How to Create Price Lists and Wall Labels for Gallery Exhibitions

Key takeaways

• Wall labels should identify each artwork clearly without competing visually with it.
• Exhibition price lists should make artwork information, availability, and prices easy for visitors and gallery teams to reference.
• Galleries can show prices on individual labels, provide a separate price list, or use a combination of both.
• Consistent artwork data is essential, because a single mistake can appear across labels, price lists, sales presentations, and online materials.
• Gallery management software can reduce duplicate work by generating branded documents from the gallery's existing artwork records.

Wall labels and price lists are often the last things finalized before an exhibition opens, squeezed in after the walls are painted and the checklist is locked. But they're not a finishing touch. They directly affect how a visitor understands the work on the wall and how confidently a collector can ask a question or make an offer.

These materials have to do more than look polished. A label or price list is only useful if the artwork details, availability, and pricing on it are actually correct, and if they match what's on the price list, the gallery's website, and whatever a sales associate says out loud in the room.

That's where most galleries run into trouble. When artwork details live across spreadsheets, design files, and a few people's memory, a last-minute price change, a sale, or a swapped-in substitute work can fall out of sync somewhere in the chain, and nobody notices until a visitor or a collector does.

This guide covers what to include on wall labels, how to structure an exhibition price list, whether prices belong on the label itself, design and accessibility considerations, and how galleries can produce these materials with less duplicated effort.

What Are Exhibition Wall Labels and Price Lists?

What Is a Gallery Wall Label?

A wall label is the information displayed beside an individual artwork, typically mounted on or near the wall at eye level. Depending on the gallery and the exhibition, you might hear it called an artwork label, object label, exhibition label, or tombstone label, all referring to roughly the same thing.

There's a difference between a basic identification label and a longer interpretive or curatorial text. An identification label sticks to the essentials: artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, and sometimes price. Interpretive text goes further, offering context, background, or curatorial commentary, and it's usually set apart visually so visitors can tell the two apart at a glance.

A wall label's job is to support the visitor's experience, not compete for their attention. It should be easy to find, easy to read, and quick to move past so the artwork stays the focus of the room.

What Is an Exhibition Price List?

A price list is a printed or digital document listing the works in an exhibition alongside their prices. Unlike a wall label, it isn't tied to a single artwork's location on the wall; it's a reference document that can travel with a visitor, a staff member, or a collector.

Price lists show up in a few different forms depending on the gallery's process:

• Available at the entrance or front desk for visitors to pick up
• Used internally by gallery staff during the exhibition
• Shared privately with individual collectors
• Sent digitally before or after a visit

It's worth distinguishing a price list from a checklist, even though the two can overlap. A checklist records which works are included in an exhibition; a price list adds the commercial layer, pricing and availability, for works that are for sale.

What Information Should an Artwork Wall Label Include?

A standard wall label typically includes:

• Artist's name
• Artwork title
• Year of creation
• Medium and materials
• Dimensions
• Edition details, when applicable
• Price or availability, when appropriate
• Credit line, lender, or collection information, when relevant
• Artwork reference number, if useful for staff or sales enquiries

Adjust the Details to the Type of Artwork

Not every medium calls for the same level of detail, and getting specific is usually more useful to a visitor than a generic category:

• Paintings: Specify the actual materials and support, such as "oil on linen," rather than a broad label like "painting."
• Works on paper: Identify the medium and the paper or support where it's relevant to the work.
• Photography and prints: Include the printing process and edition information, since these affect both value and how the work should be handled.
• Sculpture: List materials and dimensions in a clear, consistent order across every label in the exhibition.
• Time-based or digital work: Include duration, format, display requirements, or edition details when they help identify the piece.
• Installations: Clarify whether dimensions are fixed, variable, or dependent on the specific installation.

Example Wall Label Format

A straightforward, unique work might read:

Artist Name Artwork Title, 2026 Oil on linen 100 × 80 cm Unique $12,000

An editioned work adds a line for edition details:

Artist Name Artwork Title, 2026 Archival pigment print 60 × 90 cm Edition of 10 + 2 AP $4,500

Should Galleries Include Prices on Wall Labels?

