Art Collecting: A Beginners Guide
Art collection is a very stimulating and inspiring
hobby for all. It isn’t just for the rich and famous,
but even regular everyday people too. There are
various forms of art that you can choose from,
especially since art’s definition can greatly vary
from one person to another. However, it doesn't really
matter whatever its form is, you’re the one to make
the call on which is attractive and how much are you
willing to spend for such piece.
To Go For Prints Or Originals?
In the art world, some people may look down on others
due to their different tastes in picking out art. For
instance, there are those people who only buy original
works and would never even consider buying prints.
However, you should take note that if you’re just
starting to collect art and is doing this for
enjoyment then originals are not really necessary to
buy, especially if they’re way out of your budget.
There is really nothing wrong with buying prints. In
fact, these are one superb way to have framed art that
would look lovely on your wall, just like how an
original would look, but at a way lower price.
Although here, you would not be having the same
texture as to the original work; since originals
usually show dimension and texture, while prints
won't. However, well printed artworks are not settling
of course.
In fact, a lot of art collectors have art prints by
different artists, which were fairly bought
inexpensively from the Internet, galleries and art
fairs. Amazingly, such pieces still look tasteful and
classy, instead of cheap looking like what most people
expect.
All Framed Up
Once you spot an original or print that you like, you
have the option to frame it by yourself or get
somebody else to do it for you. Generally, you can
find frames in a vast price range, starting from
cheaper metal frames to ornate and hand carved wooden
frames costing you a fortune.
With regard to using mats, which is another way of
framing your picture inside its frame by the use of
papers or illustration boards, you should take note
that such could detract your print. If you don't know
how to frame, then you should get your piece and get
it framed first. While doing so, observe how they’d
offer you different mats and frame styles.
You don’t have to hasten up when picking out the mat
you want to use. In fact, you should take your time
and deliberate on it carefully, since the mat and
frame color combinations can have a great effect on
how well or bad your artwork would look. You should
also consider how the frame would fit-in in whatever
place you’ll put it, like your home or your office.
If you want a clean and contemporary look, it’s
recommended that you use the Nielsen brushed metal
frames, which are not only cheap but are still elegant
looking too. These usually come in different colors.
Nevertheless, it’s safe to go for black or bronze.
If you’ll be placing them in a gallery, bronze would
also do well, especially since it wouldn’t cost you
too much. After all, most people that buy art from
galleries would have the art they bought re-framed in
able for it to match their home decor.
If more of a wood type of person, you can also get
wooden frames that are naturally stained. Cherry and
mahogany are the most preferred styles when it comes
to wooden frames, since their deep and reddish color
bring an elegant look to any artwork.
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Basics Of Buying Art: Whether You’re A Pro Or Not
Buying and collecting art intelligently can be done by
anyone. That's right, anyone. You do not need to have
experience in collecting art, previous knowledge about
the art business, or even a degree in art history. The
truth is, all you’ll need is love for and appreciation
of fine art; plus a yearning to collect; lastly,
willingness to learn a some simple techniques that
would help you evaluate any kind of art work coming
from any period of history, whomever the artist is and
whatever his or her nationality is.
Anything Goes
Although you might read some specific suggestions and
recommendations describing specific works of art, you
should take note that there is really no right or
wrong kind of art and that there’s no right or wrong
method to collect or buy art.
Everyone has the freedom to collect whatever it is
that they feel like collecting and buy whatever pieces
they feel like buying. It doesn’t really matter
whenever and wherever you feel like purchasing art,
for whatever reason, and for how much you feel like
spending on the purchase. As a result, the following
tips are not for everyone, but are typically designed
for those who want to spend their money wisely on
worth it pieces.
If you happen to be one of those people, then here are
some tips on how you can be a better art collector.
Four Way Questions On Buying Art
If the time comes that you see a piece that you want,
whether it be a painting, sculpture or a print, there
are generally four questions that you should ask
yourself to start your decision making.
Who’s The Artist?
To answer this, you have 2 reliable sources: spoken
and written information. Spoken info usually comes
from the artist himself, gallery exhibiting the piece
or the dealer. It can also com from other collectors,
friends, family, and other people that are familiar
about the art or the artist being considered. On the
other hand, written info could come in a number of
forms like artist career resumes, gallery exhibit
catalogues, art reference books and exhibition
reviews. How Important Is It?
This could be answered by simply looking at as many
possible pieces done by the artist. Try to be familiar
with the range of the artists’ art and see where that
particular piece falls. You can start by asking the
seller to show you a number of pieces done by the
artist, whether original, in print, or in photographs.
