We’ve all heard it said before. The golden rule of collecting art is to buy what you love.
Loving the art you purchase is important because you have to live with it. You are responsible for its care and longevity. But just because you love it does not make it a valuable or important work of art. If you are serious about collecting art, and not just decorating your home, make sure to do your homework on the artist and the gallery before you buy. Is it a reputable gallery? Do they have relationships with museum curators and established collectors? What is the artist’s educational background? Has the artist been reviewed by an established art critic? Has the artist’s work been collected by a museum or prominent collector? These are just a few of the many questions you should ask to establish if the art that you have just fallen in love with is worth considering as an addition to your collection.
Glad to see you're blogging again! --Jimmy
Posted by: Jim Young | August 10, 2005 at 11:36 AM
Hi, Paige. It's good to see you posting again!
Posted by: barry | August 10, 2005 at 03:25 PM
I love your site!
Posted by: Laurel | August 21, 2005 at 01:30 PM
Hmm,
on parle alors de traçabilité de l'oeuvre d'art ?
Who really cares of who the artist is ?
this is not show-buiseness !
the only thing that matters is : do you like it ?
( pardonnez mon anglais tout pourri - sorry for my pitiful english )
Posted by: Rémy, extraordinary unknown french artist. | August 26, 2005 at 06:10 PM
Glad to see you're blogging again!
Posted by: russian doctor | September 06, 2005 at 06:12 AM
I may be misunderstanding you, but when you say:
"These are just a few of the many questions you should ask to establish if the art that you have just fallen in love with is worth considering as an addition to your collection."
it implies to me that you're saying you should only buy a piece of artwork if it has financial value.
Using the logic from that statement, if a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt or a Pollock (or whatever your taste) was theoretically not worth any money, then you wouldn't give it space on your wall.
Surely the point about buying art is buying something *you* like, not buying something which someone else has told you that you should like?
I suppose it depends whether you're a real art lover or just an investor.
Posted by: Paul Watson | September 18, 2005 at 11:21 AM
I'm an artist and many of the best collectors in the US and Europe own my work. When I first showed 12 years ago I had no track record, no reviews no MFA, no nothing...and my first show was in a non for profit gallery. The first collectors to invest in my work bought it because they liked it alot, and they bought a lot of it (we're talking maybe 50 pieces over 10 years. Now I borrow back their collections to show in Museums.I don't mean to sound like I'm tooting my own horn, I just want to point out that it doesn't matter who the artist is or where they went to school. The rep of the gallery may help but not always...
It's a minefield for investors because the market for young artists is so inflated, If I had money to collect I'd be looking at mid carreer artists who have the track record and prices are the same as the newbees.
Posted by: corncub | October 06, 2005 at 10:34 AM
A person has the right to be informed about the artist they are purchasing from. It is an even better experience when one can meet the creator of the piece they have come to love. There is a relationship between the artist and the viewer and often galleries confuse this issue to ensure their own role in future transactions. As far as an artist being schooled, trained, exhibited or currently known to determine the value of their expression is an example of limited thinking. Doesn't every artist deserve to be able to purchase more supplies which must meet certain standards to be "accepted" and to also have some money left to eat.
Posted by: Larry Dameworth | November 16, 2005 at 09:46 AM
Or just just collect interesting art of youngh artist. For example someone who's not yet an famous artist, but who's got something to say despite all the conservative Art with the big A.
Posted by: Robert Pennekamp | November 21, 2005 at 07:42 AM
all important criteria for a worthwhile investment...considering a good oil painting will set you back thousands upon thousands of dollars.
Posted by: kristin | December 06, 2005 at 04:40 PM
Excellent blog. Outstanding advice.
Linda Blondheim
Posted by: Linda Blondheim | January 31, 2006 at 07:21 PM
Hi. This is good investment advice, but collecting is about more than just making safe investments. It's about having an eye. Some of the best 20th century collectors bought unfashionable or radical art that the rest of the world had yet to catch on to. For some of these collectors (such as Herbert and Dorothy Vogel), waiting until the art world annointed their favored artists would have meant being priced out of the market altogether.
Posted by: Lisa Hunter | February 05, 2006 at 03:53 PM