Think you have the next Van Gogh on your wall? Follow these tips before you bank on resale value.
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The (relative) importance of signature-style work
Artists may like to experiment with different styles, but serious collectors prefer archetypal work-something that is recognizably in the artist's best-known style. To use a famous example, if you were buying a Chuck Close, you'd want to buy a "photorealism" painting.
Nonarchetypal work rarely appreciates as much as the artist's signature style. If you're choosing between two artworksone archetypal, the other not-the archetypal example is usually the better investment choice. That's partly why you want to know how a particular piece fits into the artist's overall career.
On the other hand, if you really spark to a nonarchetypal style, go ahead and buy it. It's usually less expensive, and sometimes the work is appreciated later. For example, the noted photographer Weegee (Arthur Fellig) made a series of experimental "distortion" photos that collectors dismissed for decades in favor of his photojournalism. Now these distortion photos are shown at the white-hot Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea. Good luck trying to buy one.
Authenticity concerns
When you buy a new work of art, you don't have to worry whether it's authentic, but you do have to worry about how you'll prove it's authentic in the future. Some collectors with great taste and foresight bought future stars early on, only to have the artist's authentication board later say it couldn't authenticate the work!
If you're buying directly from an artist, get a written, signed receipt, and keep your canceled check made out to the artist. If you're buying from a gallery, make sure you get a receipt on gallery letterhead. Do this even if the artist is completely unknown-you never know!
What's your preferred genre of art? Chat about it in our forums.
Excerpted from The Intrepid Art Collector by Lisa Hunter Copyright (c) 2006 by Lisa Hunter. Excerpted by permission of Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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