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How are your
sculptures different from others I see
on the Internet?
▪ Why
are your prices so low?
▪
Why should I
order from your company?
▪
How long will
it take to receive my
sculpture?
▪
How will my
sculpture be packaged and
shipped?
▪
What happens if
my sculpture is damaged in
shipment?
▪
What if I don’t
like the sculpture after I
purchase it?
▪
Do you have
other sculptures not listed
on your web site?
▪
How do I place
an order?
▪
Can I get a
catalog?
▪
Do you do
custom sculptures?
▪
Do I have a
choice in colors?
▪
Are you
sculptures painted?
▪
What types of
payment do you accept?
▪
What are your
hours?
▪
How do I
secure my outdoor sculpture?
What is different about
your sculptures than others
I see on the Internet?
This is a
very important question and
I will try to address this
in detail. We are a
reputable art gallery and as
such we only carry high
quality art. Some of
our sculptures have been
copied all over the world
because the copyrights have
expired and the molds are
readily available on the
commercial market.
However, that is where the
similarities end. Many
bronze sculptures on the
market today are
mass-manufactured using very
low quality standards.
The bronze is paper thin
leaving them susceptible to
damage. Often the
patina finish is not patina
at all, but industrial paint
made to look like patina.
Click here for a discussion
of Asian verses American
bronze
Many bronze sculptures are
imported from Thailand where
the standards for bronze are
much lower than the US.
Bronze is a copper alloy and
in the United States the
minimum standard for bronze
is 90% copper content.
Overseas they use only
65-70% copper and often
less. Here in the USA
we call that yellow brass.
The copper is usually
recycled from everything
including car radiators,
pipes and you name it.
This matters a great deal in
the look of the patina and
it’s durability when placed
outdoors. Often the
metal won't even take a
patina which is why they use
paint. An experienced dealer
can recognize an imported
bronze immediately and you
can often tell just from a
photograph.
Click here for a discussion
of patina and color choices.
We work directly with the
bronze foundries that cast
our sculptures and demand
the highest quality
materials and workmanship.
All of our sculptures are
made by companies located in
the United States. We
know the foundry staff
personally, visit them
regularly and are on the
phone with them several
times a day. We use
pure, high-quality bronze
ingot that has a copper
content of 90.23%. We
would be happy to send you
copies of the metallurgical
report and pictures of the
actual bronze ingot used to
make our sculptures.
We don't take any shortcuts,
so it can take 2-3 weeks to
complete just one sculpture.
A bronze sculpture
collection is a wonderful
thing. A quality
bronze sculpture will last
for hundreds of years even
if placed outdoors.
The artistry and
craftsmanship will amaze you
every time you look at it.
They are often passed down
in families from generation
to generation and coveted by
those who receive them.
However, a poor quality
piece can be an eyesore and
a decision that you regret
every time you look at it.
Seventy percent of our
business comes from repeat
customers or referrals from
customers. That is a
fact in which we take a
great deal of pride and
speaks volumes about the
quality of our work.
Our customer service is
absolutely the best.
When you call here or place
an order online, you are not
received by a telemarketing
call center. In fact,
your call or is taken by the owner of the
company. If you have a
problem you are not routed
to a customer service
center, your problem is
handled by the owner
of the company. We
take a great deal of pride
in our business. This
isn't a side job, this is
our profession.
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Why
are your prices so low?
The owner of The Large Art
Company has been a bronze
collector for more than 20
years. Before opening
the business he owned a
software company that made
government software.
In 2000 he sold the company
and basically retired at 41
and opened the gallery.
Therefore maximizing profits
has never been a goal of our
business.
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Why should I order from
your company?
We are a reputable art
gallery and artist studio and you can come and
visit us anytime you want.
We are a small business so
when you place an order with
us you are very likely to
speak with the owner of the
company. Here you
won't find vast cubicles of
telemarketing
representatives. If
you do have a problem such
as lost or damaged shipment
you will speak with the same
person that took your order.
