Any art collectors on here ?

[Hobo]

As per the title really.

I’m
Looking to purchase a few originals for the house which is close to refurbishment and was wondering what kind of discounts can be generally be sought from dealers ?

[Big Stevie]

There's a good thread on art here..

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[DeuceDeuce]

Really broad question and you’ll need to be more specific to get the best answers.

What kind of art are you thinking of buying and for what purpose? Investment or to enjoy? Both?

If it’s for investment then forget about it. The game is fixed and given your question, you’re not going to win.

Buy stuff you like. Try not to pay too much, so avoid galleries and focus on the secondary market.

[Puzzles]

Pretty much all the pieces I buy are "one offs" from local artists. Reasonable prices and all I enjoy looking at.

[Hobo]

I genuinely don’t get the ‘investment’ thing so the pieces we are looking to purchase from the gallery are ones we like first and foremost, although it they happen to hold their value that would be good.

The gallery is bringing a few pieces round to the house next week to see them in their intended positions before we make a final decision.

I quite like the idea of having some nice pieces around the house, ideally originals.

Looking at a largish piece by James Preston, another by Paul Kenton, a Danielle O’Connor Akiyama, and a couple more who’s name eludes me (probably because I don’t like them but the wife does).

[UnclePat]

I’ve enjoyed buying some original art in the past year.

I know nothing, but it’s interesting learning, and as your ‘taste’ develops, though quite addictive.

Buying at the low end of the scale, under £200 usually though up to £700 to date.

I like to support local artists, and they are often quite a bit cheaper (and more satisfying) to buy directly from.

Instagram is great for exploring styles, so you can decide what you like before taking the plunge, and it connects to other artists too, broadening horizons.

I also check out local auction sites, again also good for exposure to different styles. Even with having to add 20/25% on top of winning bids for Fees, it’s possible to pick-up work by fairly well known local artists for not much.

As noted, I think it’s best to buy what you like and assume it’ll have minimal or much-reduced resale value.

Though there are a few artists who started during Covid whose work I admired but never bought, and now their prices are quite a bit higher, so I may have missed out! Whilst I’d hesitate to call it investment potential, it does show that (providing they last in appeal and are not flashes in the pan) it’s possible to identify promising artists early and make a decent value buy.

[bennno]

Note art from the likes of whitewall galleries is ‘mass produced’ thats not collector grade and is being sold at a 4-5x mark up.

Find an independent gallery, go on holiday for a week in the uk, plenty of little galleries in wales, jersey or West Sussex etc.

Buy what you like, assume it’d not be possible to resell.

[Hobo]

bennno said:

Note art from the likes of whitewall galleries is ‘mass produced’ thats not collector grade and is being sold at a 4-5x mark up.

Find an independent gallery, go on holiday for a week in the uk, plenty of little galleries in wales, jersey or West Sussex etc.

Buy what you like, assume it’d not be possible to resell.

Appreciated, and is certainly the intention to buy what we like.

Assuming we are looking to make purchases from galleries of the type you mention, what sort of discounts would be available do you think ?

[bennno]

Hobo said:

bennno said:

Note art from the likes of whitewall galleries is ‘mass produced’ thats not collector grade and is being sold at a 4-5x mark up.

Find an independent gallery, go on holiday for a week in the uk, plenty of little galleries in wales, jersey or West Sussex etc.

Buy what you like, assume it’d not be possible to resell.

Appreciated, and is certainly the intention to buy what we like.

Assuming we are looking to make purchases from galleries of the type you mention, what sort of discounts would be available do you think ?

From small independents typically little, but you’d only be paying a fraction of what the mass galleries charge.

[Riley Blue]

Every so often I put in a request for an 'Art & Antiques' section in PH but as the only place to do it is in 'Website Feedback' it isn't seen by many and cross-posting to draw attention to it isn't allowed.

I feel such a section would be well supported but how to get it added... any ideas?

(Apologies for going off topic.)

Edited by Riley Blue on Thursday 23 March 18:02

[will_]

Over a few years I ended up buying 12 pieces by the same artist (all originals), one directly, one via auction and the rest via the dealer/agent. Generally speaking I managed to negotiate circa 10% off each one (other than the auction, but that was a bargain), but it will very much depend on the artist/value/relationship etc. If you are buying them all at once from the sale dealer I would expect a decent discount but ultimately as each one is unique if you want it you'll need to be reasonable!

[knk]

A gallery will normally take 50% of the purchase price, however do not expect to get a huge discount going direct as an artist selling their work for much less than the gallery will devalue it and not be in their interests (and the gallery is likely to be pretty unhappy too).
It is sometimes possible to commission something for a good discount on what you would pay otherwise.

Buy what you like and pay what you think it is worth to own the piece. Support local artists and independent galleries.

[ettore]

I buy art - not consistently but fairly constantly, and a mix of styles and formats.

I'd generally agree with the comments here, but would add that Auctions, both local and national, are also good sources. In most cases just buy what you like and don't concern yourself with re-sale. There are exceptions though if there is a specific artist, period and/or style you favour. I like English abstract artists for example, and so I have researched, enjoyed and ultimately bought some good quality pieces that I would hope appreciate. Signed multiples/prints can also hold value or appreciate - I tend to stick to very limited, high quality, runs from established artists. Its surprising how reasonable it can be to get a signed Picasso or Hockney on the wall! I would add that fakery is rife here, so I tend to stick to Bonhams etc. for stuff like that.

Also agree, that an arts/antiques section would be interesting.

[ooid]

If you have no idea what you are looking for, I would highly recommend a consultant/specialist. They would be quite useful for this. At the end of the day, if you are collecting it should be something you really "like" whatever the investment result might end up in the future.

[Pheo]

Usefully timed thread as I was thinking about buying some art by a local artist but was all muddled up between original artwork, limited edition signed prints, and just a general licensed print.

Sounds like I shouldn’t worry too much, as it’s a total lottery as to whether you happen to buy the next Banksy or not

[ooid]

If you really love it and afford it, you can just buy it, that's the nice part of Art. If what you bought somehow becomes a really niche "beauty" and it's limited numbers, it will become massively valuable in the future. My personal opinion, it should be "hand-made", whatever the format it is, there should be some feature of original artist's manual labour which will make it both valuable and important in the future.

I've bought over the years, some artist/designers furniture and products and actually still using them. I believe some of them at the moment will be selling over 5-6 multiples in auction houses but would not sell them unless I'm desperate.

[Hobo]

Pheo said:

Usefully timed thread as I was thinking about buying some art by a local artist but was all muddled up between original artwork, limited edition signed prints, and just a general licensed print.

Sounds like I shouldn’t worry too much, as it’s a total lottery as to whether you happen to buy the next Banksy or not

I appreciate a lot of the decisions are financially led, or based on financial restrictions, however my thoughts is that I want mainly originals as opposed to limited edition prints. Obviously that will limited the number of pieces I purchase, so will likely have a few prints also, but my drive will be to save for originals moving forward as they are just 'night and day' when you see them side by side.