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Newsletter>
A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Art
July 22, 2006
Yes, you too can collect. Investing in art is no longer an
exclusive past time of the elite, thanks in part to the
world wide web. Auction houses and galleries are always
great places to look for art, but guess what? You don’t
have to live in a metropolitan city, attend gallery
receptions, or look for an art consultant.
You don’t even have to leave your living room. All you need
is an internet connection. But how do
you distinguish a good investment from an overpriced piece
of…...well, you know. Sometimes its hard to tell. There
are many things to consider, and this can be confusing.
I’ll try to make it simple.
First, you need to decide if you’re buying art with the
purpose of collecting a valuable piece that will mean
something to you and your family in years to come, or if
you’re in the market to decorate your home, and have no
interest in whether the painting is a monetary investment.
Both reasons are fine, but let’s look at it from a
collector’s perspective, because this is where many other
factors come into play.
When you invest thousands of dollars in a painting, you
want it to truly be worth that much. A good place to start
is the simplest task of all: notice what you like. What
appeals to you in terms of style, subject matter, color,
etc. No, not everything that appeals to you will be a
valuable piece (and not every valuable piece will appeal to
you), but what’s the point of buying a collectible piece of
art that you don’t even enjoy? The next thing to consider
is the artist. Does the artist have solid training and
artistic ability? Is he/she dedicated to making art
professionally and progressing his/her skill, and exposure;
therefore increasing the value of your piece? Well, if you
aren't an art historian, art professor, or trained artist,
it can be very difficult to tell. This is where self
educating comes in handy. We are leaving the post modernist
age of conceptual art, ( which made collecting art a bit
more than bizarre) and coming into a new art era. A return
to classical art and traditional academic painting is
certainly a large part of the future. Find out what
artists have put into their training and education. This
should be a helpful indicator of the future monetary worth
of the artwork as well as the dedication of the artist.
It’s true that there have always been brilliant artists
with no formal education, but these are uncommon. In terms
of investing, it’s a safer bet that someone who has spend
20 or 30K on graduate school is more likely to be serious
about the profession.You can read about artists in
magazines and online, and visit art school websites. Some
noteworthy ones are the two art academies in the US, The
New York Academy of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy.
So what if you find an artist you like, or see several
paintings by different artists that you are drawn to, but
you’re worried about making a bad investment? You can
narrow them down, in terms of long term investment, by
asking certain questions about the craftsmanship. There are
a few things you need to be aware of.
What kind of surface is the painting on? If the
painting is on a wood panel, there are specific kinds of
panel and ways of preparation that are a must.
Historically, many artists used hardwood boards for
painting. Natural wood panels tend to last an extremely
long time if prepared correctly. They should be primed with
gesso or some archival primer on both sides to keep
moisture out, which can cause warping and cracking of the
wood. More modern types of panels to look for are MDF or
HDF board, which is Medium or High Density Fiber board.
These are made acid neutral and are compressed from wood
fibers to reduce the chance of warping and cracking. They
are not as succeptable to moisture, but like all paintings,
moisture should be avoided. One panel to be wary of is
masonite, because of warping and possible acidic gasses
which can be released over long periods of time, as well as
the fragility of the surface. Plywoods should be avoided
for the same reasons.
Canvas is another surface which is great because of its
portability and light weight; but with canvases, the
preparation is a bit more important. Essentially, there are
two predominant types of canvas used by artists: linen and
cotton. Both have their pros and cons, and may last several
hundred years, but eventually all cloth surfaces will
deteriorate. Linen tends to last longer, but due to the
absorption rates of the oils in the paint, each gives
different qualities to the painting, so it depends on the
choice of the artist. It is important to understand the
preparation of the work, because at some point it will need
to be transferred to another surface. Here, the most
important thing is that there is a substantial, elastic
layer of paint called the paint film. A quick way in
determining this is the canvas itself. If you can see raw
canvas, this means that the painting does not have a
consistent layer over the whole piece. Once the canvas
breaks down, which will occur faster due to exposure to
elements in the air, the painting won’t hold together well,
making transfer to another surface very difficult. Also
you can look at the back of the canvas. If there is paint
bleeding through, and you see oil splotches instead of the
primer or gesso coming through, these oils will accelerate
the fiber deterioration. (The primer may be any color, but
white or some neutral color is quite often used. You should
be able to tell by the texture, it appears like tiny dotts
in the weave of the fabric.) Often artists will even prime
the back of the canvas which significantly extends the life
of the piece. This is not absolutely necessary, but
certainly helps.
