feel like an activity out of reach for the average consumer. In fact, there has never been a better time to collect art.The internet has made artists and the work they produce accessible on all levels, and galleries, art fairs and even art and crafts markets continue to make art available to the wider public. Colleges and universities continue to produce art graduates, and these young art graduates manage day jobs and careers in support of their vocation. All of this begs the question: how does someone begin collecting art?
Art is for Everyone
Sotheby's, the art and antiques auction house, made a record $412 million in sales last year at its annual auction. The highest bid of the night, Andy Warhol's Statue of Liberty 1966, went for a record $39 million dollars. Contemporary living artists continue to make record sales at both Christie's and Sotheby's auctions and this can lead the public to believe that art is out of range for the average person. In fact, art comes in all shapes and sizes and prices vary tremendously. Auction houses like Sotheby's in fact deal with art on the secondary market, which is one of the reasons their prices are so high. But a visit to a local art gallery will reveal that most prices for art are quite modest. Art sold at this level is called the "primary market" and is where most collectors will make their purchases.
Art Can Be Affordable
There should be no hard and fast rule for what motivates a collector in their purchasing decisions. Buy what you like and buy what you can afford. Period. Buying a small original drawing for $50 should give a collector just as much satisfaction as spending $25,000 on a large painting. It should be fun and the work should move you. Anyone collecting art can get some really great art cheaply that rivals the best of what is sold at the contemporary art auction houses. Trust your instincts. People are often of the opinion that they do not know enough to be engaged with art in a meaningful way, but this is simply not true. The problem with art in today's world is that it does not have as strong a media presence as other forms of art and entertainment, and so people do not engage it as often as they used to. Art is an old friend that has been with humanity since its inception, and all of us are hardwired to appreciate art and beauty.
Go to Galleries and Museums
Gallery owners and their staff are a great resource for the beginning collector in assisting with their education. Artists are usually greatly appreciative of collectors visiting their studios, and collectors can often get much better prices visiting an artist's studio than they would through a gallery or art fair. Artists are usually much better at explaining their work in the comfort of their studios than in the confines of a gallery opening. Collectors should also use art magazines and join museums to expand their knowledge. Museums will often provide talks on collecting and offer tips for the beginner, particularly on which artists are working in the area they live.
Artists Need You
Two of the most important collectors living in New York City were not multimillionaires, but a postal worker and a librarian. The Vogel's amassed one of the most important collections of minimalist and conceptual art in the United States through a lifetime of collecting. They did it on a modest budget while living in a one bedroom apartment, and the work in their collection is now estimated to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Let that be a call to arms for the budding collector.