Setting Up Viewing Rooms for Collectors
5 min read
Not every collector needs to see your whole portfolio. Sometimes the most effective introduction is a curated selection — the right five pieces, shown to the right person, with a personal note that sets the context. Fine Art Form's Private Viewing Rooms let you do exactly that.
A Private Viewing Room is a standalone, shareable link containing a hand-picked selection of your artworks. No login required for the viewer. No clutter from your full catalog. Just the work you want them to see, presented cleanly.
What Private Viewing Rooms Are For
Viewing rooms work best when you want to:
- Pitch a collector privately — send a curated selection of available works without directing them to your entire portfolio
- Follow up after a conversation — "Here are the three pieces I mentioned" becomes a polished link instead of an email attachment
- Share with a gallery — give a curator a clean view of a specific body of work without them browsing your whole catalog
- Present a commission proposal — show examples of relevant past work to a potential client before the call
- Preview pre-release work — share work that isn't on your public portfolio yet, without it going public
Each room is entirely separate from your public portfolio. What's in the room stays in the room.
Creating a Viewing Room
To create a new Private Viewing Room:
- Go to Viewing Rooms in the main navigation (or from your Dashboard, click Create Viewing Room)
- Click + Create Room
- Select artworks from your catalog — check the box on each piece you want to include
- Minimum: 1 artwork
- Maximum: 50 artworks
- Works don't need to be "For Sale" — you can include sold or not-for-sale pieces
- Add a room title — this appears at the top of the room when your recipient opens it (e.g., "Coastal Series for James," "Available Work — March 2026," "Commission Portfolio for Westside Design")
- Add an optional intro message — up to 500 characters; shown above the artworks when the room loads. Use this to set context ("Here are the five pieces we discussed — let me know if you'd like to see anything else in person.")
- Configure access settings (see below)
- Click Create Room
Fine Art Form generates a unique, unguessable URL for the room. Your artworks are displayed in the same clean lightbox format as your public portfolio.
Naming tip: Include the recipient's name and context in the room title — it makes the experience feel personal. "Blue Period Collection — for Sarah T." lands differently than "Portfolio."
Configuring Access and Security
When creating or editing a room, you have two access options:
Link-only access (default)
The room is accessible to anyone who has the URL. The URL itself is unguessable (it's a long, random ID — not your name or a sequential number), which provides reasonable privacy without requiring the viewer to create an account.
Best for: Trusted collectors, gallery contacts, clients you've spoken with directly.
Password-protected access
Add a password that viewers must enter before the room opens. You share the URL and the password separately (e.g., URL in email, password in a text message).
To add password protection:
- When creating the room, toggle on Password Protect
- Enter a password
- Click Create Room
- Share the URL via one channel and the password via another
Best for: High-value prospects, sensitive pre-release work, or any situation where you want a higher level of control.
Sharing a Room
Once a room is created, you have two ways to share it:
Copy the URL
Click Copy URL to copy the room link to your clipboard. Paste it anywhere — email, text message, DM, or even a QR code for printed materials.
Email directly from Fine Art Form
Click Share via Email, enter the recipient's email address, and Fine Art Form sends them a clean email with the room link. The email comes from Fine Art Form but shows your studio name.
Best practice: When sharing via email, pair it with a personal note before the link. Fine Art Form sends the link — your email or message should set the context. "Following up on our conversation at the opening — here's a curated view of the works in that series" converts better than a bare link.
Setting Room Expiration
Viewing rooms can have an optional expiration date. After expiration, the link goes inactive automatically — no need to remember to disable it.
Expiration options:
- 7 days — good for time-sensitive pitches or gallery submissions with a deadline
- 30 days — good for ongoing collector conversations
- No expiration — the room stays active until you disable or delete it manually
To set expiration:
- Configure this when creating the room, or edit an existing room and update the Expires field
Use expiration intentionally. A 7-day room creates gentle urgency without pressure. A permanent room is fine for an ongoing relationship, but think about whether you want a collector to revisit the same link months later — or whether you'd rather send a fresh, updated room.
