Contemporary
Corporate Christmas Gifts: Signed Art for Clients and Teams
By Alexander van der Meer·· 8 min read
Most corporate Christmas gifts are eaten by January or thrown out by March. A signed print is still on someone's wall a year later. Here is how to choose one for a client or a whole team, what it costs and when to order.
A signed art print makes a corporate Christmas gift that lasts: at €65 or €95 for a 40×30 cm limited edition, it costs about the same as a good hamper and is still on the wall a year later. For a team, pick one or two quiet subjects and mix several works rather than ordering one image twenty times, because every edition here is limited to 25 copies. For prints to reach desks or homes in the EU before the office closes, place the order by the first week of December.
This guide is for whoever has been handed the gift list: an office manager, a founder, an account lead. It covers who a print suits, what to give at each budget, how to buy for a group, and how to get the parcels out in time.
Why art works as a business gift
Corporate gifts have a short shelf life. Chocolates and wine are gone by New Year, and branded merchandise rarely survives a desk clear-out. The gifts people remember are the ones they keep using or keep seeing, and a print on a wall is seen every day.
It also travels well as a gesture. A signed limited edition by a named, living artist says that someone chose it, not that a catalogue was ticked. It carries no logo, so the recipient does not feel they are advertising you. And it suits people whose drinking, diet or religion you may not know, which matters when the list runs to forty clients in six countries.
Who a print suits, and who it does not
- Key clients and partners. The best fit. A print is personal without being intimate, and a 60×40 cm work at €145–€195 reads as a thank-you for a real year of work.
- A small team, up to about twenty people. A good fit if you let people choose, or choose by person (see below). It is the gift that tells a team their employer thought about it.
- A whole company of a hundred or more. Usually not the right gift. Editions are limited to 25, so you would end up handing out very different works, and choosing a hundred pieces well is a project in itself. For that size, an art scheme for the office that everyone sees may do more than individual gifts.
- Public-sector and regulated clients. Check their gift policy first. Many organisations cap the value of gifts staff may accept, often well below €100, and some forbid them entirely.
What to give at each budget
All prices here include VAT and are the same for one print or twenty. The 40×30 cm prints cost €65, €95 or €145; the 60×40 cm prints cost €145, €195 or €295. Every one is hand-signed and numbered in an edition of 25, with a certificate of authenticity.
€65: for the whole team
At €65 the gallery is mostly monochrome landscape, sea and city photography, which is exactly what suits a gift for someone whose walls you have never seen. Journey Through the Winter Silence by Bonaque, a sleigh crossing a snowfield below the mountains, is wintry without being a Christmas card, so it does not need taking down in January. The Summit's Embrace by LumièreVue and Ocean's Lament by Serena are two more that sit happily in almost any room.
€95: for close clients and team leads
At €95 there is room for an image with an idea in it, which suits a business relationship. Igniting Ideas by Moroz, a hand holding a light bulb with a flame for a filament, is an apt gift for a creative partner or an agency client. Unity in Strength, also by Moroz, two clasped hands in black and white, says thank you to a team without a single word on it. The full range at this price is in art under €100.
€145–€195: for the partner or the client of the year
This is where the 60×40 cm format starts, and a larger print is a present rather than a token. Mixed-media work by Henri des Bois and Elena Aureli sits at these prices, and it is the most painterly work in the gallery. Choose for the recipient's office, which you have probably visited, rather than for their home, which you have not.
Buying for a team: how to choose for twenty people
Ordering the same image twenty times is the wrong approach for two reasons: the edition may not have twenty copies left, and an identical print in every colleague's home feels like merchandise. Three approaches work better.
- One subject, many works. Pick a family, such as mountains, the sea or cities in black and white, and assign a different work to each person. It reads as one gift with individual choices inside it. The black-and-white collection is deep enough for most teams.
- Let them choose. Send a shortlist of eight to ten works at one price and ask each person to pick by a date. People are pleased to choose art for their own walls, and nobody gets something they dislike.
- Choose by person. For a small team you know well, this is the warmest option. Our Christmas gift guide sorts ideas by kind of person and is just as useful for colleagues.
Before you promise a particular image to anyone, check how many copies remain: every product page shows it. Once an edition of 25 is sold out, it is never reprinted.
Delivery, order dates and the office closing
Prints are made and signed to order, then packed in 1–2 business days and posted from Amsterdam rolled in a rigid tube. Transit is 1–2 days within the Netherlands, 3–7 days elsewhere in the EU, and 5–10 days to the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and the United States. Delivery within the EU is free on any order over €175.
Two things matter for company gifts:
- The office closes before 24 December. If the prints go to the office, count back from the last working day, not from Christmas Eve. For most EU addresses that means ordering by the first week of December; for the UK, Switzerland and the US, by the end of November. December post is slower than any estimate.
- One order per address. Each order ships to one address. Sending to the office in one order is simplest and almost always clears the free-delivery threshold. Sending to each person's home means one order per person, and orders under €175 pay delivery. For a list of addresses, get in touch before ordering so we can confirm editions and timing for the whole list.
Full rates and times for each country are on the delivery page.
Presenting it
- Hand them over unframed. Prints arrive rolled in a tube, which looks like a gift already, and the recipient can frame it for their own room. A frame chosen for a wall you have not seen often looks wrong.
- Write about the artist. Each artist page says who made the work and how. Two lines about that in the card make the gift personal in a way a logo never does.
- Mention the edition. "One of 25, signed by the artist" is the detail people remember and repeat.
- No price in the parcel. The despatch note does not show a price. If you need a note added, or the invoice kept out of a parcel sent to a recipient, ask through the contact form with your order number.
On tax: whether a business gift is deductible, and up to what value, depends on your country and sometimes on the recipient. Several EU countries set limits per person per year. Check with your accountant before you set the budget.
To see what is in stock at each price, start with the Christmas edit or the full gallery.
Frequently asked questions
- Is art a good corporate Christmas gift?
- Yes, for clients and small teams. A signed print lasts where food and drink do not, carries no logo, and suits people whose tastes and diets you do not know. At ArtMarket a 40×30 cm signed limited edition costs €65 or €95, about the price of a good hamper.
- How much should a company spend on a client Christmas gift?
- Most companies spend between €50 and €150 per client, more for a key partner. Check the recipient's gift policy first: many organisations cap what staff may accept, often below €100. Signed prints here cost €65 or €95 at 40×30 cm and €145–€195 at 60×40 cm, VAT included.
- Can I order the same print for my whole team?
- Only if enough copies remain, because every edition is limited to 25 and the product page shows how many are left. It is usually better to choose one subject, such as mountains or black-and-white cities, and give each person a different work within it.
- When should I order corporate Christmas gifts to arrive in time?
- Count back from the day your office closes, not from 24 December. Prints are packed in 1–2 business days, then take 3–7 days to most EU countries and 5–10 days to the UK, Switzerland and the US, so order by the first week of December for the EU and by the end of November for the rest.
- Can you deliver gifts to several addresses?
- Each order ships to one address, so gifts to several homes are separate orders, and orders under €175 pay delivery. Sending everything to the office in one order is simplest. For a list of addresses, contact us before ordering to confirm availability and timing.
- Can I add a company card or message?
- The despatch note does not show a price. If you want a note included with a parcel, ask through the contact form with your order number before it ships. Many companies prefer to hand the tube over in person with their own card.