What can be more difficult than buying art? What can be more confusing than evaluating art? When established universal criteria really don’t exist. Most of all, deciding if art is “Good” or “Bad” and “High” or “Low”, could be frustrating for the art admirer.
In Classicism “High art” according to Thesaurus has many synonyms. The most important ones are grandeur, excellence, refinement, class, aesthetic principles, pure taste, elegance, dignity, polish. And the antonyms to high art are bad manners, disproportion, unevenness, crudeness, imbalance.
Matt Plescher writes for “The Rapidian”. He indicates that “high” and “low” in the art can be traced back to 18th century. Writers in the 1700’s drew a line between work that is purely for aesthetics (fine art) and work that has some sort of utility or function (craft). Paraphrasing from Matt Pletcher’s article: “High art” is aesthetic contemplation (fine art) with a higher value, while “Low art” is (functional art) of lower value.
Tips on buying art
If your objective is buying art, you need to first “get educated” so to speak. Serious collectors visiting museums, galleries, and fairs. Engage in a training period for learning. Cultivating a taste is the most important part. And in this day and age, you can do a lot of research online. You simply need to see a lot of art before actually buying it.
Eventually, one develops the sense to distinguish between “Fine art” and “Commercial art”. Fine art is created for art’s sake. Commercial art, in most instances, is made for creating profit, and usually comes in multiple pieces.
Find which style, period, and medium appeals to you. Then, refine your search by comparing the artists who created in that genre.
Learn the factors that affect your purchase, such as the rarity and originality and the market you are buying from.
Establish your budget well in advance. Talking to gallery owners is paramount. They bring a deep perspective and knowledge from the business side, not otherwise available elsewhere.
Another frequently offered recommendation is that one should but art that they “love”. So if commercial art appeals, and is within the budget that is OK to buy. For those who do not purchase art for investment, the decision can be fairly simple. These buyers can act on impulse.
“Artsy” offers some good tips to the beginner art collector, in their article “7 Tips on Buying Your First Piece of Art”
Agora gallery offers some good advice in their article “The Art of Buying Art”. They have published this article in their “How To” tutorials and it explores the “What Where and How” of buying art.
If you want to buy fine art online read the article on the subject in the Blog.
For investors
Buying art for the investor is even more complicated. The investor type is considered in certain circles “serious collector”. Investment in the arts brings additional considerations. How established is the artist? Will the art investment appreciate in value? Is the artist fashionable? Here, the potential exists that art investors may lean towards art they do not necessarily love, in favor of a perceived good investment. And this can usually fire back since investment grade art that is fashionable today may fade tomorrow. The best thing an art investor can do is to buy time-tested artists. Their works will continue to appreciate.
Speak to an appraiser who knows the artist and period of creation. And if the art is of the investment type, speak to an adviser.
In an article on Money Sense, Mark Anderson offers “Five tips on buying art” if you are going “original”.
And don’t forget that Google is your friend. Almost any information you need is available if you search Google.
Conclusion
Opinion 1: Anyone on a low $ amount budget, and who need to resolve an “urgent” decorating project, buy anything you like, posters photography commercially produced artworks. Anywhere you can find it.
Opinion 2: People who have medium to high $$ amount budgets, acquire an extensive “visual” education, do comparative research, buy online.
Opinion 3: For individuals who have a high $$$ amount budget, add specialized galleries and auction houses to statement expressed in Opinion 2 above.
Suggested Sources:
The definition High Art – Thesaurus –
“The Art of Buying Art” – Agora Gallery –
“High and low art” – The Rapidian
“Tips on buying your first piece” – Artsy
Healing art – ArtgreeT Blog
