How to Collect Art Successfully

We are proud to publish today an article that we prepared for the online art magazine The Art Post Blog and related to all aspects of collecting works of art: why collect art, how to start, what to look out for, what are the secrets of the successful collector… and much more!

When thinking about art, many people believe that it is an exclusive world reserved for only a select few. In reality, anyone can become an art collector, regardless of their resources, and build a collection of works of art of great value (economically and emotionally).

All you need to start collecting works of art is passion, knowledge, or even simple curiosity and desire to explore a sector that, once inside, we assure you will give you enormous satisfaction from many points of view.

We have met many collectors who started this journey with small savings and, over the course of a few years, managed to build a successful art collection, with pieces that started out at a few thousand euros and are now worth millions of euros! And when asked “Would you sell your collection?”, they would answer “No, thanks!”. Emotional value is often much more satisfying than economic value!

Let's see, therefore, in this article how to become a successful art collector, analyzing what are the main motivations for undertaking this interesting path, what are the right steps to take and what, instead, are the mistakes to avoid.

COLLECTING ARTWORKS: WHY TO START
Why should one start collecting art? There is no single answer to this question. The reasons, in fact, are different and can vary from person to person.

So, if you ask several established art collectors, the answers could vary a lot. However, among the recurring reasons we will find:

I collect art for investment.
I collect art because it is a significant emotional and cultural experience.
I collect art to decorate with taste and style.

There could be many other reasons but these three are, undoubtedly, the most recurrent and, probably, if you are already a collector you will see yourself in one or more of these reasons for collecting works of art.

If your motivation is strong, the road to becoming a successful collector is already paved!

BECOME AN ART COLLECTORS: HOW TO GET STARTED
Is your dream to become an art collector? Although the path is not short, it is not as difficult as it may seem.

Here are some practical tips on the right steps to take.

Collect only what you like

Works of art very often reach very high prices, especially in recent years we are used to seeing works by ultra-contemporary artists sold for hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros and this could lead anyone to think that it is enough to buy a work of any artist to find yourself a millionaire in a few months. It is not as simple as it seems, and even if there are frequent cases of collectors who make huge profits in the short term, our main suggestion is to collect what you like, what creates a deep emotion.

A successful art collector does not collect works just to sell them and make a profit, but first and foremost because they reflect his personal taste and style.

From left to right:
Jisbar, MonoP Gentleman, 2020, 61 × 50 cm;
Jisbar, Mickey Shopping Luxe, 2020, 61 x 50 cm

A successful art collector does not collect works just to sell them and make a profit, but first and foremost because they reflect his personal taste and style.

This also entails a certain eclecticism in the choice: the best collectors do not limit themselves to a genre or an era, but often collect works by different artists, periods and styles, following their personal preferences and not only the value of the investment.

Know the art market

This step is crucial. Even if you have never looked through an art book or an art catalog in your life, now is the time to do it.
Not sure where to start?
You could start to visit the websites of the most famous galleries in the world , starting from ours, or the industry magazines most famous (such as Arte and ArteIn).

Participate in exhibitions and fairs

We can't say it enough: if you really want to become an art collector, you need to know what's going on in the world in this area, knowing the changes, the new trends, and then having the skills and abilities to anticipate them.

The best way to do this is to take part in all the main events that concern the sector: exhibitions, fairs and expositions promoted in your city are certainly the starting point, but also try to get out of your “comfort zone”.

Going to an event outside of your usual path (another city or even another country) can allow you to broaden your horizons, learn about new trends, and meet people who can guide you along the way.

One of the fairs that excites us the most, at an international level, is Art Basel , which every year brings together the most famous and renowned galleries in the world in Basel and groups together all the artists on whom the market is focused at that moment.

Other high quality fairs are TEFAF Maastricht and, on Italian territory, Art Fair Bologna And Miart of Milan .

Buy Art Online

One of the most immediate ways to surround yourself with art is by purchasing it online . The main advantage of the internet is that it allows you to explore art and trends from all over the world conveniently through your electronic devices, anywhere in the world.

In this case, our advice is to always turn to certified art sales platforms and websites of recognized galleries and, above all, to always request the state of conservation of the works of interest.

Many collectors also purchase works of art from platforms such as eBay and similar but, in such circumstances, it is best to be more careful and rely on the advice that we will specify later.

Keep an eye on young artists

The art collector is, by nature, a talent seeker: he does not limit himself to purchasing the works of artists who are already famous and recognised, but aims first of all to discover talented but still little-known artists .

This strategy also has an advantage: not only are young talents easier to find since they are not yet besieged by art dealers and the most prestigious galleries, but their works can also be purchased at much more reasonable prices.

We just happened to meet a German collector in the last few days who had acquired a work by Banksy for a paltry sum when no one was buying his graphics yet and today, that same work has an appraisal of around 120,000 euros and resale times are practically immediate!

MISTAKES TO AVOID AND THE PRECAUTIONS OF THE SUCCESSFUL COLLECTOR

What should you never do when you want to start collecting art? Here are the most common mistakes:

Not making sure you have the right documents

Once you have started purchasing your first works, always make sure that together with the painting, sculpture and/or photograph or graphic you have bought, you are also given all the necessary documents for prove the provenance and authenticity of the work .

This information is essential not only to increase the value of the artwork, but also to give it a “meaning” within your collection.

For the unique edition works of art there is always a certificate issued by the artist or by the relative Foundation/Archive, or a certificate of authenticity issued by the Gallery that represents him (generally this practice is more widespread for American artists who usually do not issue certificates of authenticity, delegating this function to the relative galleries).

We always recommend that Check the certifications that accompany the artwork through a request to be addressed directly to the person who issued them, since it is not rare for fake artworks to be accompanied by fake certificates. For example, in our case, even if the artworks we deal with are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from an artist's archive, we usually write an email to that entity to verify that everything is correct.

