Contemporary art is a Wild West. Because there is no clear standard or assessment of creative genius available today, it’s often puzzling and frustrating to see how some childish art may be valued for a lot more than a beautiful painting. Contemporary art collecting is a multi billion economy where some artists make it big and others struggle for good. If you’re new to the art collecting world and want to get some insight, let’s have a discussion here! As an artist, art collector, and educator, I’m going to outline several characteristics that affect artist’s popularity, pricing and more. I’ll discuss the value of collecting art prints and what to look for in art pieces. I’m not an art dealer or museum curator, therefore views are strictly my own that reflect my understanding of contemporary art.
Why buy original art
There are many reasons why people collect art. It can be status, speculation, and love of art! I find that people collect American fine art simply because it’s their passion. They really love discovering new artists and following their careers. Art is an investment for many art collectors, especially the male ones. Primary goal is to invest in popular art that appreciates in value over time even more. Contemporary American art displayed at home shows taste and highlights luxury lifestyle. Another reason for art collecting may be to support the livelihood of contemporary artists. By doing so, you give them the opportunity to paint daily.
Be clear on your goal. Do you want to collect art for pure joy, investment or patronage of the artist? It could be all of the reasons mentioned above or just one.
Know what you like & what you want to invest in
I think it’s super important to educate yourself in art history and contemporary art to make good art purchases. Relying on art advisers, art brokers or gallery directors alone is a mistake because you end up relying on someone else’s taste, while you’re the only person who would live with the art piece at home. It’s good to hear their opinion and reasons for or against the painting, but the the final purchase decision should be yours.
Study art history to figure out what you’re passionate about the most. Educate yourself in major art movements and artists of each time period. Understand the reasons why those artists got their fame. Figure out what time period interests you the most. Next, ask yourself if you favor old historic paintings or contemporary art. Do you like American fine artists or the Italian ones? Answers to these questions come with experience going to art exhibitions, museums, interaction with galleries and reading. It does take time and effort to develop taste and to distinguish between good and bad art.
“Any dealer who says, ‘you have to buy it now or it’s going to be gone,’ I generally won’t do business with,” art collector & ambassador Sondland said in the 2016 interview. “I try to go back and visit it again because, in different moods, art interacts with you differently. And I might be in a manic mood, I might be in a great mood, I might walk in and look at the painting and say, ‘I want to buy that.’ But then the next day, I’ll go and look at the same painting and say, ‘what was I thinking? It doesn’t inspire me.’” You can read the article here: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gordon-sondland-art-collection-1710738
Learn what makes a painting great:
Great art has a message expressed beautifully. When it’s not heavy on concept or idea, paintings and sculptures can still be strong pieces visually. This is where you need to recognize Quality in art. By Quality I mean creativity/voice+artistic skill+technical skill+high-quality art supplies & presentation. Most importantly, good art generates emotional response that continues to grow on you every day. It could be a memory of a place or event, a combination of lines and color or something else. Emotional interaction with the piece is very personal.
Below you’ll find several extensive articles about art history, movements and more:
- Art movements, education, patrons and more: https://veronicasart.com/learn-what-makes-a-painting-great-video-1-part-1/
- Composition, color, lines & emotion: https://veronicasart.com/learn-what-makes-a-painting-great-video-1-part-2-composition-color-lines-and-emotion/
- Contemporary art: https://veronicasart.com/contemporary-art-learn-what-makes-it-great-today/
If you like American art and would like to collect fine artists of America, you can read the following articles here:
- If you like Hyperrealism: https://veronicasart.com/contemporary-art-hyperrealism-10-amazing-artists-who-crush-it/
- Contemporary women artists: https://veronicasart.com/17-contemporary-women-artists-the-best-of-real-and-surreal-in-painting/
- Art Context Miami 2018 includes both American art and International artists: https://veronicasart.com/art-miami-context-art-miami-2018-contemporary-realism-painting-and-more/
- Art in Palm Beach 2018: https://veronicasart.com/art-palm-beach-international-2018-highlights/
How to start art collecting
- Collect what touches your soul. I often visit commercial galleries and notice that not every painting creates emotional response in me. Sometimes I see dead paintings. Other times I can admire the technique and I rarely see the piece that moves me in a profound way.
- Constantly educate yourself in the arts cultivating taste and aesthetics.
- Be on mail lists of your favorite art galleries, museums and artists.
- Attend receptions at galleries and auction houses. Make connections with professionals. Schedule studio visits with artists!
- Know the artist you’re purchasing from. I think when the connection is personal, art grows on you even more.