We have heard a lot of
horror stories about people
buying on the Internet and
never getting their
merchandise and others
passing off cheap imports
and mass-produced sculpture
as high-quality works.
We have been featured in
local and national
publications including USA
Today, The Baltimore Sun,
the Baltimore Business
Journal and more. Our
works grace some of the
finest homes, business and
institutions in the United
States.
Experience. Richard Rist the
gallery owner has over 20
years experience collecting,
buying and selling art.
Mr. Rist is an artist
himself. We know the business and
have made many mistakes over
the years. That is
why we know better than to
deal in "bargain" sculptures.
We stand behind every sale
we make with the best
guarantee in the business.
Please read the section on
our guarantee.
The sculptures you see are
the very same ones we
display in the gallery, so
you can feel confident that
the sculpture you receive
will be the quality you
expect. We don't carry every
sculpture available on the
market because much if it is
inferior quality. We
inspect every piece of art
before we offer it for sale.
Most of the sculptures we
offer on our web site are or
have been in our gallery.
As a result we have high
quality, close-up
photographs from different
angles so you can see
exactly what you’re buying.
Also, if you want more
pictures from a different
angle we are happy to do
that for you and send them
by email.
We deal directly with the
foundries and artists that make our
sculptures. There are
no dealer, wholesalers or
middlemen of any kind between us and the
source. Therefore, our
prices are very reasonable.
I have seen others offer the
same pieces we have for
double the price.
Furthermore, we will match
any advertised price for the
same size and quality
sculpture.
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How long will it take to
receive my sculpture?
Many of the sculptures
we offer are in stock and
ready for shipment. If
they are in stock you can
expect delivery in 1-2 weeks
or less depending on your
location.
Click here for more
information on transit times. If they are
not in stock we will have a
new one made for you.
And you can expect delivery
in 4 weeks or less. Likewise
if you want to special order
a piece in a particular
color delivery will be about
4 weeks.
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How will my sculpture be
packaged and shipped?
Sculptures weighing less
than 120 pounds are sent by
UPS. We use state-of-the-art
packaging which includes
completely wrapping the
sculpture in bubble wrap and
then filling the box with
spray foam that completely
envelops the sculpture so
that it will not shift in
transit.
Larger sculptures are sent
by truck. The
sculpture is completely
wrapped in bubble wrap and
placed on a pallet.
Then a wood frame is built
around the sculpture and
covered in cardboard.
When the sculpture arrives
at a trucking terminal in
your they will call you to
schedule a mutually
convenient delivery time.
The trucks are quipped with
a lift gate so you do not
need any type of loading
dock to receive the
delivery. The driver
will get the sculpture off
of the truck and will use a
pallet jack to move it a
short distance so that it is
out of the way. Relax - we
specialize in large art so
we have done this many times
before.
Note that generally truck
drivers to not offer
installation services.
We have heard of drivers
willing to help for a
generous tip, but we
recommend you do not plan on
this.
For complete shipping
information click here.
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What happens if my
sculpture is damaged in
shipment?
We take great care to
package our art for a safe
journey and we rarely
encounter any problems.
But when you are shipping
heavy and bulky packages
over a long distance things
can happen. PLEASE inspect
your package upon arrival.
If you see noticeable damage
to the outside of the
packaging, have the driver
wait while you open it up
and inspect the contents.
If you or the driver do not
have time to open the
package make a note on the
bill that it was NOT
INSPECTED.
If you notice damage to the
sculpture while the driver
is still there, simply
refuse the shipment and it
will be returned to us at no
cost to you.
If you notice damage to the
sculpture after the driver
has departed, save your
packaging and call or email
us immediately. We
will have the damaged
sculpture picked back up and
returned to us at no cost to
you. Once we receive
the damaged sculpture we
will have a new one sent to
you as soon as possible.
This guarantee costs more
than the profit we make on a
sculpture, but 70% of our
business is repeat customers
or referrals from others, so
this is a commitment we plan
to keep.
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What if I don’t like the
sculpture after I purchase
it?
No problem. We try to
provide you with big, clear,
close-up pictures so you
know what you are getting.
