SWAN Book

SWAN Book

Selected Worldwide Artists Network

A curated book of artists who work in two and three dimensions: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and more. Every member is reviewed and given a grade, from Amateur to Established Professional, based on what their practice can show.

ApplyCheck a name

What the SWAN Book is

SWAN stands for Selected Worldwide Artists Network. The SWAN Book is a growing register of artists from around the world, kept by the artist Lana Swan. It opens with nearly 100,000 masters of the past whose work is now in the public domain, and it is open to living artists of every level who want an honest, checked record of their practice.

Amateurs are welcome too. They are listed with the grade Amateur, and they can ask for a new review as their practice grows.

Grades

Amateurunder 20 points

You make art with care, but your public record is still small or cannot be checked yet.

Emerging Professional20 to 44 points

You have started to exhibit, sell or publish, and this can be confirmed.

Professional45 to 69 points

A steady, documented practice: regular exhibitions, sales and a visible public presence.

Established Professional70 points and more

A long record of solo shows, sales, collections and press.

The grade comes from points for things that can be checked. A claim without a link, a document or another way to confirm it is not counted.

AreaWhat countsMax points
ExhibitionsSolo shows: 12 in a museum, 8 in a gallery. Group shows: 5 in a museum, 3 in a gallery. Art fairs: 2 each. Online and virtual exhibitions: 1 each.30
Sales and marketDocumented sales of original works: 5 for 1 to 4, 10 for 5 to 19, 15 for 20 to 99, 20 for 100 or more. Works offered at auction: 3, sold at auction: 5. Representation by a gallery: 5.25
Press and publicationsArticles, interviews, books and catalogues about your work. International press, books and catalogues read in many countries: 5 each. National press: 3 each. Local press, blogs and features on art platforms: 1 each.15
Education, memberships and registriesArt school or degree: 5. Membership of a professional artists association or union: 3 each. Listing in a recognised artist register or price guide, such as Akoun: 3 each.10
Public presenceOwn website or portfolio: 3. Works in public or corporate collections: 5. Awards, residencies and grants: 2 each.15
International reachExhibitions or sales in at least three countries.5
Total100

How the review works

  1. Fill in the short form below. It takes about two minutes.
  2. An AI assistant makes the first check of your links and documents.
  3. Lana Swan reviews every application by hand and decides your grade.
  4. You receive your proposed grade by email.
  5. If you accept it, you pay the £30 review fee and your entry is published in the SWAN Book.
  6. If you do not accept it, nothing is charged. You can apply again after one year.

Fee and membership

  • Applying is free. You pay only for the review, £30, and only if you accept your grade.
  • Membership has no end date.
  • Your grade can be reviewed again after one year, for example after new exhibitions or sales.
  • You can ask for your entry to be removed at any time.

Certificate of listing

Members with the grade Emerging Professional, Professional or Established Professional can order an official extract from the SWAN Book free of charge: a Certificate of Listing that confirms your entry, your grade and the month and year you were listed. Each certificate carries a unique entry number. Anyone you show it to can type the number into Check a Name to confirm that the certificate is genuine. The number itself is never shown on the site, so the certificate works as evidence whenever you need it. To order your free certificate, write to lanaswan.art@gmail.com.

Amateur members are listed in the SWAN Book in the same way, but certificates are not issued for this grade. You can ask for a new review after one year.

Sample SWAN Book Certificate of Listing showing the artist name, grade, technique, country of residence, century of birth, month and year of listing and entry number
A sample Certificate of Listing

What we publish

Only your full name, technique, whether your work is 2D or 3D, the century you were born in, your country of residence, your grade and the month and year you were listed. We ask for your full date of birth and keep it in our records, but we never publish it. Your email, your documents and your entry number are never published.

Apply

Keep it short: the essentials and the links that show your practice.