Next you can find out what medium was used. Acrylic
paintings may be just as beautiful as oil paintings,
however, contemporary research is questioning the long term
viability of the binding medium in this paint. Often the
colors and the paint film break down, giving the painting a
life of maybe 150 years. Oils, on the other hand, can last
almost indefinately if taken care of. The first paintings
done in oils in northern Europe by such geniuses as Jan Van
Eyck are almost as vibrant as the day they were painted.
What we have learned from the last hundred years or so is
that most paintings done in experimental techniques tend to
break down or fade over time. Works by Jackson Pollock are
disentigrating before our eyes. If you look at a Van Gogh,
that gray in the sky was once a vivacious blue. It is such
a terrible loss, but one questions if they may have been
able to create these works if they had followed traditional
methods of painting. Yet, making a lasting painting with
texture can be done, simply look at the work of Rembrandt.
One reason that the great paintings of the old masters are
so famous is that they are still around. They were not only
master artists, they were pioneers of the sciences of their
time. Likewise, in a few hundred years, the paintings that
are still around from our era will be the ones in the
museums because there are so many pieces executed in
experimental techniques now that many of them will not make
it. So as a rule of thumb, artists with more training tend
to have more information on lasting methods of preparation
and painting.
You should always find out all of this information
before you buy because you don't want to pay a lot for a
piece that is perhaps beautiful, but could turn out to be a
restoration nightmare. Of course you should always ask
yourself first what you want. These guidelines are just one
tool in determining what you want to buy. Not everyone
cares if a painting they bought will be around in two
hundred years; it all depends on your personal reasons for
buying. Just be aware that these factors may have a
significant impact on the price of the work and feel free
to ask questions.
How much should you spend? That varies greatly. You may
spend a few hundred or thousands of dollars on a painting
depending on size, materials, style, and the artist’s
reputation. Looking at gallery websites for price lists
can give you an idea, but in the end you have to decide how
much you would like to spend and what it is worth to you.
In determining a fair price you can look at other artists
who work in a similar technique, and are at a similar stage
in their careers. They may give you comparable prices for
reference.
Where to buy? As I mentioned before, the internet has
changed the way people buy art. You should explore every
venue, including walk in galleries as well as online
galleries and auction sites . One very affordable place to
buy art right now is Ebay, where galleries may sell
artwork at more affordable prices because they aren't
paying for gallery space. There are other websites such as
www.fine-art.com, or www.artbyus.com , where you can find
art as well. These tend to have fewer items and artists,
but are also worth looking through. This is a huge factor
in buying New York artists’ work, since space here is such
a big( ahem, small) issue. Also, don’t be afraid to check
out artists in your own locality. You never know what’s out
there. Colleges and especially graduate schools are a great
place to look because you have a chance of buying work from
up and coming artists at very reasonable prices. Especially
if you like looking for “diamonds in the ruff”, this can be
a fun and rewarding way to start your collection. Imagine
if you bought a Picasso when he was 18 for next to nothing
compared to the 90 million dollars his works sell for now.
So get out there. The more art you look at, the more you
can see in the art. Drop by a local gallery, check out the
University student exhibition; they’ll just be glad someone
came! (I say this from personal experience…) But most of
all, trust your instincts, you already know more than you
think.
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