But we understand that
sometimes things just don’t
look like you thought they
would after you get them.
If this happens, save your
packaging and package it
back up and return it. We
will gladly refund your
money less the cost of
shipping. The only
exception to this policy is
that custom orders are not
returnable.
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Do you have other
sculptures not listed on
your web site?
Yes, we have many other
sculptures that are not
listed on our web site.
In addition, we have access
to many more through our
network of artists and
foundries. If you are
looking for something
particular and do not see it
here you can send us an
email and we will try to
find it for you.
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How do I place an order?
If you ask me, the
easiest way to place an
order is to give us a call.
That’s why we have a
toll-free number.
However, they tell me our
web site offers
state-of-the-art security
for online transactions.
If you see something you
like click the “Add to cart”
button then either continue
shopping or click the
'Checkout' button and
complete the necessary
fields. If you
encounter any problems feel
free to send us an email or
call.
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Can I get a catalog?
Unfortunately we don't
have a printed catalog. We
are an art gallery and our
inventory changes
frequently. Therefore,
any catalog would be out of
date when it was printed.
Also, by using the web site
as a catalog we are able to
provide multiple big, clear,
images of each item.
We try to keep our web site
up to date, but if you are
looking for something
particular you should give
us a call. Also, we
have electronic catalogs you
can download. Ask us
for additional information.
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Do you do custom
sculptures?
Absolutely! The Large Art
Company represents some the
most talented artists of our
time. Please take a
look at our
custom sculpture area to see examples
of our work. However,
it is not cheap. The
upfront costs include the
artist to create an original
in clay, mold makers and
casting. If you're
interested in discussing a
custom project please feel
free to call or drop us an
email and we can give you a
ballpark estimate for your
project at no cost to you.
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Do I have a choice in
colors?
Yes. Almost all of our
sculptures can be customized
with your choice of colors.
You can choose from the
traditional chocolate brown,
a very dark brown almost
black, gold tone, dark
hunter green, a light Verdi
green, a dark Verdi green
called Rodin green, and
burgundy. Normally the
artists are left to select
the colors they like best.
But if you have a preference
we would be happy to work
with you and there is no
additional cost.
Click here for more
information on patina
colors.
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Are your sculptures
painted?
Absolutely not! Bronze
coloration is called a
patina and is achieved
through a process called
patination. During
this process the bronze is
reheated and chemicals are
applied to the hot bronze
that cause a chemical
reaction and actually change
the surface color of the
bronze. However, this is not
true of many sculptures on
the market today.
Click here for more
information on patina
colors.
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What types of payment do
you accept?
We accept just about any
form of payment. Master
Card, Visa or American
Express credit cards.
Money orders, cashiers
checks, and even personal or
business checks. For
governmental institutions,
we will also accept a
purchase order. Please
understand that for personal
or business checks we have
to wait for the check to
clear (usually 3 days)
before shipping.
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What are your hours?
The Internet in an
important part of our
business so we try to be
available for you as much as
possible. We are
usually available 7 days a
week 365 days a year, so
unless you call in the
middle of the night you are
very likely to reach someone
able to help you. I
will add though that our
gallery is 3 stories high
and during business hours we
can often be found giving
tours of the gallery or
taking care of the grounds.
Getting back to the phone
when it rings is sometimes
impossible before it goes to
voice mail. If that happens,
please leave a message and
we will get back to you as
soon as possible.
Our gallery is open for
visitors by
appointment. Our
office hours are Monday
through Friday 9:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. Eastern time.
During off hours we return
calls and emails as soon as
possible.
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How do I secure my
outdoor sculpture?
All of our bronze
statuary can be easily
secured into the ground or
concrete. For an
additional charge of $50 we
will weld mounting nuts into
the bottom of your
sculpture. On most
sculptures they will be
unnoticeable to the casual
observer. At any hardware
store you can buy 3/8" lag
bots or "J" bolts that will
screw into the nuts
we weld under the sculpture.
Click here for complete
installation instructions.
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