Also pay attention to the provenance , is often even more important than certificates of authenticity, for two reasons:

prestigious provenances can significantly increase the value of the artwork;
the provenance of the work is always necessary to demonstrate that the work was purchased lawfully.
In the case of purchases from private individuals, we always suggest obtaining a declaration of origin and verifying the certifications that are delivered.

In the case of graphic works the situation is more complex since generally there are no certificates of authenticity for these works, with the exception of some artists such as Banksy (for which there is Pest Control that certifies the quality of the artist's works) or Andy Warhol (for which, in the past, there was the Andy Warhol Foundation, which however ceased its activity many years ago and, therefore, many of Warhol's graphic works do not have any certification).

In such cases what matters is always the origin and the reliability of the seller; in addition to the experience and knowledge of the collector who buys.

Buying based on price alone

One of the most common mistakes made by novice collectors is to think that a work of art that sells for less than its market price is automatically a bargain. Cases in which a collector sells off his works of art or sells them for prices much lower than the market price are very rare.

Most of the time such situations hide pitfalls and problems that it is best to stay away from ! Many collectors do not realize that the risks they face for having saved a few euros are much more important and costly than the savings themselves!

Artworks with illicit origins, fake works, works with false certificates, illegally stolen works, etc. can all be reasons why a work of art is sold at a lower price and to which the utmost attention must be paid.

Therefore, when you come across a work of art whose asking price is significantly lower than the market price, carefully check the documents, provenance and reliability of the seller. If something doesn't add up, it's best to abandon the purchase!

Don't build relationships

No human being is an island, much less an art collector!
If you really want to build a future for yourself as a collector, even just for passion, you have to commit to build relationships with gallery owners, exhibition curators, other collectors and art experts in general .

This will also allow you to be more informed about new emerging artists and all the major art trends that are on the horizon.

Having too high a budget

Needless to say, one of the main obstacles to becoming an art collector is financial availability. However, this is often just a false problem: to start collecting works of art you do not need to have a large budget, but you can easily decide to allocate to this passion (or this investment) only a small part of your savings.

As your skills grow and your collection begins to grow, you may also decide to increase your budget by finding new resources from other investments you have made in the past.

Finally, our suggestion is to also consider purchasing works of art with payment in installments. Unfortunately, not all galleries provide this opportunity, which we offer for free and which we believe to be extremely important for any collector.

TRICKS AND SECRETS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COLLECTION

For the collector/investor It is of fundamental importance to build a collection of works of art that not only arouses emotions and tells a story of personal growth, but also that after a certain period of time can increase its economic value .

In truth, it very often happens that the collector who carefully chooses the works of his collection, without even considering the investment factor, after a few years still finds himself with works of art whose value has significantly increased over time.

But how is this added value generated and why can an artist's stock price explode upwards?

As with all markets, the publicity and notoriety of an artist influences his market. In the art world there are many Galleries that have the capacity and resources to follow an artist both from an artistic and economic and investment point of view.
As the number of exhibitions, museum entries, participation in biennials and institutional events increases, and the notoriety that the artist and the relevant gallery of reference will be able to achieve, this will almost always have a significant impact on the artist's prices .

It is obvious that an artist needs to exhibit his work to make himself known to the public, critics, collectors, museums and institutions. The greater his ability and that of the relative gallery to exhibit the artist's works, the greater the chances of economic success.

The greatest contemporary artists are almost always followed by high-level art galleries, which intelligently manage the artist's path with targeted strategies.

Therefore, the collector/investor who wants to have a greater chance of making purchases of works of art that can increase in value over time, will necessarily also have to observe which galleries represent and follow the relevant artist.

SALES METHODS AND CHANNELS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

Not everyone focuses on this detail, but even the The way in which works of art are sold and the related channel have their weight .

Any artist has two options to sell the artworks he creates: direct sale or sale through a gallery.

You will easily notice that, with the exception of very few artists in the world, No successful artist sells his artwork privately , as he delegates this activity to his reference gallery.

Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Kaws etc…none of these artists will ever respond to the requests of a collector who wants to buy a work of art from them!

Although it may seem more convenient for a collector to purchase a work directly from the artist, in the long term this choice turns out, more often than not, to be counterproductive.

Let's say an artist decides to sell his works of art privately and, as often happens, at a certain point he decides, out of greed or necessity, to lower the prices in order to sell them as quickly as possible to as many collectors as possible.
The buyers will increase exponentially and will certainly be very happy because they will be sure to have just concluded a deal.

After some time all these works will end up on the market and having been acquired at ridiculously low prices the relative collectors will settle for a price even lower than the market value. The chain reaction will be immediate and will destroy the market of that artist.

Therefore, always place Be aware of the channels an artist uses to sell their artwork . While it may seem inconvenient to buy from the gallery that represents the artist, the long-term benefits could be significant!

HOW TO ENHANCE WORKS OF ART

Given the same size, year and techniques, two works of art can have extremely different values .

A work exhibited at the Guggenheim will have a much greater economic value than a similar work that has no exhibition.

Therefore, the successful collector will always be careful to try to insert his works of art in the most important and prestigious exhibitions, aware of the fact that the more a work of art has been exhibited and published, the more its recognition and value will increase.

QUALITY FIRST!

Not all works of art are created equal. Those of the higher the value, the higher the quality .

Always and only aim for the quality of the works of art you will acquire, even if it means paying a higher amount, because those will be the works that will break records when an artist's work is revalued upwards.

Lower quality, secondary, unsuccessful works and drafts will always be more difficult to sell.
Therefore, if you have to choose between 5 non-quality works and 1 quality work, we suggest you to definitely buy the one quality work of art.