Also try to see works from all periods of the artist’s
career; doing this can teach you a lot about the
artwork and the artist at hand.
Where Has It Been?
Third, it’s also important to know where that
particular piece of art has been. This is done by
accumulating all incidental information about the
piece. It’s similar to making a biography of the
piece, from its birth, which is the artists’
completion of it, up until the present day.
This can be helpful since good provenance and
documentation can increase an artwork’s desirability,
collectability, and market value. Having a good
provenance in the art world is analogous to having
good pedigree in the pet world. For example, if a
painting was exhibited at a notable and important art
show, then it is more collectible than a similar
painting that wasn't; just the same with awards and
prizes.
Is The Price Fair?
For this question, it doesn’t really matter what the
piece’s value may be in the future, since nobody can
really answer that. What you should want to know is
whether the piece is fairly priced today or not. This
is a very important question, because just like other
services or goods, art can sometimes come overpriced.
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Extra Tips On Selling Your Art
Other than informing your prospective buyers on the
basics of your artworks, how much you are selling
them, and who are the people who have bought from you,
there are still some other things you can do to make
the probability of the sale hike up even higher. Here
are some of them.
Show Pictures Of Your Pictures
One way to encourage your prospective buyers to buy
your art is by showing them photos of how other art
collectors have made use or displayed the pieces they
have bought from you. Seeing your pieces in working or
living environments can be a great encouraging factor.
If you do not have that many collectors yet, you can
show them pictures of how you, yourself displayed your
art in different kinds of environments.
If your prospect is someone who is not really that
familiar with art, doing this tip can be very helpful
and fruitful. Since they may be having some difficulty
in imagining how or where they would display the
piece, if ever they bought it from you. It can also be
the case that they can’t really picture how the piece
would look like in their office or home.
Be Service Oriented
If you really want to make a sale, then your attitude
should show that you do so. Try to make time for
transactions and meetings regarding your art. Also,
try to make yourself available as much as possible to
deliver your piece to the collectors’ home or office.
You should also help them with hanging it, or even
make suggestions on where to place it, if they ask you
to.
If your buyer hasn’t made a specific pick of which
piece they want from your collection, you can also
offer them that you bring a number of your art to
their home or office, free of charge. Do this, so that
they can see how it would fit in their environment.
However, you should also make it clear to them that
they are not obliged to buy it if they don’t want to.
Give Them A Taste Test
If you want, you can also offer people to have a piece
or two of your works for a trial period of one or two
weeks, just to see how they would like the pieces.
However, with this kind of deal, you should make sure
that you have a written contract about your agreement,
get a promissory note, deposit or whatever kind of
security for your art’s safety.
Fish Around
You may also want to try fishing around. Try asking
people reasons of why they like or dislike a certain
piece made by other artists. From their answers, get
some ideas of how they would react if it is your art
in the hot seat. Of course, you do not do this just to
be discouraged, but to be able to think fresh and
innovatively for your next pieces.
Talk Earth Language
One of the most common mistakes of artists that are
first time selling their works is that they talk to
impress. Yes, it is impressive if you know a lot of
techniques, components and factors regarding art.
However, not all people that would be interested in
buying your work are artists too. Some of them may be
everyday people who know nothing about the technical
aspect of art, but are just simply captivated by your
work.
If this is the case, try not to delve into elevated
and heated art discussions, especially if they’re not
really asking for it. Avoid giving them information
that would remain undigested. Try to talk in their
level, since intimidating your prospective buyer would
be the last thing you’d want to do.
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Great Collections: Making Your Own
If you want to build your art collection, you should
do so in an intelligent manner. This is so that
everything you buy for your collection wouldn’t be
considered as a waste of money. However, collecting
art intelligibly would require you to master two
things. First, is to have good research skills, and
second the skill of collecting.
Starting On The Thought Of Collecting
Generally, as most people do, you’d probably have the
knowledge of buying art on a piece-per-piece basis,
yet still may not be thinking of plans like making
multiple achievements as time passes by, or simply,
building up a collection.
Although it is possible to find artworks that you like
anywhere you go, and get to choose from an outstanding
diversity of subject matters, mediums, and price
ranges; doing so can still be confusing and
intimidating, especially if you’re still starting.
Questions such as: "How exactly do you push your way
through and choose which direction to make an
entrance?" "How can you relate one buy to the other?";
"How should you group or organize your art?"; "Are
there ways of presenting it?"; and lastly "How can you
do everything in an excellent manner?"; may come play
in your mind.