Galleries can include prices on wall labels, provide a separate exhibition price list, or use both. The right approach depends on the exhibition, the audience, and the gallery's sales process, and there isn't one answer that fits every gallery.

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Whichever approach a gallery chooses, applying it consistently across the exhibition matters more than which option is picked. A room where some works show prices and others don't, with no clear logic, reads as inconsistent rather than intentional.

Non-standard availability also needs a clear, consistent way to appear on labels and price lists alike:

• Sold
• Reserved
• On hold
• Price on request
• Not for sale

It's also worth confirming, and stating clearly where ambiguity could affect a collector's expectations, whether listed prices include tax, framing, or shipping.

How to Create an Exhibition Price List

Include the Information Collectors and Staff Need

A complete price list generally includes:

• Exhibition title and dates
• Gallery name and contact details
• Artwork thumbnail or catalogue number
• Artist's name
• Artwork title and year
• Medium
• Dimensions
• Edition details
• Price and currency
• Availability status
• Relevant tax or shipping notes
• Artwork reference number for enquiries

Choose a Logical Order

The clearest price lists follow the order works actually appear in the exhibition, so a visitor can move through the room and the list at the same pace. Organizing by artist, room, or catalogue number instead can also work, depending on the show.

Whatever order is chosen, use the same numbering system across the price list, wall labels, and internal gallery records. That consistency is what lets a staff member locate a specific work quickly while they're mid-conversation with a visitor, rather than flipping between documents that number things differently.

Prepare Both Printed and Digital Versions

Most galleries benefit from having several versions of the same information on hand:

• A polished, visitor-facing PDF
• Printed copies for the gallery
• A current internal version for staff
• A mobile-friendly presentation that can be shared with collectors

Keep sensitive internal details, cost, commission, or ownership terms, out of anything visitor-facing. Internal and external versions should draw from the same underlying data, just filtered for the audience.

Wall Label Design and Accessibility Best Practices

Make Every Label Easy to Read

A legible typeface, a sufficient font size, and strong contrast between type and background do more for a label than any stylistic flourish. Keep line length and wording concise, and avoid decorative fonts or compressed spacing that slow a visitor down.

Test readability under the gallery's actual lighting conditions, not just on a screen, and remember that visitors read labels from different heights and distances depending on where they're standing.

Use a Consistent Visual System

Standardizing the following across every label in an exhibition makes the whole show read as intentional rather than assembled piecemeal:

• Label dimensions
• Typography
• Spacing
• Field order
• Capitalization
• Date formats
• Dimension order and units
• Price and currency presentation

Build a clear hierarchy so the artist's name and artwork title are the easiest things to spot, and make sure interpretive labels are visually distinct from basic identification labels so visitors don't confuse the two.

Select the Right Production Method

Common production methods include:

• Printed card or paper mounted on board
• Adhesive labels
• Acrylic label holders
• Vinyl lettering
• Dry-transfer lettering
• QR codes paired with concise physical labels

The right choice depends on the exhibition's duration, the wall finish, the installation budget, and the appearance the gallery wants.

Install Labels Consistently

Place labels in the same position relative to each artwork wherever possible, and use a level and an installation guide to keep everything aligned. Test adhesives and transfer materials before committing to the full installation, and take care not to damage freshly painted or specialist wall finishes in the process. A final walkthrough from the visitor's perspective, before opening, is worth the extra time it takes.

How to Prevent Errors Across Labels and Price Lists

Establish One Source of Accurate Artwork Information

The most common source of label and price list errors isn't a typo, it's a maintained record that's out of date somewhere. Maintaining one approved record for each artwork, rather than updating separate spreadsheets and documents independently, removes most of that risk.

Standardize how the gallery records artist names, titles, dates, media, dimensions, edition information, prices, and availability, and assign someone responsibility for reviewing and approving that information before any document is generated from it.

