The Cultural Rise of Chelsea & New York’s Place in the Art Market

History of Chelsea and the NY Scene

The first gallery district developed in lower Manhattan in the early 1880s, and consisted of a few galleries set around City Hall. These were all for wealthy clients and housed primarily European work. Work was always shipped over from Europe, with the exception of the Babcock Gallery, which was the first to solely exhibit American Artists.

The Galleries followed the movement of the rich upper classes to Greenwich Village, then upwards to Madison Square Park before moving on to the 50s, away from the increasing migrant populations. This pattern continued, with the Galleries following their clients.

At the turn of the century, wealthy families continued to move, this time to the Upper East Side, and the Galleries followed once again. The New Art Centre along 5^th Avenue became a foundational base for the neighbourhood, and one that would develop into an area that contains some of the most respected Art Institutions and Museums in the World. The relationship between Galleries and Collectors began to change as the demographic altered to accommodate for the rising wealthy middle classes.

The Great Depression completely demoralised the Art scene, and around only 30 Galleries survived. Those that did were all characterised by the fact that they sold European Masters and famous and established American Artists. Post War New York saw huge upward movements from an influx of money and European Artists. In 1945 there were roughly 90 Galleries. This figure grew to 406 Galleries in 1960, then rose steeply to 761 by 1975.

Attention spread into the East Village, before moving to Lower East Side, West Chelsea and into the Neighbourhoods of Williamsburg and DUMBO. Chelsea grew into the creative and cultural hub that it is today, and was helped along by the fact that it still had many affordable spaces for Artists to work in and Galleries to exhibit. By the 2000s, Chelsea was home to more than 300 galleries. Today it flourishes as an inventive and innovative area for creativity.

New York’s Place in the International Art World

The rise of Abstract Expresisonism was the crowning point on a huge shift of focus of cultural attention onto New York. Big hitting Artists such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline and Mark Rothko captured the international Artworld’s attention, and the type of Art that they created looked to break free from that of the past and open it up into new spaces and grand, expressive terrains. The second generation of these Artists, people such as Robert Raushenberg and Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, continued to generate significant waves of influence throughout the Art World that are still felt today.

Prior to this, Paris had held the position of artistic and cultural capital of the Western world for quite some time. The age of the Salon, Gustav Courbet, Paul Gauguin and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec had given way for Braque and Pablo Picasso. This time had also been hugely popular for writers and poets, and is exemplified in Ernest Hemingway’s book ‘A Moveable Feast’. James Joyce, F Scott Fitzgerald, T S Eliot, Gertrude Stein and many others mingled with these Artists to create an electrifying atmosphere of creativity that has been romanticised by historical nostalgia ever since.

New York represented a break from these European traditions. It was the New World, and even it’s architecture laid down a confident and unapologetic newer form of aesthetics and artistic interests. With the Atlantic Ocean separating these two cities, it became easier for the American Artists to step outside of the long and rich tradition of European Painting, which has run continuously since the work of Duccio and others in the Proto-Renaissance.

In Phaidon’s Interesting book ‘Art Cities of the Future’, it looks at the emerging Avant Garde scenes from around the world. Cities such as Beirut, Bogotá, Cluj, Delhi, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Lagos, San Juan, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and Vancouver are all explored in depth, by a curator from each respective city. There is no doubt that in an interconnected world, the activity of Artists from all across the globe are easier to report upon, and other places that have traditionally been seen as less influential on the Western Art Market are continuing to rise. However, this has done little to draw influence away from the importance of New York’s Power and cultural clout as an Art Scene, and it remains one of the most importance and relevant places in the world when it comes to understanding and interpreting the currents and ideas that shape the contemporary Art scene.

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Inequality within the Art Market

Tiers within the Artworld

Firstly, it is important to understand that there are many alternative tiers within the Artworld. These are the various different subsets and networks that consist of Artists, buyers, collectors, gallerists, curators and consultants.