However, once you get these queries off you head then
you’ll get to understand the real meaning of
"collection", which is the crucial case of controlled
and purposeful buying.
The Great Collections
Great collectors are extensively respected and usually
as popular as the artworks they collect; such as the
Rockefeller collection, the Chrysler collection, and
the Phillips collection, to name a few. Such
collectors are famous since they demonstrate a great
deal of talent when choosing and organizing their art,
just like the artists themselves are in making the
masterpiece. Similarly, each piece of art in one great
collection orders first-class attention as well as a
first-rate price not just because the piece is good,
but also of the name of the company it bears.
How Great Is ‘Great’?
So how exactly do great collectors become great? Well,
experts believe that it is this skill of being able to
categorize specific artworks from the billions of
works existing and assemble them in such a manner
aiming to advance or increase other’s understanding of
such particular art or of art’s evolution in general.
For any kind of mature collection, the whole thing, as
a group, becomes greater than the value of the parts.
Thus, the collector becomes accepted to be a respected
authority in the matter and in outstanding cases
continues until he’s the one that sets the standards,
establishes the trends, and influences the future of
art collecting for all.
This is how meaningful and influencing great art
collections can be. It all starts from a single piece
of art, until the whole collection itself becomes a
separate artwork from its components.
The First Step To Greatness
No matter how you see your collecting, whether
recreational or serious, there are methods that you
could use to get the most out of not only the value
and quality of your art, but also your personal
appreciation, enjoyment, and understanding of your
art.
Thus, you should know that your first step to
greatness is being real to your tastes. If you want to
be a really great collector someday, then
acknowledging and accepting that you like specific
types of art without considering what other people say
or what is popular in the market, would be the right
thing to do.
Remember, in collecting, you’re making an artwork too
which is composed of different specific pieces. How
you’ll design your artwork is entirely up to you and
not what other people think. So if you’ll be
collecting, be sure to put your heart on it!
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How To Get Started In The Trade Of Art
Being able to sell art is not an easy task. Even those
people who are already art collectors are hesitant to
be the first buyers from obscure or not so well known
artists. Additionally, it is way more difficult to
sell to people who are not really art collectors and
do not know anything about you. However, once you get
to make that first sale of your masterpiece, selling
again would be a lot easier than before.
Is Your Art Ugly?
As an artist, you should not start doubting yourself
about your creativity and skill with your art if you
are unable to sell them or only sell a couple. There
are several reasons on why people who already like art
do not buy pieces often. Such reasons are related to
their knowledge about art, self-confidence, identity
crisis of what their taste really is, and how much it
matters to them what other people would say about the
pieces they buy.
A lot of people in the art industry, whether they are
new ones or old, usually worry of what other people
would say about their purchase, or that their
colleagues and friends would make fun of them. Even
though a person likes a certain artwork of yours, they
are probably not sure on how well done the piece is,
whether it’s really worth the price, or whether you as
an artist is established enough in your career to
warrant such prices.
Thus, your job as an artist is to help those people
that admire your art feel secure and comfortable with
you both, as an artist and a businessperson. As you do
this, you help alleviate whatever other fears that
they may have and have a higher probability that
they’d buy your art.
If you don’t know where to start, then here are some
tips on how you can make admirers of your art buy your
piece and hopefully in time, turn them into patrons.
Tell Them: It’s OK, Really
Before you even start off with your sales talking, you
should be able to show people that purchasing your
artworks is okay. You can try talking about other
collectors that have bought your pieces, what kind of
people they are and how long you have been transacting
with them. Doing this would make your prospective
buyer let go of the thought that you’re just some bozo
trying to sell him a piece of junk and get hold of his
cash.
However, if you haven’t had any collectors, then you
should say so honestly. You should tell your
prospective buyer that you are open to the possibility
of selling your art to them, although you haven’t
really done this before.
How Do You Sell?
You should also talk to them about your method of
selling your art and in what specific circumstances do
people buy it. Additionally, it would be helpful if
you tell stories or anecdotes of how other collectors
have bought their first artworks from you. You should
also talk about your most recent sale, how you were
able to sell it, and for how much.
The method of how you price your works should be
mentioned too, along with which of your work types is
the favourite among collectors, and how many have you
sold all in all.
Exposure
Lastly, it would be very helpful to talk about the
exposures that you’ve had in the industry, such as
museum or institution exhibits, galleries, trade
fairs, and awards or honours that you’ve received.
