Prepared by the Human Resources Research Organization, Alexandria, Virginia, for the National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division. Principal investigators are Richard J. Orend and Batia Sharon.

This report examines the economic situation of visual artists living and working outside the three main American art centers of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It is specially concerned with the processes for the selection of the art which is exhibited and sold in galleries, museums, and other exhibition spaces in four large cities considered as representative of the U.S. secondary art market.

The nature of this study ruled out the use of such data bases as the Census of Population or the Current Population Survey utilized in the preparation of previous Research Division Reports that stressed comparison of artists with other occupations or artist employment trends over time. Since the focus of the report was on the access of artists to the art market, the artists studied were identified by exhibition history rather than by employment in arts occupations. The information gathered covered matters of attitude and opinion as well as demographics and economics. (p. 4)

CONTENTS
Preface.
List of tables.
List of figures.
Highlights.
Introduction.
Issues and problems: Producing art and the support system, Exhibiting art, Selling art, Other issues.
Characteristics of the artists.
Economic and work conditions: Income, Expenditures, Space, Time.
Exhibition and sales: Exhibition record, Selection for exhibition, Sales methods, Exhibition patterns and other conditions.
Exhibition process: Efforts to exhibit, Exhibition factors, Information networks, Exhibition success.
Appendix: Approaches to the definition of visual artist.

This report examines the economic situation of visual artists living and working outside the three main American art centers of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It is specially concerned with the processes for the selection of the art which is exhibited and sold in galleries, museums, and other exhibition spaces in four large cities considered as representative of the U.S. secondary art market.