Numbering your artworks may sound like something only museums and large galleries need to do, but it is useful as soon as you begin building a serious body of work. A unique artwork ID helps you connect each piece to its information: title, date, materials, dimensions, price, location, exhibition history, and sales status. This becomes especially helpful when two works have similar titles or when someone asks about a piece you made several years ago.
Choose a simple system
Your system does not need to be complicated. A simple format could be 2026-001, meaning the first artwork you recorded in 2026. You could also add your initials or a short code for the medium, such as AB-2026-001 or P-2026-001 for a painting.
There is no single system that every artist must use. What matters is that every ID is unique, easy to read, and used consistently. Avoid putting information in the number that might later change, such as the artwork’s price, location, or availability.
Keep the ID with the artwork record
Add the ID to your artwork inventory as soon as you decide to keep, exhibit, sell, or document a piece. Your inventory can be a spreadsheet, a database, or artwork-management software such as Artlope.
Alongside the ID, record the title, year, medium, dimensions, a good photograph, current location, price, and status. For example: available, on loan, sold, or not for sale. An ID is most useful when it connects the physical artwork to a record you can rely on.
Label the work carefully
Place the ID somewhere discreet, such as on the back of a painting, on the underside of a sculpture, or on a removable label attached to its packaging. Use a method that will not damage the artwork.
For digital or temporary work, include the ID in the file name, folder, and inventory record. Do not confuse an inventory ID with an edition number: 2026-014 might be the unique ID for a print, while 3/20 shows that the physical print is number three in an edition of twenty.
Stay consistent, even with older work
Once you choose a system, do not renumber older work just to make everything look perfect. Gaps and small differences are usually less troublesome than changing numbers and breaking the connection between an artwork and its records.
The basic idea is simple: a number on an object should lead you to the correct information about it. Starting with a simple system now will make it easier to prepare an exhibition list, update your website, apply for an opportunity, or remember where a particular artwork went.
How to do this in Artlope
Create an artwork record for each piece and enter your chosen ID in the Inventory number field. It is your own internal ID, so you can use a format such as 2026-001 or AB-2026-001. Adding Artworks explains how to create a record, and Artwork Details shows where the inventory number and other key details belong.
Add the artwork’s title, date, materials, dimensions, status, storage location, price, and images to the same record. The guides for Images And Attachments and Organizing Artworks can help you keep those records useful as your collection grows.
When you need to find a piece, switch to the artwork table. It includes the inventory ID, so you can scan your records more easily. See Filtering And Grouping for how to work with the artwork list. When a work is part of a show, you can also connect it to an exhibition and keep that history with the artwork; Adding Artworks To Exhibitions walks through that step.