Buying art: The huckster

Huckster dealers don't care about art. They care about money. And they make plenty of it by selling overpriced works to gullible collectors.

Hucksters sell authentic art but use hard-sell techniques that make exaggerated claims about its value. At a huckster gallery, every contemporary artist is "world famous," even if you've never heard the name before. Every second-rate piece by an artist you actually have heard of is "museum quality." The sales pitch here is that you have a rare opportunity to buy something that's going to become valuable later.
Fortunately, this emphasis on money is what helps you spot a huckster.

For example, hucksters often brag that a contemporary artist's price doubled recently, though that may simply mean that the gallery doubled its asking price. Before you get too excited about what huge profits you're going to make, check the Internet or a buying guide to see what the art really sells for outside the gallery (see the Resources section for more information). You may find it has no resale value at all.

If a gallery is giving you a hard sell about how "hot" their contemporary art is, you can be sure it isn't. At the truly hot contemporary galleries, collectors often have to beg the dealer to get even a place on the waiting list. Macabre promises about how the prices will skyrocket when the artist dies are another dead giveaway.

Huckster galleries are sort of like tourist traps and, not surprisingly, are often located near tourist hotels and souvenir shops. Hucksters also like to be near legitimate galleries, to poach potential customers and to look as though they're part of the art scene.

Because hucksters rely heavily on walk-in customers, you are most likely to find them in street-level galleries in busy, upscale pedestrian areas where tourists and shoppers have money to spend. Conversely, you're less likely to be dealing with a huckster if the gallery is on a hard-to-find side street, or on an upper-level floor, or in a neighborhood where struggling artists have yet to be replaced by investment bankers.

Recognizing the huckster's hard sell
As soon as you walk into one of these sell-sell-sell galleries, the salespeople will cozy up to you, complimenting you on your excellent taste. Whichever picture you happen to look at first will invariably be the "best one in the gallery," and aren't you smart for having picked it out all by yourself? The point of this flattery is to link your self-esteem to ownership of the artwork. Hucksters also try to draw you into small talk about your occupation or where you live, in a sneaky attempt to figure out how much you can afford.

Before you know it, a salesperson is taking a picture off the wall and scooting you into a private "viewing room." An assistant offers you wine or Perrier. Another salesperson may pop in to reaffirm what a good choice you made. If you've ever been to snooty galleries where you felt unwelcome, such attention may be flattering and fun. At this point, it's very hard for most people to get out of the viewing room without buying.

If the artwork is part of a numbered series, a huckster might tell you that the series is almost sold out or that you are looking at the very last copy. Better get it now! If it's a one of-a-kind piece, you may be told that another collector wants it, but if you buy right now-today-it's yours.

Never go into a viewing room unless you have already decided you want to buy the art and have the stamina to hold out for a fair price. If you find that you've been transported to the viewing room seemingly against your will, make an excuse and leave. Or leave without an excuse.

Remember: If a dealer's main sales pitch is that you'll make money, what he really means is that you'll make money for him. (To learn about the special practices of huckster oriental rug dealers, see Chapter 8, "Oriental Rugs.")

Telltale signs of a huckster
• Is more interested in profits than in art
• Uses hard-sell tactics
• Resorts to excessive flattery
• Usually has easy-to-like, very commercial art
• Often is located in a tourist area

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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.