Art
February 3, 2011 8:07 PM   Subscribe

Young art lover. I want to buy more art. How should I proceed without offending anyone and also having good taste??

I'm a young lesbian professional. I work in a field with a steady job, have a house, etc. I love my furniture and just want more art on my walls. I know this sounds ridiculous but like Bette's house. Anyways- I am trying to build my art collection. I am going to art shows, following up and coming artists that I follow, friends with a art gallery owner and have lots of friends who have shows of various kind. I live in a large western city so it's basically art and the outdoors.

So fast forward to this past weekend: I was out of town and I went to a town that has a gallery. I toured it and there was a piece that just stuck with me. I know both the artist and the gallery owner and people that work there. I indicated my interest that day and said I'd follow up. There was no price next to the print. I emailed them later and asked how much. The answer I got was- directly from the girl who works there "He said that the price is 1500, but he'd be willing to go down to 750. " Is that a normal response??

I have a photos and paintings on my wall that match my aesthetic that I bought from friends along the way. As I proceed- how to I buy good art? Where do I buy it?? I don't like etsy and that kind of thing and like to shop in person.

Questions:
1. How do I buy more art? My parents bought this amazing painting from a really well known (now) artist here. They paid him and he came over and built a frame, etc. I love that painting and it is now worth lots of money. So I get it. I just want to be buying the good stuff.
2. Is the way I handled my first piece of art in a gallery ok??
3. What etiquette am I missing here? I am sorry if I sound naive.

Thank you.
posted by anonymous to Media & Arts (9 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Rule #1: the resale value of any art you buy will be $0.
Rule #2: buy what you like.
Rule #3: feel free to change your mind about what you like as often as you like.

It's great that you're buying art in person, getting to know the artists, etc. It sounds like it could be a very nice undertaking and community for you.
posted by alms at 8:15 PM on February 3, 2011 [9 favorites]


i think that the best advice that anyone can offer you is to buy what you actually like. I work at one of the top art college's in the US, if not the world, and I am constantly surrounded by amazing work by up-and-coming students/alumni. you really have to jump on the stuff that you like. Don't waste your time on stuff that you wouldn't be happy to see in your home everyday. There have been several times where I have expressed interest in purchasing pieces from newly minted alumni and the deal takes a little bit of time to work out because they are graduating, working, etc etc. By the time everything gets worked out and I'm about to pull the trigger, every single piece gets snapped up and I'm left out in the cold. Recently had a graduate that I was working with on picking up an amazing piece, and his work got blogged by Kanye West. Dude sold everything within about an hour at prices way more than i could afford, and I'm left with a postcard from his show.

The dominant thing I try to remember is that i buy for my personal aesthetic and enjoyment, and not solely investment. I find artists who's work I like, and I try to purchase those from whom I can afford to do so. This not only helps an emerging artist continue to create wonderful new work, but it makes my life better by having great art. If you're solely after pieces to aggregate value, then you should focus on smaller works sold by Christie's, Bonham's etc. However, if you're excited by upcoming/emerging/outsider/undiscovered artist's then begin to look at your local options for educational institutions that have highly regarded Fine Art programs. Get on their mailing list, attend their graduate/thesis shows and purchase work. if you want to get in on "bottom floor" of an emerging artist's career, there's no better way. if you would like specific advice based on your location, drop me a MeMail. best of luck!
posted by Bohemia Mountain at 8:25 PM on February 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


"He said that the price is 1500, but he'd be willing to go down to 750." sounds like gallery art I've bought. Established artists don't have to permit bargaining but galleries with start up young artists do this just to get something sold for them. You can counter-offer and I've successfully done that. The gallery acts as a middle-man and manages to keep the artist a little grounded in the real world while showcasing and promoting the work in the best light. The pieces are just paper, canvas and pigment -- they have no intrinsic value -- they are worth what somebody will pay for it them so, if you are the buyer, get what you want for as good a price as you can.

I agree with alms--when you buy a piece, that money is gone; keep meticulous records but don't think in terms of investments or appreciation. Only buy what you love. There is no hurry to even think in terms of building a collection or completing a collection.

The higher you set the standard for what you buy, the more joy you'll get from your art. You might not find the sort of thing you really want to collect seriously for quite a while -- just give art as much time as you can and keep developing your aesthetic. Spend a lot of time learning about what you like; go to galleries, art markets, museums and keep looking. Talk with gallery owners and artists, get to know teachers in the art department at local universities and ask them to tell you if they have an exceptional student whose work you might like. You're never committed to buy. This is pretty much how it's done. It takes lots of time looking at art until you can answer the question for yourself, "How and where do I buy good art."
posted by Anitanola at 8:52 PM on February 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'm in a similar boat to you, and have mostly just bought small pieces I felt I needed to have. Soon I'm planning on gearing up my collecting to larger pieces. I've had this book recommended to me as something I should read, but haven't read it myself.
posted by bswinburn at 10:14 PM on February 3, 2011


"He said that the price is 1500, but he'd be willing to go down to 750. " Is that a normal response??

