How to Be an Art Collector

Posted by admin On November - 3 - 2009

Being an art collector requires the desire to own, research, chase down, and buy for the love of art. This can be a very engaging and fulfilling activity and anyone can be an art collector. Here is a short guide and some tips to get you started on this exciting hobby.

The first step is to research your favorite artists and art history periods and take note of your preferences (for instance write them down in a notebook), and be honest with your tastes- it’s important to collect pieces that you personally like and reflect your tastes and identity. This is your collection, make it yours and not somebody else’s. You can do online searches, art bookstores, go to local museums or galleries, museums usually have educational workshops people can attend for art history lectures.

Then, give yourself a budget. You may be at first driven by your instinctive likes, but if the piece you have your heart set on is 1 million dollars and this is not in your budget- don’t disappoint yourself, there are plenty of other options

The best is to browse and visit art festivals, galleries, dealerships, artist studios, art fairs, art auctions. For more information on events you can visit sites like www.mutualart.com www.MutualArt.com which tailor to your artistic interests and let you know of artists or events happening in your area.

Once you find a piece you like, it may be helpful to ask around such as art consultants, art dealers, other art collectors to help you with your research with any doubts you may have (such as the authenticity, the price range, the worth of an art piece). Any questions or doubts answered will help build confidence in your research.

Make sure the art is suitable in your home, that you have a place to put it either in view or in storage. There’s nothing worse than buying a piece you love and not giving it the space it needs to be viewed.

It’s really important and helpful to document your art piece and put it in file, you never know when you might need proof of purchase and ownership. Make sure to include a photograph, name of artist, title of work, provenance (previous owners, where it came from), proof of authenticity, year created, where you bought it from, or any other information that could be relevant for the artwork.

Once settled in your home, take a step back, appreciate and enjoy the art piece. Know that you have a one of a kind work and it is all yours, for your pleasure, and that the thrill of the chase was worth it.

For future collecting and expanding on your collection you can start thinking about what specific element it is you like about your art piece, and try looking for this in your art collecting research. This way when you build up your collection not only will you have art that you enjoy, but your artworks will start creating links to one another, and in this sense will be a collection with a common theme.

The most important is that you find what you like and enjoy!

For additional helpful resources I recommend www.mutualart.com www.MutualArt.com and www.artbusiness.com www.artbusiness.com

Watch the video

This is part of a multi-segment oral history interview. Visit emmytvlegends.org or channel playlists for more segments. In his 6-part (each 30-minute segment is posted separately) oral history interview, Art Linkletter discusses his years in radio and his start, in 1950, in his first television series, “Life with Linkletter”. Linkletter recounts his most memorable stories from the television series he is most associated with, “Art Linkletter’s House Party” and “People Are Funny”. For these …

Author

I’m an art consultant based in Darien, CT and specialized in art consulting, art auctions, and art markets. Generally, I deal with both clients and artists.