Anyone can be a successful art collector. Experience, art degrees or having worked in the art business can be advantageous. However, not having these doesn’t disqualify you from art collecting success. What you basically need is love for fine art, the drive to collect art. You also need to have the desire to learn tricks and methods used to identify and assess a piece of art and identify crucial features such as the artist, its age and its origins.

What is the right way of collecting art?

Established art collectors will try to recommend specific types of art and even the methods they believe to be the best. However, there aren’t any absolute right methods or best type of art to buy. Remember that these collectors are doing exactly what you should; subjectively deciding which type of art is good by using senses and tastes.

Truth be told, everyone has the right to choose the type of art they like and would want to spend money on. Never let anyone make this decision for you. Since beliefs are different, the tips presented in this article cannot apply to everyone who considers themselves an art lover or collector. The tips are therefore meant for those people who want to collect art which they find attractive and not those recommended by others.

Four things to consider before buying artwork

The process of buying any piece of art be it a sculpture, painting or whatever involves the same steps. There are four things to consider when considering what to buy.

One. The artist

To know more about the artist of a particular piece, you can get information in two forms. What you hear about the artist and his or her art and, what you read about the same. You can get to hear about a particular artist from different sources including close friends, fellow collectors, the artist himself, news and so on.  Information regarding the artist can be read on print and digital media related to art.

Two. Relevance of the piece

Finding the relevance of the piece is simply a matter of following through the artist’s career. Find as many pieces done by the artist whether on display or in print. Try to understand how the particular piece fits into the artist’s career. You might find that with luck, landing a priceless piece will be quite easy.

Three. The history of the piece

You need to consider also where the piece has been throughout its life. Where has it been since it was completed? By identifying where the piece has been, you will be able to determine its perceived value. An indicator of valuable pieces is where they are displayed. If a piece has been on display in top art galleries, it might be an indicator of its high value.

Four. Price of the piece

Art can be ridiculously overpriced in some cases. A common mistake art collectors make is determining the current price by guessing what the piece might be worth in the future. As a result, they pay a lot more for it than it is worth. Simply rely on your research on the piece and instincts to determine how much you would spend on it.