What is a art commission agreement?
An artist and a patron agree a commissioned painting, portrait, illustration or sculpture — the brief, sketch approval, revisions, deposit and stages, delivery, who owns the artwork and copyright, and cancellation. Start from this template in FileIt eSignature: fill in the blanks, add the people who sign, and send it. Everyone signs online and the signed PDF is filed in your vault.
What you fill in
17 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: artist, patron.
1 The parties
- Artist (you or your studio)*
- Your email*
- Patron*
- Patron email*
2 The artwork
- The artwork*
- Medium and size*
- The artwork is* a physical original · a digital file · a physical original and a high-resolution digital file
3 The process
- Sketch or concept rounds included*
- Revision rounds after the sketch*
- Estimated completion*
- Delivery
4 Price and payment
- Currency*
- Commission price*
- Non-refundable deposit*
- Balance due* before delivery of the finished artwork · half on sketch approval and half before delivery · within 7 days of the finished artwork being shown
5 Rights
- Patron's use of the image* personal, non-commercial use only · personal use and use in the Patron's own business marketing · full commercial use, including merchandise
- Governing law*
6 Who signs
- Artist signature and date, initials on every page · The artist or their studio.
- Patron signature and date, initials on every page · The person or organisation commissioning the artwork.
What the art commission agreement covers
- The Artwork
- Sketches, approval and revisions
- Price and payment
- Delivery and risk
- Copyright and use
- Cancellation
- General
Sign it online in minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. FileIt builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in your vault and emailed to everyone.