• Art is a serious business – For most people, art is a very personal journey that begins as an exercise in filling up vast expanses of empty wall space to make one’s home look more interesting and appealing. The use of colour, subject matter, and artistic medium leaves one with an endless variety of options. And for a lot of people it’s just a process of putting together a collection that that complements the colour and materials scheme and style of furniture that have been put together by an interior designer. Some people have no emotional attachment whatsoever for the art that’s on their walls and view it as nothing more than a distinct asset class like real estate or precious metals. I know people who only buy the work of established artists whose rising stock guarantees a significant ROI. Investor-collectors will either buy top grade or mid-tier art for between $ 1k – $ 100k and then wait for time to do its work before their investments appreciate into the 7 or 8 figure range. Although the aesthetic appeal of a piece of art might factor into their decision to buy something, what matters more to these people is who made it, how valuable is it, and how much more it might appreciate. Not to mention that buying fine art can make them look more “serious” and “cultured”. That’s why they may only open their wallets if a piece of art has been made by a name-brand artist like Jeff Koons or KAWS for example. To these types of buyers, art is nothing more than an investment that will be purchased and then resold once the time is right. It’s not uncommon to find “flippers” in the art world as in the world of real estate. As an asset class, art can also be subject to the vagaries of taste so if you’re buying art purely for investment, keep in mind the art market behaves exactly like the property or stock markets. What goes up must sometimes come down. And vice versa.
• Art gives people an insight into the real you – People hire interior designers like myself to present their space in a more functional and aesthetically pleasing manner. Part of my job includes giving them advice on what kind of art to buy that also reflects who they are. Some clients end up getting really serious about buying art once they begin their art-collecting journey. What does your own art say about you? Are you a futurist who believes in the promise of technology? Then perhaps contemporary art (i.e, abstract expressionism [ab-ex] or even just stark black & white photographs of pretty much any type of subject like this picture below of a gentleman holding a paintbrush) is for you. Do you romanticize the past and believe that life was much better back in the days when people didn’t have all kinds of stuff to keep themselves entertained? Then perhaps you are into classical art like the impressionist school or even much older than that. Or maybe you’ve got a wicked sense of humor and are a child at heart, in which case you might want to invest in pop art. If like to explore new places and have a passion for architecture and design, then you may want to display pictures of historical structures that you’ve visited on your travels that you’ve taken yourself or purchased from a local photographer. Or maybe you are a film aficionado, which means that collecting promotional movie posters from a specific decade of the previous century might be just the thing for you. Whatever it is that you’re into, showcasing art on your walls is certainly a good way to trigger meaningful conversations with visitors to your home who may share some of your own personal influences or interests.
• Collecting art is one of the most rewarding things to do, emotionally and financially – I personally like to invest in tangible things like property and fine art. I’ve never been really interested in putting my money in stocks like certain members of my own family. I simply don’t understand these things and don’t have the patience for them as stocks seem to be more conceptual (i.e. like cryptocurrency) than real. If I had more money and space I would definitely invest in vintage cars except I would need more garage space and a full-time mechanic to keep them running as cars that aren’t driven regularly tend to fall apart more easily. I would collect wine except I don’t drink it as much and I would need a vast cellar for all those bottles. I could build a sneaker collection except I’m not a big fan of displaying shoes as I don’t consider such mass-produced objects in the same league as fine art no matter how much they’re coveted and traded. I like automatic watches except I don’t see the point of collecting them as I’ve never seen anyone put their watch collection on display in their living room. They’re mostly hidden safely in a drawer or vault hidden from prying eyes and slippery fingers. Plus they do need constant looking after as well or they also break down if left unattended. But art? Not only can you hang a cast of constantly changing canvases on your walls. They are light, easy to transport, and relatively affordable especially if you’re buying from obscure artists who have yet to be discovered and spoiled by fame. You can amass a few dozen pieces or even a few hundred of them if you’ve got an attic or basement to spare. And even though many pieces in your entire collection may end up being lousy investments, you could easily end up with a small number of paintings that might allow you to retire comfortably after you sell them (you don’t have to sell everything, just the most valuable ones), especially if you know what you’re doing and trained yourself to spot rising stars.
• The art collecting exit strategy – The great thing about art is that at the end of your art collecting journey, you can decide to bequeath the entire collection to a family member, sell them off one at a time along the way [or all in one shot], or donate them to a museum so that the general public can appreciate them. Some people collect art at random, while some do it intentionally and strategically by investing in artists whose stock is the rise. Gertrude and Leo Stein bought avante garde art that no one thought would be worth anything when these first surfaced. They started collecting the very early works of fauvists like Henri Matisse and cubists like Pablo Picasso, before their respective movements even had a name. Peggy Guggenheim specialized in collecting modern art, which she also referred to as “outsider art” as these were not considered mainstream and actually even called “degenerate art” by the Nazis. She bought art that people were unfamiliar with and lacked the foresight to appreciate from artists like Wassily Kandinsky (whose work is pictured below) and Yves Tanguy. It’s also the game played more recently by Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a postal worker and librarian, respectively. Both lived in a humble one-bedroom apartment in NYC and lived modestly. At the end of each workday, they would visit the studios of young struggling artists like Richard Tuttle, Donald Judd, and Chuck Close. The Vogels, Steins, and Guggenheim bought art that were at rock bottom prices and before any of the artists they collected from were famous. They focused on 1 or 2 schools of thought and bought repeatedly from the same artists, helping nurture their rise from obscurity to fame. At the end of their lives, their foresight had paid off, with their Stein and Guggenheim collections valued at more than $ 1 billion each today, and the Vogel collection valued at more than a hundred million before it was eventually disposed of. Not bad for a pair of blue collar workers who never earned more than $ 100k a year.
• Selling some of your art can come in handy during those unexpected rainy days – If there is anything similar about the journey of the Vogels, the Steins, and Peggy Guggenheim, it’s the fact that they all collected art because they loved being around it and supporting artists as valuable members of the community. They never really bought art for the eventual payoff (although Peggy did operate 2 separate for-profit art galleries in NYC and London that didn’t do too well financially… such can be the fate of being a visionary at the early stage of one’s life journey) although they weren’t averse to selling some pieces when they needed to. A friend of my own sister actually sold one of her paintings when she needed to make repairs to her house which had been damaged by a flood. As a designer, I am not attached to anything and don’t mind buying and selling art that are on my walls because (1) I don’t have unlimited space and (2) I would like to make room for new and exciting work from rising stars (3) it’s a great way to connect with other like-minded souls who appreciate the power and beauty of art, whether that be a fellow collector, dealer or artist-creator. Like the Vogels, Steins, and Peggy Guggenheim, I like to discover the next Picasso, Matisse, or Kandinsky and support their rise to the top. If people don’t support their work, then artists will literally starve to death. And where will that bring society if we don’t invest in these valuable cultural artifacts? Art lasts forever and carries more significance to people than they realize. Art can generate more lasting happiness than a new designer bag or shoe ever can. And if you have to sell bits and pieces of your collection to pay for some of your living expenses – or some kind of much-needed medical operation – then there is that option as well.
