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Buy Art That Speaks to You
By Deborah | November 15, 2007
Have you ever heard people say that you should buy art that speaks to you? What if the art says nothing, but you still think it would match your sofa? Should you buy it anyway? While matching the sofa is a practical issue, it is more important to buy art that you love and that you will be happy with for many years.
The first thing you want to consider when selecting art is your taste. Now, I know what you’re thinking—what if you have no taste? Rest assured everyone has a preference when it comes to art. People just have a hard time articulating what they want. To complicate matters further, many people find that their spouse or roommate have very different tastes when it comes to art. If this is the case, you will need a small dose of art therapy. The kind of art therapy I’m talking about requires several field trips together visiting museums and art galleries. (It’s the perfect date idea for you and your husband…except, perhaps, during football season!) Once you start communicating openly about your likes and dislikes, you will be able to find some common ground to work with.
After determining your taste in art, you will want to consider art from both primary and secondary markets. In the primary market (the first time art is sold), you will be purchasing art directly from the artist or the artist’s representative. The primary market offers a great opportunity to discover and support emerging artists. This market is more speculative than the secondary market since the artist/artist representative instead of the market is determining the value.
If you are considering pieces from the secondary market (resale), there are several things you will want to consider before purchasing:
Authenticity – Determine that the work was done by the artist to whom it is ascribed.
Quality – The work should rank among the best work of the artist.
Rarity – The rarer the piece within an artist’s body of work, typically the more monetary value will be attributed to the piece.
Condition – Does the piece need restoration? If there are signs of previous restoration, was it done properly?
Provenance – The seller should be able to provide the buyer with a complete history of who previously owned the work.
Value – The value will include the variables mentioned above and any information regarding secondary market sales for the artist.
No matter which end of the spectrum your taste in art happens to fall, the more time you spend educating yourself about art, the better purchasing decisions you will make. So, don’t just buy a piece of art to match the sofa…take the time to find art that truly speaks to you! If it happens to look great with the sofa…that’s all the better.
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