- If art collecting is a clear investment for you, research the artist on Sotheby’s or other art auction house to see a range of paintings available and at what price they sell. Price may vary considerably over time and in different gallery. It also may go up or down in value. Buy famous art from reputable sources like Christie’s or established blue chip art gallery to minimize cheating. If you like contemporary art, go to Artsy or Artnet to see the price range of your favorite living artist. A lot of established galleries don’t display pricing, intimidating possible collectors.
- You can negotiate pricing above $10,000.
- Art must be unique and have a signature of the artist along with the certificate of authenticity.
- If artists don’t have gallery representation, contact the artist directly. If the artist sells through the gallery, you should contact the manager/director/owner of the gallery asking to view and purchase the art. Artists abide by the rules and have a relationship with the gallery, not selling their paintings directly but bringing the clientele to the gallery.
check out visionary art for sale
What established artists have:
- Unique style, meaning that you can instantly recognize the artist’s work among the rest.
- Education level. It’s not a requirement but it often plays into the level of artist’s work.
- Sales record/collections list. If artists have notable placement in art museums or prominent corporate collections, it raises the artist’s status.
- Artists work on their careers diligently. It’s not a hobby. Artists are often experts in their fields of study.
- Consistent pricing.
- Other achievements ( grant recipients, etc)
Art posters: to buy or not to buy
Art posters, open edition prints limited edition prints:
Art posters (prints of original paintings, drawings, etc) give people a chance to decorate their homes on a budget. Art posters also give artists a chance to raise some cash when selling originals may be difficult.
There are two types of art prints: limited edition and open edition. Open edition prints have no signature and are not numbered. So you have no way of knowing how many prints get printed. It could be just a few or 10k. It’s often doesn’t matter because it’s a nice way to bring art home and not to worry about the cost of owning the print. Open edition prints are affordable and make great art gifts.
Limited edition prints are limited in number. Different sizes may have their own limited editions. (Say, a 5×10″ print could be an edition of 20, while an 18×24″ could be an edition of just 10 prints).
A limited edition print must have artist’s signature and two numbers, like 1/500 (fist print in edition of 500). The smaller the number of prints, the more valuable the limited edition could be. Artist’s signature gives the series authentication. However, limited edition giclee prints are just computer reproductions. They don’t have much value unless it’s issued by a famous artist.
Limited-edition, signed giclee prints may accrue value if they’re issued by a famous artist but in no way it would equal to the value of original art (purchase price + appreciation over time). As a rule, giclee prints don’t have that much value, original art is valuable, assuming it’s a good one.
Printmaking & lithography:
Hand-pulled art prints have a lot more value. These are signed and numbered lithographs, intaglios, screen prints and other forms of printmaking when every print (in the limited edition) is hand-pulled by the artist. This is a very labor-intensive process that requires knowledge and skill to do it well technically assuming the artistry of the image itself is good.
Lithographs get printed off of the stones. Silkscreens get printed off the silk screen. Intaglios are printed off of the metal plate. Andy Warhol made limited edition silkscreens. Rembrandt was a master printer, producing not only oil paintings but also intaglio prints. Lithographs are also inherently limited in number. They can be either black-and-white or in color. The process of hand-printing in color pulling the print through the press requires a considerable skill that’s often taught in art colleges. All hand-pulled prints must line up colors perfectly. They also must have even printing of colors, clean white borders and backing. All prints are numbered and signed by the artist.
Factors that go into predicting whether an artist’s work will increase in value over time
This is a grey area. Sometimes great artists perish and get rediscovered years or centuries later (Vermeer, Gaugin, van Gogh, etc). Other times the artist could be hot but it doesn’t mean he’ll go down in history passing his prime.
There are a few points for you to consider trying to figure out if you make a good investment in art.
- Art is truly unique. The artist’s voice is so one-of-a-kind it stands out.
- Art is in important collections in art museums, corporate or private collections of famous people or elite.
- Artist has been serious working on his/her career for years and often exhibits nationally and even internationally. There is a considerable body of work shown across art museums and galleries.
- Artist may have permanent public art installations.
- Check out the following artists that conform to all the points above: Carole Feuerman, Karen LaMonte, Kehinde Wiley, Arantzazu Martinez, Philipp Weber, Kaws, Koons, Hirst.
Art websites to check out:
- Sotheby’s
- Christie’s
- Artnet – contemporary art & auction research tool
- 1stdibs – contemporary art, fashion, furniture, jewelry and more
- SaatchiArt – contemporary art, abstract to realism
- MutualArt – auction price database search via premium membership
- MyModernMet – well curated contemporary art, inspiration
- The Colossal – curated contemporary art
- State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
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