- How to invest in art? Is art a good investment?
- Art worth investing in & Best art to buy for investment
- 3 August '19
by Alexandra Osadkova
3 August '19How to invest in art? Is art a good investment?
How much can a sound art investment be?
Print from a reasonably well-known painter may range $250-$1000. Are you prepared to get it, and while I agree, it is lovely, I am not so sure. Can the artwork in this price range be a fantastic investment, or can it be money down the drain?
Ensure that you are taking a look at an original print created and signed by the artist, which will usually be in an edition of less than 75, rather than in a"limited edition" color reproduction of a painting, which may be in an edition of several hundred or perhaps thousands. An original print with a renowned artist is more likely to retain its value. $1,500 would purchase your partner an excellent first print with a top-flight 21st-century artist.
Money is a moot point
Can you manage it? Do you enjoy it? If the answer is yes to both these questions, the factors on whether that is money down the drain are moot - the possible future monetary gain is secondary to the enjoyment you'll receive from owning the print.
Artwork at Virtosu Art Gallery
For anybody wanting to purchase contemporary art prints, you can purchase from $150 to $20,000.
Invest more than cash
Don't buy if it is only an investment. Otherwise, you'll be stuck with something that you do not like. I recently purchased a print for $200, and it is worth almost $2,000 - an investment far better than stocks, but I do not want to sell it!
Art in reason
Unless you are very knowledgeable and wealthy you should not buy art as an investment, but since you want your life improved - try looking at it this way: you will be investing a certain amount every day during the next 25 years to your spouse's daily enjoyment and psychological well-being. It seems like a deal to me. If you can't afford it, consider why you're buying it? I wonder how many classic cars, designer clothing, etc. are purchased on credit and impulse with the "investment" debate?
Artwork is a fickle fancy
There are two sorts of prints which are a world apart. The term is frequently used to refer to a limited run of a photographic manipulation - the product of a commercial enterprise, and unlikely to rise in financial worth. The second - etchings, mezzotints, lithographs, linocuts - primarily crafted by the artist him/herself and sold in limited editions, signed and numbered. The purchase price of the latter (often a lot more modest than $1,500) reflects the workmanship, materials, training, and reputation of this artist. They may retain or even increase in financial value - or might not! The artworld is inconsistent.
Best art investment today
Buy art only because you "experience" the work, have a strong response to it, and would like to live with it. If the value does not increase, you have the joy of living with it.
Proceed to museums, galleries, take classes, get subscriptions to artwork or antique publications. Since art is a new status symbol, there is a good deal of visual pollution-hack work that may bring in naive buyers. Watch fine art to find out more.
Don't get painting as it matches the couch.
Don't get painting as your neighbors are amassing "titles" such as Picasso or Miro. Do not blindly follow the critics. Time is the only evaluation of artwork. A politician's preferences can veer in different directions at different periods. Just because experts endorse an artist now does not mean they will prefer him in 10 or 20 years.
Some of the greatest fortunes in antiques or art are made by people who were not afraid to buck the trend.
Search for artists and periods that please your eye, but aren't popular at present. Some traders believe ancient Spanish painting (up to the Baroque era) has been disregarded and may become reevaluated. Get the names via a traders association or by recommendations from respected acquaintances that are collectors. There are first-rate galleries in several cities. Do not be intimidated by the mistaken notion that great galleries carry just "superstars." Galleries must develop new talent. Some galleries specialize in brand new artists. If it's an artist's earliest one-man show, it is possible to purchase a work for under $1,000.
