Privacy Policy

Maecenat operates an invitation-only gallery at maecenat.com where artists offer original work in painting, sculpture, photography, and studio craft, and patrons purchase it directly. We take no commission on any sale. This policy covers everyone who uses the site — artists, patrons, and visitors. By using Maecenat you agree to the practices described here.

We collect only what we need to run the gallery:

• Account information — your name, email address, and phone number, provided when you create an account or apply to join as an artist.
• Artist information — for artists, the biography, disciplines, profile image, and the images, video, descriptions, dimensions, and pricing of the work you submit.
• Purchase information — for patrons, a record of the pieces you buy, order amounts, and any shipping details you share. Payment card details are handled entirely by Stripe and are never stored by Maecenat.
• Messages — the content of direct messages you exchange with other members through the site.
• Saved works — the pieces you save to your account.
• Technical information — basic data your browser sends, and the session cookies that keep you signed in.

We use the information above to:

• create and maintain your account and authenticate you;
• review artist applications and listings, and operate the gallery;
• process purchases and connect buyers with artists after a sale;
• send transactional email — verification codes, application updates, sale and purchase confirmations, and replies to your enquiries;
• protect the site against fraud, abuse, and misuse.

We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

Payments are processed by Stripe. When you buy a piece, your payment is made as a direct charge to the artist’s connected Stripe account — Maecenat takes no commission, and the buyer covers only Stripe’s processing fee. Stripe collects and processes your payment details under its own privacy policy. Maecenat receives a confirmation of the transaction and an order record, but never your full card number.

We share information only in these limited circumstances:

• Between buyer and artist — when a sale completes, we introduce the buyer and artist through a private message thread so they can arrange shipping. Each party sees the other’s name.
• Service providers — Stripe for payments, and our hosting and database providers, which store data on our behalf under their own security and privacy obligations.
• Legal reasons — where required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of Maecenat, its members, or the public.

Your information is stored with our database and hosting providers and protected by access controls, row-level security, and encrypted connections. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to safeguard your information and limit access to it.

Maecenat uses only the cookies needed to keep you signed in and to operate the site securely. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

We keep your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the gallery. Order and transaction records may be retained longer where required for legal, tax, or accounting purposes. You may ask us to close your account and remove your information, subject to those obligations.

You may review or update most of your information from your account at any time. To request access to, correction of, or deletion of your information, or to ask a question about this policy, contact us at the address below. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights over your personal data; we will honour those rights as the law requires.

Maecenat is intended for adults. The site is not directed to anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date above. Significant changes will be communicated through the site or by email.

Questions about this policy or your information can be sent to admin@maecenat.com, or through our contact page.