GARÉEXPENSES

Garé carefully booked all the job related expenses she had during most of her professional life. This page presents you to only one of the multiple book pages (the first records are from 1941) covering the second half of 1971 in order to give you an idea of the many types of expenses a painting artist has. The page example is, in general, fairly self-explanatory, although it can be hard to read all of the texts due to the simple fact that many of the names mentioned are for local businesses and shops, most of which do not exist anymore. Still, the chosen page gives you an insight in Garé's life as a bookkeeper...

COMMENTS

As indicated, the page is quite straightforward, so only a few comments covering the columns will be attached here. The column headers were not static during the years; Garé booked other kinds of expenses as well such as 'Materials for making own frames' and 'Commissions'.

Frames: The cost of frames is probably not the first thing you would think of, but these entries are in fact the largest in the book pages. In some cases Garé's hands were tied, because she could not always purchase the cheapest frames or the ones she preferred as some of the customers had their preferences, for which she had to abide. In other cases Garé bought cheaper, used frames.
Paints and canvases: The paints referred to here are the ones Garé used for preparing the canvases, i.e. primers that were applied in several layers.
Brushes, tools, paints: The first two items pop up fairly rarely, because they will usually last for years. The tubes of fresh paints are the most common entries.
Travel: Garé had to travel from time to time in connection with her work. She would visit galleries either as a guest or as a seller of art, and she would occasionally deliver paintings directly to her customers. On shorter trips she went alone in her Mazda, but on longer trips she would go with Carl, thus making a small holiday out of a trip. The expenses mentioned are for petrol and hotel accommodations.
Photo, records, advertising: Carl photographed all of Garé's paintings before they were sold, and she kept the relevant information about them on index cards. She also spent money on promotion, mostly in the format of brochures that were distributed at art shows and galleries.
Freight, crates, commissions, postage: Necessary expenses in connection with the sales. The column would occasionally include telephone calls and lunches for potential customers.
Books, mags, club dues, show fees: Garé bought relevant books and magazines, and she was, of course, required to pay for participating in specific events such as gallery shows and similar exhibitions.