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Improving Your Art Collecting Skills
Being able to collect good art is one exceptional
talent. Although you may think good art collectors are
born, this is not the case at all. The truth is, the
skill of collecting art can actually be learned! Yes,
and that is one good news for you. So, if you want to
improve further with your collecting skills, here are
some things that you can do to attain such goal.
Get Some Exposure
Getting some exposure on different disciplines of art
is one way to enhance your collecting skills. There
are a lot of national and international art expos and
art fairs that you can attend to. Try attending such
kinds of events to broaden your horizon on different
kinds of art disciplines and forms.
This is also one way to discover not so well-known
aesthetic pieces that have potential on getting a huge
value in the future. However, most importantly, it is
one way to see artworks that can move you and probably
be part of your collection in the near future. Know
Your Kind
Although collecting art can be a personal endeavour
for you, there is nothing wrong with talking to other
art collectors and knowing more about them. In fact,
doing this can be beneficial to you, since you can
learn more about how other collectors started and what
other helpful information they can give you.
They can also give you recommendations like galleries
to visit, events to go to, artists to see works of and
other art related things. Some art collectors even
have clubs or organizations that you can join in.
Read On!
Reading in any aspect can take your knowledge another
level. Thus, reading books about art history and art
collections would definitely improve your skill.
There’s a lot to learn with collecting that you can
actually find not only by looking at pictures, but
also through reading texts about so.
Reading old published literature on the subject is
good, since you can learn the basics of the field and
the essentials of collecting. However, it would still
be better if you are up-to-date with your reading
materials. If you want something fresh and new
regularly, then subscribing to some art magazines
would do the trick!
Magazines, just like books, are helpful resources
where you can learn more about collecting and
collections. However, these magazines standout since
their content are always up to date and new, unlike
with books that may contain faced-out and irrelevant
data.
Reviews: Seeing Another’s Perspective
Seeing art in the perspective of another person is bad
at all. Remember that art is relative, thus, something
may be beautiful in your eyes, yet ugly for another’s
and vice versa. That is why you should learn to
utilize reviews done by international or local art
critics and channel them into something positive.
Instead of being too much influenced by what they say,
try learning from them and see if what they say about
the artwork is true. You should also learn some points
on how they critic a piece, since being able to critic
is yet an important skill to develop collecting
skills. Get Some Help
A little bit of guidance would not hurt if you are
really interested on learning how to make a great art
collection. You can work with a professional art
consultant / art advisor, if you please since for sure
they know what they are doing. They can also teach you
about collecting and even guide you to the whole
process of buying art.
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Misconceptions With Your Art’s Value
Knowing the value of art can require some skill and
experience. If you’re starting on a collection and do
not know how to value art, then lucky you, since you
can always get the help of an art appraiser. However,
if you decide on pursuing the value for yourself, then
be sure that you avoid making some of the common
mistakes regarding the matter.
Most people seeking the value of a piece tend to
simply look at the price list and from there on,
conclude the value of the work in consideration.
However, there is much to value than simple market
prices. Pricelists can be very misleading, since
artworks’ values are not only determined by its price;
here are some of the reasons why, and some other
overlooked factors when valuating an art.
It’s A Bargain!
Sometimes, if an auction is poorly publicized, they
hold sales or bargains in order to sell. Thus, you can
find great art that are priced way low from their real
value in this kind of auctions. There are also
instances in which only single bidders are able to
recognize the significance of the art at hand. During
this kind of situations, the piece can also be sold at
a low price if there are no other bidders who want to
pursue the piece. No Auction Records
There are instances too in which the significant works
of a certain artist have never been sold in any kind
of auction. It’s quite normal for the finest and
popular pieces by an artist to sell for huge amounts
of money, approximately tens of thousands or even
more, at galleries. However, that same artist can have
high auction records only in level of low or
mid-thousands of bucks. Thus, if your artist has not
had any significant work of his through any auction,
then you can also value the work extremely low.
Great Continuums
It can also be hard for you to value the piece if the
price range of the artist is too great. For example,
an artist can have hundreds or even thousands of
auction records, ranging for instance in between
$1000-$200,000. If you are not a competent
professional appraiser, for sure you'll probable have
little or even no idea where the piece would fit in
with a continuum that is vast as that.
