Should I Date My Paintings?

​Since the beginning of my professional painting career (nearly 11 years ago!), I have always dated my paintings. I did this for two reasons:

1. I saw other artists doing it, so I thought I was supposed to do the same.
2. Because I think of my paintings as “journal entries”, and journal entries are typically known to have dates.

 
But my opinion is only one in a sea of many. And like most opinions when it comes to art, there tends to be no right or wrong answers to anything. My guiding compass is to ask myself what I think the right answer is, and stick to that.
 
Recently however, I sat down with two lovely artists who shared with me their opinions as to why they chose not to date their art:

1. A prospective customer might be less likely to purchase a painting with an older date on it because they might feel like the painting is “old”, or that perhaps there must be something wrong with the painting since it is still for sale.
2. An artist might chose to withhold putting the date on their work because if it sits around for long enough, they might want to donate it to a silent auction without alerting others that the painting is from an older crop.

 
Personally, I love dating my work. My paintings are inextricably linked to a time and place in my life, and I don’t feel any amount of shame in disclosing this fact. In fact, I think that revealing the date of my paintings is just as likely to be the reason why someone buys my work. Think about it: "This DaSilva painting was made in Calgary before she moved to Hawaii", and "This DaSilva painting was made after the volcanic eruption." 

I would love to know your opinion on this!

​If you are an artist, do you date your work? Why? Why not?

If you are a buyer of art, do you feel like it makes a difference to you wether or not the work is dated?
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