David Goldman Agency

What David Goldman Agency does

David Goldman Agency is a privately held, boutique illustration artist representation firm founded in 1980 in New York City and operated by David Goldman as sole representative. The agency represents a curated roster of approximately 17 professional illustrators, designers, and television property creators, with collective recognition of over 820 industry awards across organizations including the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, American Illustration, 3x3, Graphis, and the World Illustration Awards. Its core service is intermediary representation: matching client project briefs with the appropriate talent, negotiating contracts, and managing the commercial relationship between artists and enterprise buyers.

The agency's primary customer segments are advertising agencies, book/magazine/newspaper publishers, television and entertainment companies, and corporate clients. Named clients include Time Inc., The New York Times, Book-of-the-Month Club, Touch Three, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Seven of the represented artists offer animation and motion graphics capabilities, supported by a long-standing production partnership with Peter Barg's Z-Animation. The firm also produces 'The Illustration Department Podcast' as a thought leadership and brand-building channel. Geographic reach extends to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands.

The business model is commission-based: the agency charges a percentage of artist fees on projects it facilitates, with pricing negotiated individually based on project scope, usage rights, and client requirements. The firm operates without proprietary technology platforms, relying on David Goldman's personal relationships, negotiation expertise, and psychological insight into client needs as the primary value drivers. Headcount is approximately 7 employees, and the firm has not raised external funding, made acquisitions, or undergone ownership changes in its 44-year history.

Name

David Goldman Agency

Legal name

David Goldman Agency

Website

https://davidgoldmanagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

David Goldman Agency is a privately held, boutique illustration representation firm founded in 1980 in New York City, representing approximately 17 award-winning illustrators to advertising agencies, publishers, and corporate clients, earning commission on project placements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Illustration Talent Representation

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (71141)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Agency & Representation Services (HSACAHAK)

Keywords

• Illustration agency
• Artist representation
• Creative talent brokerage
• Illustrator management
• Advertising illustration

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Artist Representation and Commission: The agency earns revenue by representing illustrators and charging commissions on projects facilitated through the agency. David Goldman acts as an intermediary between artists and clients, handling negotiations, project management, and contractual matters. The agency takes a percentage of artist fees as compensation for representation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

David Goldman Agency is a boutique artist representation firm that connects a small, elite roster of world-class illustrators, designers, and TV show creators with clients in advertising, publishing, and entertainment. The agency earns commissions by matching pre-vetted talent to projects and handling negotiations, contractual matters, and project management on behalf of both artists and clients. The firm also provides animation and video services through a subset of its multi-award-winning artists and partner production companies.

Product overview

David Goldman Agency is a boutique illustration artist representation firm established in NYC in 1980, representing a small elite group of world-class professional illustrators, designers, and TV show creators. The agency offers artist representation services for editorial, advertising, publishing, and animation projects, with seven featured artists providing animation/video services. Additionally, the agency produces 'The Illustration Department Podcast' featuring interviews with creative professionals. The artists represented have collectively earned over 820 awards for excellence in illustration, animation design, and authorship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Illustration Department Podcast: A podcast hosted by David Goldman featuring conversations with professionals in illustration, graphic design, publishing, animation, and other creative fields.

Products and services

• Artist Representation Services Boutique agency service that represents world-class professional illustrators, designers, and TV show creators for editorial, advertising, publishing, and animation projects. The agency matches pre-vetted, award-winning talent with client needs, handles negotiations, contractual matters, and project management on behalf of both artists and clients, and charges a commission on the projects it facilitates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 820 awards for excellence among represented artists
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Peter Barg / Z-AnimationcoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing collaboration with Peter Barg, founder of Z-Animation, one of America's greatest animation company founders. David Goldman has worked closely with Z-Animation for decades to produce animations for clients, learning from Peter's masterful guidance and supreme knowledge in animation production.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• WME (William Morris Endeavor): Global talent representation giant across entertainment, sports, and media. Operates a much broader portfolio than an illustration boutique, but increasingly intersects with commercial creative talent, advertising, and brand endorsements.
• CAA (Creative Artists Agency): Major full-service talent and entertainment agency. While primarily known for film/TV/sports, CAA represents select creative talent and brand/IP clients overlapping with David Goldman Agency's animation and TV-property adjacent business.

Direct peers

• Bernstein & Andriulli: Long-established NYC illustration, photography, and animation representation agency. Directly comparable boutique rep model serving advertising and editorial clients with a curated roster.
• The Jackman Agency: Illustration-focused talent agency representing commercial illustrators to advertising, editorial, and publishing clients — same boutique curation model as David Goldman Agency.
• Handsome Frank: Boutique illustration agency based in the UK representing a hand-picked roster of illustrators to commercial clients. Closely analogous curated-talent rep model with international reach.
• Richard Solomon Artists: Veteran NYC illustration rep firm representing editorial and advertising illustrators. Comparable mid-sized boutique agency with decades of publishing and advertising relationships.
• Folio Art: London-based illustration agency representing commercial illustrators to advertising and editorial buyers. Same curated-rep model and overlapping client industries as David Goldman Agency.
• Agent Illustrative: Boutique illustration agency representing animators and illustrators across commercial projects. Directly comparable talent-representation business serving similar commercial and editorial clients.

Others

• Society of Illustrators: Professional industry body and NYC institution for the illustration community. Not a commercial competitor but adjacent ecosystem participant shaping artist visibility, awards (Society gold/silver medals), and industry recognition cited by David Goldman Agency's roster.
• Behance / Adobe: Major online portfolio and creative-profiling platform used by illustrators to market themselves directly to clients. Potentially disruptive to traditional boutique representation as a self-service discovery channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/david-goldman-agency
• Instagraminstagram.com/dgareps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about David Goldman Agency