From the Artist selling paintings for $1000 each and making a successful living, right through to celebrity living Artists that have achieved an infamous, cult like status (such as Damien Hirst), these are examples of the markers that can be used to draw lines and distinguish between these different tiers. Within this article we will concentrate on the very upper end of the spectrum.

The Continuing Boom of Sales

In 2012, Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sold for around $120 million at auction. Many prophesized that this was the pinnacle of an Art Market bubble, one that was destined to crash, yet less that a week later, the Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko’s artwork ‘Orange, Red, Yellow’ sold for nearly $87 million.

The prices for Artworks at this end of the spectrum are astronomical, yet according to Sergey Skaterschikov, a man who publishes an influential art-investment report; no painting bought at $30 million or more has ever been re-sold at a profit. At this level, cultural prestige and the ability to signal wealth are just a couple of the defining factors for sales. One would hope that a deep and profound love for Art, and the historical value of a work is also a motivating desire for these buyers as well.

Art as an asset for a small subset of super wealthy individuals

Benjamin Madel is an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and studies the Art Market because ‘it’s a great way to study asset price valuations.’ In his opinion, Fine Art (at this price level) is, in a sense separated from the rest of the global economy because it is in fact part of an economy for a small subset of the super rich. These people are often referred to as Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI). From Mandel’s research he concluded that for their economy, Fine Art has retained solid stability over the years.

The rise of UHNWIs in Brazil, China and India has also provided an influx of new individuals interested in the purchasing of high end Artworks for exceptionally large prices. This movement also places even greater emphasis on the Artists from these countries, and resurgences in esoteric styles that had previously been largely ignored by this market are becoming more and more popular as collectors, consultants, gallerists, dealers and institutions look further for new talent. Or more accurately, search for talent that will become even more successful later. This happened for Korean Minimalism, as well as a newfound interest in older Scandinavian Landscape Painting for example.

To demonstrate the rise in investment from these wealthy collectors, in 2003, at Christie’s in Hong Kong, sales came to around $98 million, whilst in 2011, they has risen to $836 million.

What this means for the Artists

Gerhart Richter, the prominent German Painter was recently cited as commenting on how odd and abstract he found these high prices. As an Artist himself, he wanted to remind people that it was generally after an Artwork had been sold (for which an Artist normally receives 50% of the sale and the Gallery takes the other half) and then consequently resold, that the value tended to inflate. In his eyes some kind of crash is inevitable when people are dealing with money and value in these extremes.

Art Funds and insider trading

There are also Art Investment funds that operate much like hedge fund or asset management firm. The ‘Fine Art Fund’ work on a minimum investment of $500,000, and their managers use industry connections and Art expertise to buy Art cheaply, at the right time, before selling it on at a much higher price and returning the profit to the investors. The Art Market isn’t regulated like financial securities, so this kind of insider trading isn’t illegal.

Art and value

With the rise of the UHNWIs, there are many more willing global buyers, and this continues to push up prices. Art is completely unique in the way that it is valued because its fiscal value is directly linked to a network of wealthy collectors, dealers, institutions and gallery owners. Working out the cultural value of a completely unique Picasso, Munch or Van Gogh painting in financial terms is an incredibly complex process. And at the end of the day, if there is a willing buyer ready to part with a spare $120 million, then the sale will probably go right ahead.

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Important Ideas that changed Art Forvever – Fauvism

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Impressionism was widespread and popular. The way that the movement worked to capture the effects of light on its soft and serene landscapes and city scenes had also captivated widespread public attention. The movement was named after Monet’s highly respected and famous ‘Impression: Sunrise’ painting.

Fauvism was born from this artistic context, as a reaction to what it saw around it. Bold unnatural colors and simplistic, expressive forms, figures and landscapes characterized the movement. The artworks favored painterly qualities and championed expression and aesthetic impact over representational likeness.

