Every day three photographs are offered for sale on yourdailyphotograph.com. The site was started by Daniel Miller, a dealer on the west coast of the United States and the owner of two galleries, in Venice and Santa Monica. Daniel opened this site 4 years ago when an important collector gave him 500 photos to sell! Success took 4 years but today the site prides itself with a file of 7,000 collectors’ names from 74 countries.
There are two sources of provenance for the images: that of the photographers who offer their prints to the site, and that of images bought by Daniel in the course of his travels.
YourDailyPhotograph.com’s Inventive Collecting Model
by Shana Nys Dambrot
YourDailyPhotograph.com, affectionately known as the Daily, is a remarkably simple, innovative email-based subscription service for photography collectors and aficionados from all over the world. Operating in a range of eras, styles, and techniques inclusive of legends and emerging talents, the Daily works a bit like a concierge service, offering single-day special purchases often nestled in the context of month-long curated “exhibitions.” Being both rooted in a brick and mortar gallery practice and absolutely transcending that model, the Daily could well represent the future of the photography market. We spoke with founder Daniel Miller (of Los Angeles’ Duncan Miller Gallery) about the rewards and challenges of breaking new ground.
Shana Nys Dambrot: How do you find and choose the artists and works offered in the Daily?
Daniel Miller: Inspiration, intuition, research, and outreach. Of course as a gallery director, I am always looking, always curious. The Daily presents well over 1,000 photographs a year, so with that kind of volume, we have a constant need to find work. We are looking in ways and places very different than a typical gallery.
Our material comes through a very eclectic and wide range of sources. Sometimes works become available in the secondary market or estate auctions, private collections and museum aquisitions. We have found historic New York work in Paris and Paris work in New York. We’ve had a great success with guest jurors and open-call thematic contests (Paris, water, the color blue), as well as with inviting guest curators to put a month of days together on the topic of their choosing. One upcoming contest will feature platinum prints, and another will be for unique tin-types.
SND: Can artists apply directly to be included?
DM: The Daily is always looking for significant fine-art type photographs to offer to its collectors– vintage and emerging artist works. Many of the Daily’s collectors are specifically looking for the next undiscovered photographer-artist. Whether a posted work gets sold or not, a number of very important people will see the work and perhaps remember the photographer. Dozens of top level museum curators and directors from important photography galleries subscribe.
SND: How do artists submit?
DM : First, we ask artists to subscribe to get a feel of what we do. Each email has a link for artists to request to submit their own works. Too many people make money with outrageous application fees for submissions and contests. At the Daily, artists submit for free.
SND: How does the Daily’s model compare to the traditional advisory role of the gallery?
DM: First and foremost, my priority is physical quality control. We strive to have the artist’s hand involved with each piece. From the artist’s printing process to condition, authentication to provenance, no object of art makes it from the artists to the collector without going through me. At the Daily, we are just as protective of all parties as at a physical gallery — perhaps more so, because the Internet can be hard to manage on one’s own, and a trusted advisor is truly invaluable. Just recently I had a day where something came from New Jersey bound for Germany, another from Atlanta bound for Chicago, and a third from Israel bound for France!
INFORMATION
http://www.yourdailyphotograph.com
