Content → Artists. Toggle On web for artists you want listed. Set Priority and Featured artwork so the index page orders the way you expect.
Under Site → Pages, the Artist detail template controls which blocks appear (biography, CV link, works grid, exhibitions, news). Edits to Bio / Statement on the artist record flow to the next publish.
See Gallery website builder for header nav, SEO, and publish steps.
FAQ
- Can I use one record for an estate?
- Yes. Keep the same artist record after death: add a death date on Details, route correspondence through estate contacts on Links, and attach estate paperwork on Files.
- Does the app generate a CV from exhibitions automatically?
- No. Upload a PDF on Files as a public biography document for the website download link. Exhibition history on the public page comes from linked exhibition records, not from a merged CV PDF.
- Why can't I change an artist to another contact type?
- Once works link to the record, type stays Artist so inventory numbers and edges stay consistent. Merge duplicate artist records instead of retyping names on works.
- Where do co-representation terms live?
- Use Notes, Files, and consignment records per territory. There is no single "territory" field on the artist today; document splits where your team already looks during a sale.
- How do I find artists missing bios before a fair?
- On `/artists`, open advanced filters → Missing field → Bio (or Statement). Export or open each row from the list.
Explore the full capability matrix on Features, compare modular plans on Pricing, or contact the team with workflow questions.