Color

The artists that worked in this style often squeezed paint straight from the tube onto the canvas, without mixing or altering the colors. Each painting was often made up of bright, contrasting colors that bore no resemblance to the subject.

Faces could be lime green and bright crimson, or midnight blue with orange and yellow splashes of color. For the Fauvists, they were not trying to carefully represent and depict a scene accurately according to the light and atmosphere. They wanted to release the inner creative desires. Their work fully embraced the bestial, primal side of human nature. Working in an expressive, raw fashion allowed the artists to tap into this and create artworks that were bold and moving. In the midst of the serenity of Impressionism, The Fauvists were animalistic and visually wild, and this contrast with the tastes of the time only made their work even more exhilarating.

The ‘Wild Beasts’

The name ‘Les Fauves’ translates as ‘Wild beasts’ in French, and the artists became known collectively as the Fauvists. It arose during an exhibition in 1905 at the Salon d’Automne. Loris Vauxcelles, a critic of the time, shocked at the artworks, declared the artists as ‘wild beasts’. The artists, highly pleased with the controversial and exciting new name, seemed delighted with the description and the name stuck.

Influences

Van Gogh, Gauguin, Signac, Cezanne and Seurat were a few of the major artists that influenced fauvism. The Fauvist paintings often edged towards abstraction with their flat and rough areas of bright colours. From Cezanne, they worked with the subject and broke it down into sections and slabs, rebuilding images using basic forms.

Gauguin was also a large influence. The Fauves drew from his expressive and otherworldly artworks. His character and lifestyle embodied the wilder side of the human spirit that wished to re-engage with the natural world and to live simply and freely. Gauguin left the western world and sailed off to Tahiti to live and work. Local islanders, mythical figures and the gods and demons of this distant culture seeped into his work, and he created enchanting and unforgettable artworks as a result. The Fauvists looked up to his total immersion and commitment to his artistic practice, and the way that he brought wildness and passion into his artwork.

Matisse became one of the largest figureheads that the Artworld has ever known, and he maintained a wildly expressive element to his work throughout his entire career. The Fauvists did initially receive a great deal of a negative backlash for their artworks and beliefs. Matisse himself was particularly disheartened by these bad reviews, but Gertrude Stein made purchases and offered assistance, and this encouragement was important for his artistic career.

Important Artwork: ‘Portrait of Madame Matisse’ by Henri Matisse.

This painting of his wife is a great example of all the core elements that defined Fauvism. The canvas was completed in 1906, and can be found in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, Denmark. His wife gazes slightly away from the viewer’s eyes, and her face is marked by a green stripe that runs from the top of her forehead down to her lips. The background is divided into blocks of violet, orange tinted red, and green. Matisse has used thick dark brushstrokes to mark the features and outlines.

The impressionists built up forms based on how the dawn, dusk or other lighting conditions affected the subject of their paintings. The shapes were loose, fluid, and suggestive, and you can see the difference in painting styles when you compare Matisse’s dark lines with the style and techniques of the former.

When you think about this contrast, it becomes easier to image the outrage that this caused. In hindsight, the Fauvist paintings do not come across as shocking to modern tastes, but when imagined in their correct historical context, these were controversial artworks. Their work has huge repercussions for the way that color and form were used by the painters of successive generations. The roughness, and their insistence on wildness, was also a factor that caused the artworks of the Fauvists to be highly significant within the canon of Art history.

Key Artists: Maurice de Vlaminck, Andre Derain, Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, Kees van Dongen, Jean Puy and Charles Camoin.

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The Top 5 most Expensive Paintings of all Time

5. Jackson Pollock, “No. 5, 1948″—$140 million

‘No. 5, 1948’ measures 2.44 x 1.22 m, and is an iconic example of Pollock’s work, and his importance on the history of painting itself.

Sotheby’s sold the Painting for $140 million at auction in 2006.