Create a Pre-Installation Review Process

Before labels go on the wall, check:

• Artwork details against the physical work and artist documentation
• Price and currency
• Availability
• Edition number and edition size
• Spelling, punctuation, and formatting
• Correct placement beside the corresponding artwork
• Consistency between wall labels, the price list, the gallery website, and sales materials

Review exhibition materials once before printing and again after installation, particularly when works have been added, removed, substituted, or sold in the interim.

Final Checklist for Exhibition Price Lists and Wall Labels

• Confirm all artwork records are complete.
• Verify titles, dates, media, and dimensions.
• Check prices, currencies, and availability.
• Use one consistent format across the exhibition.
• Review font size, contrast, and accessibility.
• Match every label to the correct artwork.
• Test mounting materials on the gallery wall.
• Prepare printed and digital price lists.
• Remove internal or confidential information.
• Complete a final gallery walkthrough before opening.

Manage Accurate Price Lists and Wall Labels With Artlogic

Artlogic helps galleries turn the artwork information already stored in their database into professional price lists, wall labels, and sales materials, reducing repetitive work and keeping exhibition details consistent.

Generate Materials From One Source of Artwork Data

Store each artwork's title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, edition details, price, and availability in one central record, and use that same information to produce wall labels, branded price lists, tear sheets, and sales presentations. That removes the need to copy information manually between spreadsheets, design files, and documents, and helps prevent discrepancies between physical labels, sales materials, and what staff tell collectors in conversation.

Create Branded Documents for Each Exhibition

Document templates carry the gallery's preferred typography, layout, logo, header, and footer across every material produced from the same underlying artwork records: visitor-facing price lists, individual wall labels, exhibition checklists, tear sheets, and branded sales presentations. Select the artworks included in an exhibition, arrange them in the required display, catalogue, or artist order, and produce editable or presentation-ready documents for a final review before printing or sharing.

Keep Prices and Availability Current

Update the artwork record the moment a work is sold, reserved, placed on hold, or made unavailable, and every member of the gallery team sees the same information from that point forward. That consistency matters most when several people are answering collector questions or following up after a visit, and it's straightforward to keep internal details separate from what appears in visitor-facing documents.

Connect the Physical Exhibition to the Sales Process

The same artwork information can carry across wall labels, price lists, Private Views, and sales presentations, so a polished digital selection can go out to a collector who visited the exhibition or enquired remotely. That gives sales teams what they need to follow up with the right works, prices, and availability, supporting a connected collector experience from viewing a piece in the gallery to receiving a tailored presentation afterward.

Keep Every Exhibition Detail Connected With Artlogic

Professional exhibition materials start with organized, accurate artwork information. Artlogic gallery management connects inventory management, presentation, and sales tools so galleries can move from planning an exhibition to presenting and selling works with fewer disconnected steps in between.

The practical result is time back: staff spend less of it reconciling documents across spreadsheets and design files, and more of it supporting artists, visitors, and collectors.

Book a call to see how Artlogic can support your gallery's exhibition, inventory, and sales workflows, or try Artlogic for free to explore tools for managing artwork records and producing professional gallery materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information goes on a gallery wall label?

At minimum, the artist's name, artwork title, year, medium, and dimensions. Depending on the piece and the gallery's approach, labels may also include edition details, price or availability, credit or collection information, and an interpretive note.

Should art exhibition labels include prices?

It depends on the gallery. Some show prices directly on labels for immediate transparency, some keep a separate price list to make updates easier, and some use price-on-request to support a more personal sales conversation. None of these is universally correct; the right choice depends on the exhibition and audience.

What is the difference between an exhibition checklist and a price list?

A checklist records the works included in an exhibition. A price list adds commercial information, price and availability, for works that are for sale.

What font size should a gallery wall label use?

There's no single size that works everywhere. Prioritize actual readability in the exhibition environment, tested under the gallery's real lighting and viewing distances, over a fixed recommendation.

How should limited editions appear on wall labels?

Include the edition size, and where applicable, the specific edition number and any artist's proofs, so a visitor or collector can tell exactly what they're looking at.

Can galleries add QR codes to wall labels?

Yes, as long as the code leads to useful, mobile-friendly artwork or exhibition information and doesn't clutter the label itself.