A good artwork description tells a buyer who made the work, what it is, and what it means, in plain words they can trust. It names the artist and community first, shares the story with the artist’s permission, and then gives the practical facts: size, medium, year and price. Do that well and the page works for the buyer, the artist and your art centre.
Why artwork descriptions matter online
In a gallery, a visitor can ask a staff member about a painting. Online, the description does that job. Buyers cannot feel the surface or see the work on a wall, so the words carry a lot of weight. They also help your page get found, because search engines and AI tools read the text to understand what the work is.
For art centres, there is a second reason. The description is where provenance and cultural respect show up. Getting it right protects the artist and builds the trust that leads to a sale.
Start with the artist and the work
Open with the essentials in the first line or two. Who is the artist, what community or region are they connected to, and what is the title of the work? A buyer scanning the page should know straight away what they are looking at.
Use the artist’s name exactly as they want it shown. If the artist has asked for a particular spelling or form of address, follow it every time, on every page.
Share the story, with permission
The story behind a work is often what makes it matter to a buyer. Keep it short and use the artist’s own words where you can. A few sentences is plenty.
Only publish what the artist has agreed to share. Some stories are restricted, and some imagery should not be shown to certain audiences. If you are unsure, check with the artist or your cultural advisor before it goes live. Our guide on websites for art centres and galleries covers how we approach this in our own builds.
Add the facts buyers look for
Once the story is told, give the practical details in a consistent order on every page. A short list works well here:
- Medium and surface, for example acrylic on linen or ochre on bark.
- Size in centimetres, with height before width.
- Year the work was made, if known.
- Whether it is framed, stretched or rolled.
- Certificate of authenticity and any catalogue or reference number.
- Price including GST, with shipping explained clearly.
Colour can look different on every screen, so say so honestly. A line such as “colours may vary slightly between screens” saves a lot of disappointed emails.
Keep the language plain and honest
Skip the inflated phrases. Words like “stunning” and “masterpiece” tell the buyer nothing. Describe what is actually in the work: the colours, the marks, the patterns, the mood. Write for someone who has never seen it and may never have visited your region.
Avoid guessing at meaning. If you are not sure what a symbol represents, leave it out rather than inventing an explanation. Accuracy matters more than a polished paragraph.
Make it work for search and AI tools
Put the artist’s name, the title and the medium in the page heading and the opening sentence, because those are the terms people actually search. Write a unique description for each work rather than repeating the same wording across a series. Duplicated text makes it harder for search engines to tell your pages apart.
If your catalogue lives in a system like SAM and syncs to your store, review how those fields appear on the page. A well-built WooCommerce store can map the artist, medium and size fields neatly so every product page follows the same structure.
A simple template to copy
One sentence on the artist, community and title. Two or three sentences of story, approved by the artist. A short list of the facts above. A closing line on authenticity and shipping. That is usually all you need, and it is easy for staff to repeat across the whole catalogue.
You can see how we present work online in our recent projects, and our insights library has more guides for art centres. For the technical side of running a gallery site, the team at Smart Coding are part of the same family of studios.
Want help setting up your artwork pages so they read well and respect your artists? Call us on 02 9834 4119 or get in touch here.
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