Jackson Pollock was one of the figureheads within the American Abstract Expressionist Movement. His distinctive style involved dripping, flipping and throwing enamel and other types of everyday paint onto his canvases. Individual expression and subjective freedom were central to the Artists of this movement, who also placed great value on the action of painting itself. The painting is so valuable because it exemplifies a turning point in the history of painting when the action of the Artist was then understood as a significant part of the finished product. This led into other areas such as performance Art, and opened up the possibilities for what painting could achieve. 

4. Pablo Picasso, “Les Femmes d’Alger”—$179.3 million

This Artwork was painted in 1955, as part of a larger series of 15 artworks, all compositions of voluptuous nude women. Eugene Delacroix’s 1834 painting ‘The women of Algiers in their Apartment’ was a huge inspiration for the series.

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, former prime minister of Qatar, bought this masterpiece by the Spanish Artist. The canvas is housed in his private collection in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Picasso, along with Braque, established Cubism as one of the most pertinent influences on painting. He consistently challenged both himself and his audience by continually reinventing his style and pushing visual culture to new heights. This Artwork is so famous because it encapsulates the prerogatives and aesthetic sensibilities of Cubism with the sensual and wild abandon that the Spanish Artist was known for. Picasso himself really paved the way for the concept of an Artist as a celebrity figure, and his influence can be felt in everything from Cars to Jean Paul Gautier aftershave bottles today.

3. Mark Rothko, “No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)”—$186 million

Rothko painted this work in 1951, and this is a more colourful variation of his distinguished and recognisable style.

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the Painting in a private sale for 140 million Euros ($186 million at 2014 exchange rates). At the time he acquired the artwork, it was the second most expensive artwork ever sold.

Rothko was born in Russian-ruled Latvia in 1903, before he emigrated to the USA. He was one of the figureheads for Abstract Expressionism, and he championed the importance of finding deeply emotional states in his paintings. The majority of his compositions were created with much darker colour palettes, and are renowned for the contemplative atmospheres and moods that they create.

2. Paul Cézanne, “The Card Players”—$250 million–$300 million

This Painting dates back to the early 1890s, and is characteristic of the short series of works that Cezanne completed of this theme.

The royal family of Qatar bought the Artwork for an estimated price that exceeded $250 million in 2011. It is kept in Qatar.

Cezanne often painted simple scenes, and championed the commonplace and the everyday. The painting of provincial life in southern France shows peasant’s playing cards and smoking pipes. It is highly prized because Cezanne is such an important cultural figure, and without his contributions to the canon of Art history, painting would not be what it is today. He paved the way for the development of cubism, and his ‘flattening’ of the picture plane, and the way that he broke objects and scenes down into simple forms is often cited as an early influence for modernist abstraction.

1. Paul Gauguin, “Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?)”—$300 million

French Post-Impressionist Artist Paul Gauguin created this outstanding painting in 1892, and he is renowned for the wildness and simple beauty that he managed to achieve in his work.

This is the most expensive painting ever sold, and was bought by an undisclosed buyer. Many believe that the Artwork was bought by a group of state museums in Qatar, who are working on acquiring a first-rate collection that is financially backed by the Emirate’s royal family. The painting previously hung in Beyeler Foundation Museum in Riehen, Switzerland.

Gauguin journeyed to Tahiti in order to re-align his work and to completely emerge himself in another culture, and shake off the shackles that he felt were constricting him in Industrialised Western society. It is in his paintings where this really comes alive, his images are representations of a western mind that has flung itself with vigor into far off lands and cultures and is desperately trying to make sense of these exotic new experiences. His Artworks are dark and magical in a deeply intense and equal measure. The combination of such a technically skilled Western Artist painting so fervently the tribal life and customs of Tahiti makes for works that are truly unique, vibrant and powerful.