Managing Your Rooms
All your rooms are listed in Viewing Rooms in the main navigation. From here you can:
- View — see the room exactly as your recipient would
- Edit — update the title, intro message, artwork selection, or access settings
- Copy URL — re-share the link at any time
- Disable / Enable — deactivate a room without deleting it (the URL goes inactive but the room is preserved)
- Delete — permanently remove the room and its URL
You can also see:
- How many times the room has been viewed
- When it was last accessed
Tip: If you update a room after sharing the link (swap artworks, change the intro), the same URL reflects the changes automatically. You don't need to re-share the link.
Editing a Room After Sharing
You can update any room at any time — even after you've shared the link.
What you can change:
- Title and intro message
- Which artworks are included (add or remove)
- Password (add, change, or remove)
- Expiration date
What stays the same:
- The URL — it never changes after creation
This means you can refine the room based on a conversation. A collector says they're interested in smaller pieces — go edit the room to swap in the smaller works. They open the same link and see the updated selection.
What Collectors See
When a recipient opens a Private Viewing Room link, they see:
- Your studio name and the room title at the top
- Your intro message (if you added one)
- A clean grid of your selected artworks — title, year, medium, dimensions, and price (if you've set one)
- Clicking any artwork opens it in a full-screen lightbox with detail views
- A contact button to reach you directly from within the room
- No Fine Art Form branding cluttering the experience — it looks like your space
Viewers do not need an Fine Art Form account. They don't need to log in. They just open the link.
Viewing Rooms vs. Your Public Portfolio
| Public Portfolio | Private Viewing Room | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can see it | Anyone | Only people with the link (+ optional password) |
| What's shown | Your full catalog (by visibility settings) | Your curated selection only |
| Artwork statuses visible | For Sale, Sold, Not for Sale | Any status — you control what's included |
| URL | yourstudio.artsketch.com | artsketch.com/rooms/[unique-id] |
| Customizable per person | No | Yes — every room is unique |
| Expiration | Permanent | Optional — 7 days, 30 days, or no expiration |
| Password option | No | Yes |
Think of your public portfolio as your storefront and Viewing Rooms as your back room — where the real collector conversation happens.
Strategy: Making Viewing Rooms Work for You
One room per relationship, not one room for everyone. Generic rooms feel generic. A room titled "Landscape Studies for Michael — March 2026" signals that you thought about what to send. Five minutes of curation before hitting send is worth it.
Include context in the intro message. The artworks speak for themselves, but a line or two — why you picked these pieces, what series they belong to, what's available in person — turns a link into a conversation.
Use expiration as a soft deadline. "I'll keep this room active for the next two weeks — let me know if you'd like to discuss any of the pieces" gives the collector a gentle frame without pressure.
Follow up once. If a collector opens the room (you can see the view count), wait a few days and send a single follow-up. If they haven't opened it, wait a week and send one more. Then let it rest.
Don't link to your public portfolio in the room. You've curated this selection for a reason. Let it do its job. If they want more, they'll ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I include sold work in a Viewing Room? Yes. You might want to show a collector what you've sold to establish your track record, or include sold works alongside available pieces to demonstrate the scope of a series.
Do collectors need an account to view the room? No. They just open the link. No login, no signup required.
Can I see how many times a room has been viewed? Yes — the Viewing Rooms list shows a view count and last-accessed date for each room.
What happens when a room expires? The URL goes inactive — viewers get a message that the room is no longer available. The room still exists in your dashboard (with an "Expired" label) and you can reactivate it or delete it.
Can I have multiple active rooms at once? Yes — there's no limit on the number of active rooms. Manage them from the Viewing Rooms dashboard.
Does editing a room break the URL I already shared? No. The URL never changes. Any edits you make are reflected immediately when the existing link is opened.
Can I send the room from my own email instead of Fine Art Form's email feature? Yes — just use Copy URL and paste the link into your own email client. Many artists prefer this, as it keeps the entire communication in their own inbox.
What's Next?
Private Viewing Rooms are your most powerful collector tool — but they work best alongside a complete practice:
- Make sure your pricing is ready — How to Price Your Artwork with Confidence →
- Log the sale when it happens — Tracking Sales and Sending Invoices →
- Build your collector relationships — Managing Contacts and Commission Inquiries →
Need more help? Browse all guides or contact our team.