I'm about as inexperienced as you are, but I bought a painting last month from a gallery in California, and the gallery owner knocked $500 off the listed price. I had asked if they could come down at all (I was ambivalent about that, though, as it was painted by an old friend and I didn't really want to take money out of her pocket). The guy said he'd come down on the price as a holiday special. :)

Having original art that you love will lift your spirits every time you look at it... so good luck in your searching!
posted by torticat at 12:36 AM on February 4, 2011


The first (and really only) rule is buy what you love.

Buy things that jump out at you and that you want to look at for a long time. That every time you look at it you think "This is good."

Read books about art because art comes from out of what came before it and artists who are interested in being good at what they do will read books/ look at lots of art.

Yes, you can haggle the price and no one will think less of you. Etiquette is the same for any business transaction. Be honest, be polite, if it's in your nature be personable.

If you are hell-bent on thinking about this as an investment I've noticed two-three things about the successful artists I've met:

1. They work all the time. They are almost literally always working. The ceiling might have collapsed in the studio and they might complain about not being able to work until it's fixed but every time you need to ask them something they are working and you feel bad for interrupting. Even if what they are making is shit and they know it and they know they'll never show it to curators or their gallerist they have all been incredibly hard workers.

2. Some are very canny when it comes to personal relations and believe this is an important part of being an artist. Kind of like in every field (academics, entrepreneurs, whatever) really - and like in every field these squeaky wheels often get the grease/shows. Doesn't mean the work is any good, but it does mean that there might be a chance for resale value down the line because they're bound to fool some people and more of their work will be out there for people to recognize/think is worth something. (Personally I think this is most often boring art. YMMV.) (That said, if you don't like the work, do not do not do not buy it because squeaky might work for their careers/your investment but not necessarily for your walls.)

3. They are not any more flamboyant/wild/crazy/fucked-up than any other driven, successful, hard working person you'll meet. Which is to say some of them have been pretty fucked up.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:53 AM on February 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


My parents bought this amazing painting from a really well known (now) artist here. They paid him and he came over and built a frame, etc. I love that painting and it is now worth lots of money. So I get it.

Do you? Is the "good stuff," stuff you like or stuff that will increase in value? Think about that before doing anything else. You'll know the value of your parents work when they have sold it, and not before. That is the value of the work. Not opinions from the artist, evaluator, insurance certificate, or "COA."

If you want to buy art that you can make a profit on visit small auctions and house clearances and look for miscatalogued works. Antique paintings, generally 19th century and before. There is serious money here if you are knowledgeable, and it doesn't take long to get up to speed and develop an eye.

As noted above, if you're buying contemporary art direct from an artist or a gallery, your money is gone. You have to love the artwork and buy only what you can cherish and live with. You can't easily learn or buy taste, and buying what you love will not improve your taste or your knowledge of art. It is however, the only way you can negotiate this very, very expensive hobby with no regrets.
posted by fire&wings at 2:19 AM on February 4, 2011 [2 favorites]


I love that painting and it is now worth lots of money. So I get it. I just want to be buying the good stuff.

These are two very different things. Are you interested in market value or aesthetic value? Because the two do not necessarily overlap.

Bear in mind as well that fashions change and that painting you love and is now worth lots of money may in ten years go for a fraction of that price. Will you still love it then? Time was you couldn't give away Victoriana or Oriental Rugs. Then - big rage. Twenty years from now - answer unclear, ask again later.

Taste is tricky and there's a lot of expensive art out there that is being made with an eye towards the fashionable or what can be sold as fashionable. How long that lasts is difficult to say. Especially with contemporary art.

Buy what makes you happy and to hell with the rest of it. If it goes up, great (assuming you don't mind the insurance aspect), if not, no matter, you still love it.

As a practical matter, it's like buying a car or a house. Negotiation is expected. Though the half off the top seems a bit much. I've generally seen ten to twenty percent off the top, assuming the piece has been sitting around a while. But I don't buy all that much or often.

it doesn't take long to get up to speed and develop an eye.


YMMseriouslyV. Not a field for amateurs, and not all eyes are created equal. Try this for a test. Go to a second tier art museum and hit the lesser known works. Ask yourself truly honestly deeply if you would pick that piece out at a garage sale as worth more than twenty dollars. Then ask yourself if you're wrong or the museum is wrong.
posted by IndigoJones at 8:36 AM on February 4, 2011


You are a buyer. The only etiquette is to be polite and respectful. Your orientation should not be an issue. A very few piece of original art will increase in value. Spend as if that doesn't matter.
posted by theora55 at 11:25 AM on February 4, 2011


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