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10 Album Artworks that Deserve to be Framed

1 – Joy Division ‘Unknown Pleasures’

One of the most instantly recognizable album covers ever created, this image is striking for its simplicity. Peter Saville, the designer, took the pattern from a graphic of an Astronomical Radio wave image of a pulsar. The minimal black and white colour scheme, along with the haunting, angular and melancholic sounds and atmosphere of the Joy Division album it came to represent, charge this album cover with a great deal of cultural significance and style.

2 – Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon’

This artwork is a contender for the most iconic album cover of all time. Storm Thorgerson, the band’s designer, produced the image with the prism and light. The triangle is representative of thought and ambition, and was also a perfect symbol to visualise a prism. The light related to the light show that Pink Floyd used to accompany their music as they played.

3 – Black Sabbath ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’

Released in 1973, this iconic image fronted the infamous English Metal Band’s fifth studio album. The striking artwork is dark and menacing, and the simplistic colour scheme augments the sinister tone of the record. Black and red are always visually stimulating, and the artwork, just like the music, was designed to shake people up in the best way possible.

4 – The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’

One of their most critically acclaimed and successful albums, Abbey Road features the four members of the Beatles walking across the zebra crossing outside the studios. It was released in 1969 and the image has been recreated all around the world in many different guises, from tourist photos to even having been featured in the Simpsons.

5 – Radiohead ‘Hail to the Thief’

Created by Artist Stanley Donwood, the album Art draws its colours from the advertising of petro chemical companies. The words are taken from billboards, and the resulting artwork is unforgettable. The concept of the work links closely with the themes of the record, but even on a purely aesthetic level, one cannot doubt the captivating quality of the work.

6 – Sonic Youth ‘Goo’ 1990

Raymond Pettibon is a cult American Artist, and this simple, hand drawn cover is a fine example of his unique style. His artworks were often fragments of wider stories, and he took inspiration from comics, newspapers and other examples of everyday visual imagery. The simplistic work is stylised, confident and minimal.

7 – Kanye West ‘Graduation’

Created by Takashi Murakami, the colorful, pastel imagery captures Murakami’s fascination with anime. Murakami had some interesting words to offer about working with West. “It was difficult,” the artist said, “because every week, Kanye has new ideas — changing, changing, changing.” However, according to Murakami, their friendship remains intact. When asked if they had a close relationship, Murakami responded with a chuckle, saying, “I think so. I believe so. I don’t know — please ask him.”

8 – The Clash ‘London Calling’

Possibly the most iconic Punk record of all time, this Artwork is a striking image that deserves to be framed.

The text was created in pink and green letters in homage to Elvis Presley’s first self-titled album. The photograph itself is of bassist Paul Simonon, who destroyed his bass guitar in frustration and protest in 1979 in New York City when the bouncers at the Palladium would not allow fans to stand up out of their seats during the gig. This photograph has gone down in musical history, and the theme of a musician smashing his or her own instrument is now legendary within music. The combination of text and image, alluding to musical icons and iconoclastic moments, has in turn, made the album cover of ‘London Calling’ incredibly, and rightly, infamous.

9 – De La Soul ‘3 Feet and Rising’

A classic album cover for a historic hip-hop record. Released in 1989, the bright yellow background and optimistic, DIY cut-and-paste styling of the faces, flowers and text make this an album cover that looks great when framed. The synthetic Pop look was made well before the days of scanning and photoshop. The GO (Grey Organisation) who created the album artwork had inventive ideas about the image. They laid De La Soul down so that their heads formed a triangle then photographed them from above. This meant that the album didn’t have a strict top and bottom, and could be displayed whichever way people fancied.

10 – Dusky ‘Stick by This’

A simple digital pattern constructed from repeating the silhouette of a tree. The image deserves to be framed because it is so effective in it’s minimal characteristics. The stripped back, uncomplicated design mirrors the music of the album, and gives it a structured, lyrical mood. Dark on light, the branches interweave into a strange new pattern.

