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The (Budget)Wise Art Collector

© Barbara Bell

For centuries, collecting fine art was the exclusive province of the wealthy. Patrons such as royalty, the Catholic Church, and successful merchants enabled artists like da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rubens to survive and even prosper. Even into the 19th and 20th centuries, Sargent and Whistler depended upon the income from their society portraits to make other, perhaps more experimental, works possible.

Of course, there were and still are many reasons to purchase artwork. One wants tangible evidence of one's travels, or a portrait to leave to one's heirs, or a place to spend one's wealth for the envy of one's peers. Or perhaps a monument must be erected to commemorate a life, a victory, or a god. Some art was educational, some whimsical. There was a direct bond between artist and patron in which the needs of each was met by the other.

In the 20th century, collectable art became increasingly available to a wider market. Works by popular artists were reproduced as prints, posters made an artist's style familiar to the general population, and the availability of works on paper such as etchings, engravings and watercolors by famous artists enabled the middle-class collector to own works of art for his own home.

Today's collector increasingly turns to collecting fine art as an investment. Even so, the wise collector follows the same primary guideline as has every notable collector before him: Buy only that which you like. Buy the piece you can live with forever, without thought of its investment value. If you like it, if it "speaks" to you, you will never regret the purchase regardless of its future value. Most of the well-publicized high prices realized in today's auction market are for works which may have been in a collection for over fifty years, so the seller "lived" with that item a very long time!

Collecting affordable art, especially for the novice collector, often begins with works on paper such as engravings, etchings, posters, watercolors, or lithographs. My own collection of works on paper reflects several of my passions: France (especially Paris), my own watercolor and drawing hobbies, my Edwardian/Arts & Crafts décor, and my inherent Scottish thriftiness. Often these works are small in scale, and are within my budget as well.

Every collection begins when you first see a painting or drawing that grabs you emotionally. You discover the artist's name, and you seek out other works by that artist. Now is when your homework begins. Start by going online or to your local library to research the artist. Learn the "school" of art or the time period within which the artist worked. If you understand the influences in the artist's life, you will have a better grasp of the meaning of the work you are about to acquire.

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