Buying art requires knowledge, sound judgment, and a touch of finesse, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can lose your investment – or worse. If you’re looking to start a meaningful art collection, it can be a frightening experience. You can almost feel a palpable apprehension growing inside you. By the time fear subsides, it will be too late, so take action now while you can still see opportunity in front of you. By becoming a patron of the arts, you can help up-and-coming talent to establish their name and support them in making a living by doing what they love.
No doubt, art buying can be fun, enjoyable, and a pleasure. The piece of art you buy today can be passed to your loved ones in the future; you can make an exempt transfer for inheritance purposes. As any art collector will confirm, nothing compares to the thrill of discovery when, following months of careful research, you find the perfect artwork to add to your collection. There’s no universal right or wrong way to buy art. Making mistakes is a part of learning, but some errors can have unwelcome consequences, so don’t fall into these common traps:
Buying Something Because It’s Hype Or Trendy
Whereas most people interpret the term “art market” to designate the high end of big city, elite galleries and auctions, we’ll focus on online markets, where the majority of artists, dealers, and collectors now participate. You can purchase fine art online in just a few clicks from the comfort of your home. With numerous artists and dealers working globally, there are countless options for collectors, and this abundance can create confusion. Don’t fall victim to wasting money on viral items. While it can be helpful to consider how a piece of art catches people’s attention, buying a work of art just because it’s sought after by everyone else isn’t a good reason to purchase it.
When you purchase an artwork, you acquire the artist’s story and the meaning behind their creation. The story is in the emotion, the movement, the contrast of the colors, or even the silence of the composition. Art doesn’t present conclusions – it’s open to interpretation. The story in the art can come from mythology, history, literature, religion, or current events; it can be an idea or an event from the artist’s life. Don’t rush past a piece of art or glance at it and move on. You can fall in love with the unexpected, but you should focus your mind on what’s available in the gallery or what would work well in your home.
Ready-Made Appraisals
Appraisals conducted for fine art (paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, etc.) enable prospective owners to obtain an independent opinion of the value of the purchases. The opinion can be expressed as a specific amount or an adjective. Avoid dealers or arrangements that promise an instant return on the investment or sales accompanied by appraisals. Research current and past sales of artworks by checking sales indices, price guides, and dealers’ inventories to estimate monetary value. For research into collectibles, you can check nearby public libraries for price guides. Remember that an appraisal is an opinion of monetary value, not an authentication.
Mistaking Marketing Materials For Informational Materials
There’s a misconception that any great artists will be eventually discovered and sell well. The truth is that the path to recognition involved hard work – social media exposure, participating in art exhibitions and contests, networking with online art galleries, and capitalizing on PR services. A few artists get lucky and are discovered, but it’s rare. That being said, you should avoid works of art accompanied by marketing materials. Most pieces are an invitation to engage, often including nonfactual, subjective descriptions of the artist, composition, and process. Very few are created for informational purposes, so look for factual biographical material about the artist.
Objects currently on display in galleries are typically found in collections online, and the records can include images, an exhibition history, and a biography of titles. You should check libraries and historical societies in the area the artist is from or was most active, including newspaper articles. Attention must be paid to the fact that an abundance of information can be overwhelming and create a false sense of knowledge. An art advisor can help you buy art that reflects your tastes and interests and provide advice for framing, lighting, and displaying. The art advisor should be a connoisseur, that is, an expert with the scholarship to back it up.
Overlooking The Logistics Of Living With Art
It’s best to have an idea of where you’d like to hang or place your art. You can put larger or investment pieces in the living room or dining room to enhance the ambiance of your space. Think about whether you want to look at a landscape, animals, or flowers. The living/dining room is the place where you watch movies, have conversations, and relax after a hectic day, so you and your guests will really get to appreciate the art. When figuring out the right size, especially if the artwork is going behind the furniture, ensure it doesn’t take up more than 2/3 of the space.
Simple as it might seem, where you can place your art presents challenges for a collector. Knowing where the artwork will live goes beyond the dimensions of the wall, which means you have to consider how to organize your space: a sculpture might not be the ideal choice for a hallway with heavy traffic; similarly, an unframed oil painting wouldn’t be a suitable choice for a child’s bedroom. New pieces of art can transform your home, inspire future interests, and instill the desire for new goals. At the end of the day, go with what feels right to you. Your collection should reflect what resonates with you.
Wrapping It Up
Many artists are open to commissioning artworks for their collectors, so reach out to the artist via their profile and kickstart the conversation.