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Important Ideas that Changed Art Forever – The Proto Renaissance

Important Artists: Giotto, Duccio

When we look at a painting, one of the most fascinating aspects about the work is its connection with the grand historical tradition of painting. The act of painting has been a continuous evolution that has stretches back throughout human history, and each canvas is bound together by invisible ties to all others. Many times, painters have tried to break away from the traditions of the past, and have worked in opposition and rebellion against the prevailing norms of their day. This results in relevant and original work, but it does not break free from the ‘progress’ of painting, because what they do will always stand in relation to those painters that came before them.

For example, the wild and imaginative canvases, brushwork and subject matter of the Romanticists evolved from a position of opposition against the strict, regimented style and concepts of Neo-Classicism, the movement that came before them. Although different in many ways, when viewed over a long enough historical timeline, it becomes clear that through their opposition, they also form and constitute by each other.

The qualities and values of one are held as markers of the height of bad taste and poor skill by the successive generation of painters. Viewing the history of painting in this way, as different movements reacting against the art of the past, gives a unique perspective from which to see and understand a painting.

The ideas that were developed during the Proto-Renaissance affected the course of Painting within the Western World even today. It was a time that introduced three-dimensional space into the field of painting. The High Renaissance was a period when European culture flourished in a way that has arguably never been matched in the history of humankind. Without the developments that occurred during the Proto Renaissance, this would never have been possible.

Historical Background

The Proto-Renaissance started in the middle of the 1100s and ended at the beginning of the 1400s in northern Italy. Art always reflects the world and ideas around it, and as the Proto-Renaissance developed into the High Renaissance itself, the background to its views and motivations are important to understand.

The country of Italy did not unify until 1861. Before then, regions such as Florence, Venice and Milan had their own political and social structures. Between these bordering regions there was an unusually high amount of trade and productivity. Trades were on the rise, supporting a strengthening economy. By the end of the 1300s, Papal power was on the decline. No longer did the cities in Italy rely on the Vatican. Therefore they focused their attention towards a new independence instead.

The Black Death

Unfortunately, not everything was as optimistic as it seemed. Around the time of the Proto-Renaissance, Europe fell victim to the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death. This was catastrophic. By the time the plague subsided, an estimated 30 to 60 percent of the European’s population had died. The death toll is estimated to have possibly reached up to 100 million people.

Religious Changes

Europe also underwent many religious changes at this time. Francis of Assisi had spoken against “radical” religious views. He stated that people should express their religion by how they feel individually, rather than through conservative rituals. Of course it is easy for people today to understand these more liberal ideas, but during these times, the realities were much different, and Christians were expected to abide by exceptionally strict religious rules. These developments allowed people to start to view the world around them very differently.

The beginning of 3 Dimensional Space in Painting

Art advanced with the times. Starting in the Proto-Renaissance, artists such as Giotto worked on new ways to representing three-dimensional spaces in his artwork. In the previous Medieval and Byzantine art, bodies remained on a flat surface and perspective, as we know it today, did not exist.

The artistic themes of the Proto-Renaissance also moved away from the traditional religious icons and stories of the Middle Ages. After the plague subsided, paintings of death instead focused on themes of penance. The horrors of the Black Death reminded people of the fact that death could strike at anytime. It became a strong reason for people to try and avoid an afterlife in hell.

The Proto-Renaissance was the predecessor to one of the greatest art movements of all time, the Italian Renaissance. This movement would produce famous artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and would, in turn respectively create the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the portrait of the Mona Lisa. It opened up the illusion of space as an element of painting and that is why it altered the course of Art forever.

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10 Tips for a Beginning Art Collector

Starting out on the adventure of collecting Art is tremendously exciting, but can often seem daunting at the beginning. These 10 tips will give you the framework to set you on your way to what is a rewarding and highly enjoyable pursuit.

Lord Duveen, a renowned Art collector, once stood in front of JMW Turner’s ‘Bridge and Tower and famously proclaimed: ‘If I owned that picture, I should want nothing else in the world.’ What a great way to look at collecting Art!