Significance Is The Key For an artwork to be
accurately valued, its significance should be
determined. Thus, you should get to know how the piece
would level in respect to how excellent, well, or bad
it is done, compared to the other works of the same
artist. Techniques used in the piece and its overall
aesthetics play a role here. So, if your piece at hand
is really good, yet you’re not able to know or see how
good it is, then for sure you’re going to value it way
low from its justified value.
Unearthing History Matters
Additionally, historical significance would also
matter in valuing your art. The more it is
historically significant, the higher its value is.
Factors like the piece being able to transcend its
artist due to what it represents, when it was created,
where it was done, and other similar mitigating
aspects, play a role with its history significance.
Thus, if you haven’t uncovered the historical
significance of your art, then it would probably have
a low value for you.
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Playing It Safe With Appraisals
Appraising an artwork is one important step especially
if you are building a collection. Thus, you should
take every precaution there is to appraise your art
correctly. If you are new to this kind of trade, it
can be really hard on your part. The good thing is,
there are resources and appraisal organizations that
can help you comprehend appraisal needs that you have.
Importance Of Appraisal
Not only is having an appraisal important, but also
updating it is crucial, so that your insurance
coverage on specific artworks or collections can be
updated. You are usually obliged to have a current art
appraisal, if your art has insurance claims,
charitable donations, estate tax, is for equitable
distribution or for sale.
There are various kinds of art appraisals, such as
replacement value and current value. However, you
should make sure that you know each and their
differences in order to get appraisals that would fit
your needs. Here are some of the most established
appraisal associations that can help you out with your
artwork appraisal needs.
American Society Of Appraisers (ASA)
This is an organization for appraisal professionals
and other people who may be interested in the
profession of appraising. They have an international
status, and are very independent and self-supportive.
They’re also the oldest among appraisal orgs and the
only major organization that represents all different
disciplines of the appraising industry. They started
back in 1936 and became incorporated in 1952. You can
find ASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Appraisal Foundation (AF)
This foundation is a not-for-profit educational group
that is dedicated for the development of professional
valuation. It was established back in 1987. Since the
foundation started, they have worked hard to promote
professionalism in field.
Appraisers Association Of America (AAA)
For the field of personal property appraisal, this is
considered to be the oldest non-profit professional
organization. They’re a recognized authority for
determining appraisal standards, setting legal issues
and regulating the profession. Their certified members
can provide you appraisals for your decorative and
fine arts, jewellery, and other household contents.
Art Dealers Association Of America Art Appraisals
(ADAA)
This association has been existing for more than
fort-five years already. Their service has been
appraising different artworks for tax purposes. A lot
of collectors and museums have asked their help in
determining the value of many important artworks,
ranging from contemporary art installations to old
master paintings. Their appraisals have exceptional
acceptance records with the IRS. They’re also
well-known because of their professional quality.
Chicago Appraisers Association (CAA)
Don’t be fooled by their association’s name. They’re
not just one appraiser with a limited knowledge in a
single area, specifically Chicago; instead, they’re
one whole team of certified experts that are ready to
help you with your appraising needs. If you checkout
their website, you can find some helpful articles on
appraising and some of the frequently asked questions
in the field, answered.
The International Society of Appraisers (ISA)
This member-driven and non-profit association was
formed to help its member’s needs and provide public
service by making ethical, highly qualified,
recognized appraisers for the field of personal
property appraisals. They have a lot of prestigious
members who are independent and respected appraisers,
estate liquidators, auctioneers, consultants, dealers
and gallery owners.
So, if you want to make sure that you’re getting the
right appraisal for your artwork at hand, then try
asking for help from such credited institutions!
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The Essentials On Authenticating And Attributing Art
You can find art for sale almost anywhere, most of it
coupled with a variety of forms of certification,
documentation, authentication, provenance,
attribution, and all other claims that the piece is by
this artist, etc. But guess what? None of these
papers, claims, certificates of authenticity,
documents or even tall tales mean a thing if they're
not stated, authored, or else traceable to or directly
associated with accepted, recognized, and qualified
authorities about the art in question, and also the
artist themselves.
So here are some of the essentials to know on
attributing and authenticating art, how it works and
who the people to be trusted are.
They’re All Connected-Not!
One of the most pervasive problems in selling art
deals with "attributed" art. It’s so common that every
kind of unqualified individual would attribute
artworks to different kinds of artists, sad to say
100% of these attributions are considered to be
worthless.
How come? Simply because in the art industry,
legitimate attributions are only made by known and
recognized authority figures that have legitimate
authority on the attributed artists’ names.
