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Thinking about selling directly out of your studio? You would be in great company! Here are thirty artists who sold primarily out of their studios (at least during significant parts of their career).

19th Century / Early Modernists

1. Gustav Courbet – Hung his “Pavilion of Realism” outside the official Salon, bypassing galleries.
2. Claude Monet – Early sales before Durand-Ruel took him on were directly from his studio.
3. Édouard Manet – Famously showed works privately, inviting patrons to his studio when juries rejected him.
4. Paul Cézanne – Sold (or gifted) works mainly through direct studio visits with friends like Zola or collectors like Vollard.
5. Vincent van Gogh – Never had gallery representation in his lifetime; his works stayed in his studio/apartment.
6. Henri Rousseau – A self-taught painter who sold directly from his Paris studio and cafés.
7. Mary Cassatt – Though exhibited with the Impressionists, she often sold directly to wealthy American patrons visiting her Paris studio.

Turn of the Century / Secessionists & Independents

8. Gustav Klimt – Conducted business out of his Vienna studio, especially portraits for society patrons.
9. Edvard Munch – Famously relied on private studio sales and rented halls to show controversial works.
10. James McNeill Whistler – Preferred studio showings for patrons over conventional galleries.
11. Amedeo Modigliani – Sold (often cheaply) out of his Montparnasse studio.
12. Chaim Soutine – Early on, collectors like Zborowski and Barnes bought directly from his studio.
13. Egon Schiele – Organized his own shows and sold to collectors from his studio.

American Modernists & Early 20th Century

14. Georgia O’Keeffe – Welcomed collectors and friends to her New Mexico studio for direct purchases.
15. Grant Wood – Supported himself through studio commissions before fame.
16. Edward Hopper – Sold directly from his New York studio in early years.
17. Thomas Hart Benton – Maintained direct sales from his studio even while teaching.
18. Marsden Hartley – Frequently depended on studio sales and personal networks.

Mid-20th Century & Abstract Expressionists

19. Jackson Pollock – Buyers like Peggy Guggenheim and later collectors came directly to his Springs, Long Island studio.
20. Willem de Kooning – Sold works from his New York studio long before gallery fame.
21. Joan Mitchell – Sold to friends and patrons who visited her Paris studio.
22. Frida Kahlo – Sold to collectors and friends directly from her Casa Azul
23. Diego Rivera – His studio was a hub for commissions and direct sales.

Contemporary & Recent Artists Who Favor Studio Sales

24. Francis Bacon – His chaotic London studio doubled as a place where collectors and dealers viewed work directly.
25. Jean-Michel Basquiat – Before his gallery years, sold directly from his studio and even from the street.
26. David Hockney – Still occasionally sells directly from his studio, especially with close patrons.
27. Yayoi Kusama – Early in New York, sold directly from her loft-studio before institutional recognition.
28. Gerhard Richter – Known to cultivate studio visits where collectors buy directly.
29. Banksy – Maintains a direct-to-collector model, bypassing galleries when he chooses.
30. Damien Hirst – Has revived the studio-sale model, sometimes selling entire collections directly (famously bypassing dealers in Sotheby’s auctions).

Many of these artists either (1) rejected the gallery/salon system, (2) were initially ignored by it, or (3) preferred the independence and intimacy of selling from their studio.