1 – Think about your taste

It is important to figure out what you actually like. Take the time to explore genres that you love, and types of Art that you may have overlooked in the past. This will serve the benefit of reminding you why you enjoy, say, Photorealistic Painting for example, and why you are perhaps not as enthusiastic about another genre. Collecting Art is a lifelong passion, and you will live with these Artworks, so it is always worth taking the time to be sure about your tastes.

2 – Determine your Motivation for Collecting

Are you buying Art as an investment, or because you love it – or perhaps because of a bit of both? Understanding your motivation will help you to define exactly which Artworks are for you. Even if your motivations are purely fiscal, it helps to choose Artworks that you enjoy for yourself if possible.

3 – Research the Artist

When you find Artworks that captivate your attention and speak to you, if you aren’t already familiar with the Artist, then take the time to research their background, history and commentary on their own work. This will help to enrich your experience of viewing their Artworks, and gain a deeper understanding into what they are trying to do. This can also help you to make intelligent buying decisions about investments that could be very beneficial in the future.

4 – Curate your Collection

Many famous collections are united by the fact that a single collector had a certain goal in mind or great taste (Think Peggy Guggenheim). Over many years of collecting, a style of your own will emerge. You will find aesthetic and thematic threads developing that will tie your collection together. This is also worth thinking about as you set out on the first few steps of collecting Art. Think about colours, genres and styles that you like, and you may want to find various examples from different Artists with this aim in mind, as this will add unity and continuity to your collection.

5 – Where will they hang?

Even if you are buying Art as an investment, and may only live with it for a while before it moves on to another home, you must think about the effect it will have on the room/space in which it will be placed. Every Artwork has a huge effect on its surroundings, and this should be taken into account when you choose works for your collection. A huge Abstract Painting will have a much larger impact that tiny limited edition Lithographs, but whatever you choose, you must think about this point, as it is often overlooked.

6 – Keep all the Documentation

Make sure to look after all the documentation that authenticates the Artwork. This cannot be stressed enough, but it is often something that many people forget to do, and it can cause huge problems in the future. If you can clearly prove that the Artwork is the exact Artwork that it claims to be, then you will save yourself a lot of hassle.

7 – Buying Originals

With originals it is important to remember that the Artist profits only once from the sale of the work. Value grows over time, but it is you as the collector who profits from the increasing reputation and status of the Artist, as you already own the work. If you decide to sell the work in the future for a much higher price, it is you who will keep all of the profit, and the Artist will see none of it. This is one important reason why original Artworks command high prices.

8 – Buying Prints

Types of prints include engravings, lithographs, screen prints, aquatints, linocuts and woodblock prints. These are an ideal way to start or add to a collection. It is important to differentiate between the different terms, to help you make the right choice:

Ltd Edition Prints

With this format, the Artist limits the run of prints to a number that will be specified on the print itself, I.E 1/25, normally alongside the signature itself.  This shows the exclusivity of the piece, yet provides an affordable and accessible way to own certain Artworks that you love. This is a very common and sensible form of Art for early collectors to invest in.

Reproductions

These are part of an unlimited run of Artworks, allowing the Artist to create and sell as many as they like. They cost less than one off originals and ltd editions, because they are more numerous, but are also a great way to buy great Art at the most reasonable prices.

9 – Invest in the future

One exciting aspect of collecting Art is that the more knowledgeable you become, the more you can start making your own predictions about which Artists will grow in stature and popularity, and as a result, whose work will become more valuable. If you can make informed decisions about what to buy and when, not only are you supporting an Artist whose work you love, but you also stand to make a hefty profit if you choose to.

10 – Trust your Gut and take the Plunge

Art speaks to us all differently, so if you feel an indescribable connection with a certain work, then that is the next one for you. Trust your gut instinct. If you love the Artwork, if it is by an Artist that you respect after you have researched them, and you feel that it is a great investment, then go for it!

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