About the author: Ruth is a writer, curator, and project consultant with an MA in Contemporary Curating, specializing in digital technologies and the works of Roland Barthes and John Berger. Her writing focuses on technology in art, sculpture, and installation, and in 2024, she curated The Future is Female, showcasing work by 14 women sculptors at the Garrison Chapel. More about Ruth
Collectors and patrons have been a backbone of the art industry for centuries. In the 21st century, with dizzying auction results pushing the price of art ever upwards, there is a perception that building an art collection can be the savvy investor’s pathway to fortune. This is compounded by commercial galleries marketing this as an investment accessible to an entry-level buyer. They’ve found the next big thing and they are seeing big returns on investments, which is not surprising, considering they control the market and inflate the price.
For an art lover who has just started building their collection, these promises of fortune and recession-proof investments can sound like a no-brainer. However, if this is your main motivation for buying art, you are barking up the wrong tree. The bulk of financial return is concentrated at the top of the art market, often leaving naive beginner collectors disappointed with their return. This does not mean art as an investment is out of the average collector’s reach, but rather that you have to be savvy and avoid any ‘get rich quick’ promises when building your collection.
Furthermore, collecting art should be seen as an investment in yourself and the culture sector. The return is not just financial, but it should give you, the collector, a form of cultural capital as a patron of the arts. With this in mind, a guiding consideration should be to buy what you love.
'Eighty percent of the art bought from local dealers and local art fairs will never resell for as much as the original purchase price. Never, not a decade later, not ever.' – Don Thompson, The 12 Million Stuffed Shark
What Art to Collect?
“It is important to recognize the intrinsic value of art beyond its financial aspects” says Niki Gifford, director of Gifford Arts. “Many collectors enjoy the emotional and intellectual satisfaction they derive from their collections and view art collecting as an enriching source of continual inspiration and learning.”
We go to galleries, read about artists and line our homes with works because we feel it enriches our lives. The works you buy as a collector should contribute to this. Buying a piece you’re dubious about just because it’s by a name that might be the next big thing, is a sure-fire way to disappointment.
'Acquiring art often starts with a piece of art that captures the imagination of the individual, and gradually, as their knowledge and passion develops, so does their collection. This underscores the idea that collecting art is more about personal fulfillment than financial gain.' – Niki Gifford
Firstly, do some research. Read books on art, go to gallery openings (the secret no one in the art world wants you to know is that it is very easy to get on the lists for opening nights), do studio visits, and get a sense of what you like and what you think will look good in your home.
“I’d been an art lover for 10 years before buying my first gallery piece – a big photograph bought with my first bonus” says Juliette Vartikar, founder of Art Sustainability. “Since then I’ve been collecting regularly, travelling to fairs and finding young artists to support. I have diverse taste across mediums – from painting to photography to wood print to sculpture – but I buy what I love and it makes me feel more like myself in my home.”
An eclectic collection can allow you to bring together the diversity of your tastes, support a broad range of artists, and curate an engaging collection of works. The collector is not a museum and you do not have to be guided by strict rules of what to buy, if that's your prerogative. Your initial principle will be your budget. If you love oil painting but only have a budget of £800, then you may struggle to find a work in that medium in the British or American market. If you would still like to pursue it, you would need to research emerging markets or even look at art school graduation shows to find a piece which suits you. Alternatively, you could choose to pursue another medium, which is more affordable and accessible within your market. Realistic expectations paired with artistic passion is the sensible approach.
A contrary perspective would be to pursue a specialized collection. This allows for a focus on a subject, medium or type of artist particularly close to the collector’s heart. Georgia Powell, co-founder of CURA Art, notes: “We’ve noticed a more focused approach to collecting, whether that’s collecting solely women artists, those from underrepresented groups, or else collecting with a theme in mind, such as ‘identity’. We feel that with the opening up of collecting, this is helping to define collections more clearly, and create a unique or interesting nature to them, and also address subjects close to a collector’s heart.”
Whether you have decided to go for the eclectic or focused approach, the serious collector will pool their resources towards the best work they can get. You should assess how much you intend to spend over a course of time – say, 12 months – and then work out what you can get for that. Compare the quality of work you could get for a lump sum as opposed to spending less on several smaller works. If one larger spend means getting a signed piece by an established artist, that piece is perhaps a better investment than several smaller pieces by mid-level or emerging artists.
Added Expenses
It is also important to think about your collection long-term. Owning a piece of artwork is not just the initial cost, but a long-term expense. Expert valuations reported by Artsy in 2017 indicate the costs associated with artworks as ranging from “1-2% of the overall value of a collection to as high as 15-20%”. Your extra costs include transport, installation, framing, insurance, and country-dependent taxes.