Defining "Attributed"
Officially and technically speaking, "attributed"
means a specific work of art, which is most likely an
original, is at the hand and is certified by a
qualified authority on the matter. Take note that your
keywords here are "qualified authority". Thus, if the
attribution is done by an unqualified person, then it
would be meaningless.
Who Are The Qualified Authority?
A qualified authority is someone who really knows what
he/she is talking about and has the proof to anything
he/she says. Qualified authorities are those people
that have deliberately studied the artist under
consideration, have already published papers about the
artist, and have curated major gallery shows or
museums catering the works of the artist.
They can also be someone who have taught courses about
the artist; bought or sold at least dozens or even
hundreds of artworks by the artist; have written
magazine articles, books, or catalogue essays about
the artist, and the like.
The artist him/herself can also be a qualified
authority, along with his relatives, employees, direct
descendants, and heirs. Also, people who have formal,
legal, or estate-granted sanctions or entitlements in
able to pass judgment the artist’s works are
considered to be qualified authorities. Most
importantly, they should be recognized throughout the
whole art community to the people in charge when it
comes to the matter of dealing with works by that
artist.
Who Are Not Qualified?
The list of people whom are not qualified could take
forever to complete. However, here are some of the
general characteristics of those unqualified people
who most likely say that they are qualified.
First off, you should watch out for those who think
that the piece they are selling is by this certain
artist just because the work ‘looks like’ it is done
by that artist; also, those who think that the piece
is by that artist because they saw some illustrations
from art books that are similar to the piece at hand.
Additionally, sellers that answer you with "that is
what the previous owner told me" kind of questions are
not to be trusted. You really can’t rely on
tattle-tailing to very if the work is an original or
not. This is just the same if they say that the work
is by such artist because the previous owner is rich
and famous.
You should also watch out for art appraisers, since
they only appraise and not authenticate; unless they
have qualifications to do so. Take note that appraisal
and authentication are two different things.
So, if you’re planning on buying a so-called original,
then you must make sure that the person you’re talking
to is a qualified authority, or better yet, the artist
himself!
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Top Four Tips On Collecting Art
Art collection can be a favourable hobby, past-time,
or even investment. If you are new to this kind of
activity, you can be overwhelmed with the vast number
of approaches that you can choose from. So, to make
things easier for you, here are some of the best tips
you can get in regards to collecting art.
Buy Because Of What?
First off, you should understand that you should buy
an artwork because you like it. Yes, it’s just that
simple. Although it may be common sense, a lot of
people still overlook this important idea. Some buy
pieces because other people told them so, or because
they saw others buying something similar. If you find
a piece that moves you, and you think can enhance your
life, then buy it! You do not have to wait for the
approval of others to do so since the whole decision
is yours.
What use is the beauty of an artwork that you bought,
if personally, you don’t appreciate it or find it
disgusting, even? Remember, in collecting art, there
is nothing more self-gratifying than seeing a piece
that communicates with you and moves your soul, most
especially if it’s a piece that remains fresh and
exciting for you even though you’ve seen it for
hundreds of times. Go Gallery Hopping!
Another good thing to do when you’re starting a
collection is to go gallery hopping. Try to go to as
many art galleries that you can visit. Galleries’
staff guides can be helpful to you and can add up to
your art education. Going to galleries can also be one
good way of being exposed to different kinds of art,
whether it is a gallery on paintings, sculptures or
prints.
Galleries provide you with the real thing. Thus, you
can examine more of the details of different works of
art. Most of the time, galleries showcase some
prestigious collections too. Viewing such, can yet be
another way of seeing the collections of other people
and generating ideas for your own collection. Get
Connected
Most galleries also have a mailing list that regularly
update you on their latest happenings and events.
Being connected and up to date with what’s happening
is another way to help you start with your collection.
Sometimes, if there are openings or special events
that these galleries hold, they can invite you to go.
Once you are invited, try your best to attend such
events so that you can be more exposed to the
industry. Additionally, events like these can bring
you opportunity to know more people within the
industry, and find more good deals around.
Go Local
If there are not much of art galleries in your place,
then you can still go local! Try visiting and joining
local art museums or non-profit art centers. You may
be surprised to see how local talents in your area
create masterpieces that seem priceless, yet you can
buy at a cheap price. Since probably most of them are
still budding artists, then you’ll probably spot some
good deals around in which the beauty of the piece
remains unaltered.
Also, the curators of such places sometimes provide
lectures for those who are interested in collecting
art. Some lectures may have a very cheap fee, while
some can come for free, especially if there are big
companies sponsoring the event.
