John Smith 's comment on Visual Artists: Would You Change Your Name?

Thanks Deborah, Phyllis, Dalia and Judy,
I concede that their is a lot of unfairness in the world, and its wrong, and I sympathize with you, but we need to deal with facts as far as they are available or these problems will never be solved.

I agree with Judy's inference that woman need to assert themselves where they are being wronged. I am talking about the art-industry because that is where my experience is. I've been in it a long long time. Artwork of the same quality should be priced for what it is, and gender MUST not come into it at all, but then I have had personal experience where a friend of mine was charging far lower prices than the other artists in our circle.

I know that the men were unhappy because she was very good and so her paintings were being snapped up. Although she was as good as any of the men her prices were far lower. When I mentioned this to her her response was that she did not need to charge more because her husband paid the bills and she saw this merely as pocket-money.

A year or two later her husband was in a horror smash and broke his back and suddenly she was the bread-winner. She had three young boys and her husband would be bed-ridden for at least six months. Suddenly the low prices were no longer adequate and she had quite a job getting them up to where they should have been in the first place.

Her boys are grown up now and married and the husband recovered fully, but now my friend still charges what other artists of her caliber charge.
Question: Is it not that the lady artists are in fact expecting lower prices? If as Judy indicated, they said that this was their 'work' and that this was the price they expected they would get it?
I really believe that this is a problem that can be fixed in the art sector.
If your work is of equal quality demand the same price as men. If the work isn't though you will not get what you ask.
The solution may be at the easel and not out there?