While wanting to avoid as many costs as possible, taking care of your collection is important and you may want to seek expert advice. This can often come from the artist themselves, or even from a trusted framer (a good framer can be a fountain of knowledge). If your collection is particularly large, you may want to seek a specialist service. “Our philosophy is about supporting collecting with a purpose” says Georgia Powell. “We work very closely with our clients at all stages of collecting to ensure that they understand the responsibilities of being a cultural custodian. This means managing their collections and ensuring the legacy of art works, but also building relationships with the artists and acknowledging their place within the arts ecosystem. We’ve found that this approach not only benefits the arts, but also makes the process of collecting infinitely more rewarding and enjoyable.”
Where to buy art?
There are more spaces to buy art than ever. From traditional galleries to online stores, the whole world is a marketplace. Indeed, whilst the art market contracted last year, the volume of sales actually increased, according to UBS. Finding an arena you feel comfortable in is a good first step.
For the first time buyer, art fairs can be good spaces to get a sense of what a lot of galleries have at once, and also what is popular in the market at the moment. You need to be somewhat discerning that these can end up a junkyard of what galleries cannot sell. You also need to pick one on the right level for you.
The online market is ever expanding. The UBS/Art Basel joint report into the art market in 2023 found that;
'After two years of growth, sales in the art market eased 4% in 2023 to an estimated $65 billion, due in part to slower turnover at the high end of the market. But sales remained above pre-pandemic levels, due partly to continued growth in online sales, now representing 18% of turnover, almost double pre-pandemic levels. Digital innovations for viewing and buying art across web-based and mobile tools, as well as heightened engagement by galleries, auction houses, dealers, and collectors, point to the increasing importance of the digital sphere in generating new opportunities.'
This annual report by UBS and Art Basel gives an interesting picture of the art market and the growing importance of buying online. The online market allows the collector to browse a global catalogue of artworks, unrestricted by which galleries or fairs are local to them. You can view prices for a particular artist globally, and thus work out an average of what you should be spending on their work. Broadly, the ability to buy online is a boon to the collector’s arsenal.
Nonetheless, as with any platform for buying art, there are steps you should take to ensure you are getting authentic, quality art. First of all: only buy from reputable sites. This may be directly from a gallery’s website, an online auction, or a popular online selling platform. You want exactly what you would want prior to buying in person – a guarantee of condition and a certificate of authenticity. You can ask for more pictures prior to purchase, you really want to see a piece at all angles as you would if you were buying in person.
Other online options which remain popular are art fairs. There now exist fairs for all levels of collectors from The Affordable Art Fair to Art Basel and Frieze. Even if you do not intend to buy, these can be good days to get the lay of the land and observe trends in artistic practices.
Art Fairs are a model which has continuously grown in the past years. As Pearl Lam observed in Forbes this year; “In 2005 there were 68 major art fairs worldwide. By 2012, this had grown to 189, and by 2019, the number of art fairs was at 408.”
The advantage of the art fair is, in a sense, similar to an online selling platform. You have a wide selection of work to take in, with the added advantage of seeing it in person. On the downside, they tend not to be thought of as the best the art world has to offer – rather, a route march of what galleries want to shift out of their stock. For instance, this year’s Frieze London was poorly received, with Jonathan Jones of the Guardian dubbing it “a graveyard of creativity for tasteless one percenters.”
You may want to build a relationship with the artist directly. This will not always be an option, as artists signed with galleries can often be prohibited from selling away from the gallery structure. With emerging artists, this can be a fantastic option to build a relationship with them at the start of their career and support their talent at a time where they live and die with each sale.
Sculptor Lydia Smith regularly works with collectors directly from her studio, whether that be creating commissions or collectors buying existing works. “For me, part of the joy of being an artist is connecting with my collectors. When they visit my studio, they experience an environment that is in a state of evolution. Benches are covered with sketches, new sculptures are being made, and each visit is unique. It’s rare to interact directly with artists at art fairs and in gallery settings; by buying directly from the artists, collectors not only see the studio’s intimate workings, but also begin to build a relationship with the artist.”
Collect art for the soul’s wealth, not the wallet’s gain – beauty enriches in ways money can’t – Niki Gifford
The first steps in building an art collection can seem daunting, but the rewards are endless. Art is a delicate ecosystem, and for most artists and galleries their bread and butter are the sales to smaller collectors who love the work they have to offer. As a collector, you can support the ecosystem by buying responsibly and simultaneously building your own cultural capital, enhancing your home and nourishing your cultural wellbeing. Just remember, amongst the rest of the noise, to buy what you love.