How To Start Your Art Collection

While buying art is slightly different than collecting it, they both ignite from a passion for art. Only a small number of people collect art because of its financial returns, the majority does it because it feeds the soul rather than the bank.

The main pillar of a valuable and extensive art collection is to stay true to your taste. While having an extensive knowledge about the art world is highly recommended, at the end of the day, make sure that your collection reflects your beliefs and your personal likes. If you’re just going along with the trends of the market, you’ll end up with a assortment of artworks similar to the next one and neither will be valuable.

Reinterpretation of Whistler's Mother

The second pillar is your knowledge. Read books, blogs, take frequent walks to the museum and stroll through galleries. Take every opportunity you have to start conversations regarding fine art, especially from people with authority such as curators, collectors, gallery personnel and artists. If you’re an informed buyer there’s no way the marketplace can take advantage of your piggy bank.

Most importantly is to listen to your instinct and to start buying art. After you’ve been out there and saw what is going on, once you know your preferences and you’ve done the math to come up with the budget, look for art pieces you can afford. Don’t be afraid to start small! If an artwork lights that spark inside of you, but the price tag doesn’t “add up” with the value you would give it, take the leap and buy it. You might be on to a good investment! There are hundreds if not thousands of cases when a painting was sold for nearly nothing and ended up being worth millions of dollars.

“Every artist was first an amateur”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I suggest to look for up-and-coming artists from markets such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, Chinese and Asian art. These sectors have highly chances to increase in value in the nearest future. Like I said, if you don’t want to break the bank, start with different media, like photography, art installations, sculptures.