Buying Fine Art Is Not Like Buying Detergent
- February 14, 2011 07:13
Buying Fine Art Is Not Like Buying Detergent
It is essential to "buy intelligently". Too many art buyers make the wrong decision when buying art based on price alone, for instance comparing two examples of the same work of art with the objective of "saving money". What happens is many art buyers fall prey to buying the wrong work of art because it has the lowest price.
Several years ago, author Daniel Grant wrote a WSJ article titled Why You Can't Always Trust Art Dealers which casts a negative light on Art Dealers. We don't condone the ethical behavior cited by Mr. Grant and agree due diligence is essential to protect financial harm.
- Ask the art seller questions about the artwork you are considering, request a condition report, request detailed photographs.
- Be sure to get high resolution photographs and make sure the photographs are consistent.
- Get detailed photographs and be certain the color is consistent.
- If the work is framed, be certain to get a photograph of the artwork in its frame.
- Avoid buying art from art dealers who are fond listing artworks with a high degree of hyperbole and little objective information. In other words, be wary of buying from any art seller who tells you every work they are selling is rare. Generally that is a red flag, and best to avoid that seller. Bragging is generally vulgar, and in the art world, reputable art dealers never brag or tell you they sell the most, or are the "best". To see an example of this, best to avoid art dealers on Artsy or eBay who tell you they are "America's Favorite" or they sell the most ephemera of anyone. How would they know? Did they really do a legitimate survey? Or is this is hyperbole?
- Avoid buying art from dealers where the majority of the purported artworks for sale were previously owned by a deceased person, generally a bad sign.
- Avoid buying art from any seller who provides a certificate of authenticity for all works of art they sell, especially when they are selling artwork from hundreds and hundreds of artists. It is highly doubtful that any art dealer is an expert in everything.
As we stated, it is doubtful any art dealer is an authority in all artists, generally art dealers specialize. And never sell your art to the person who also appraises it since it is a conflict of interest.
If you want an appraisal, seek a legitimate appraiser who has the scholarship and connoisseurship of the respective field they are appraising, but do not also sell them your property.
Qualified appraisers will never appraise your property without a physical inspection. Any company/independent appraiser who says otherwise is not doing you any favors, especially for accurate appraisals.
As Mr. Grant suggested, artnet.com and artprice.com are useful tools, but only relying on these references is limiting. Buyers forget that when you compare realized auction prices, condition very much matters.
About Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd.
Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. is an Internationally respected dealer of secondary market post war & contemporary art & fine art advisory established in 1991. Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. buys & sells blue-chip paintings, sculpture, prints & multiples, fine art photography by leading contemporary artists & recognized internationally as a key source for art by Andy Warhol & Jasper Johns.
Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. has 3 decades multifaceted fine art experience as Art Collector, Art Dealer, Fine Art Executive & selling Fine Art Online which means we understand the challenges of buying art online so buyers are not disappointed or shocked when they receive artwork that is NOTHING LIKE what they thought they purchased or worse, fake like so many buyers are saying about their online purchases on Artsy & eBay.
Joseph K. Levene is a recognized Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol authority and author of The Fine Art Blog, official blog Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. Visit The Fine Art Blog to learn about a non-existent Roy Lichtenstein Finger Pointing printer's proof edition that fooled specialists at major auction firms in Fake Roy Lichtenstein Prints dupe Christie's, Phillips & Sotheby's. Robert Grunder and Joseph K. Levene didn't mince words in Auctionata Guarantee is a Guaranteed Risk, an analysis of the purported 25 year Auctionata guarantee behind the massive fraud that ranks among the top 200 start-up failures. Messrs. Grunder and Levene were so stunned by the extensive fraud, shill bidding and deceptive Auctionata practices that continued unchecked for several years, the two Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. officers co-authored: Was Auctionata ever ethical?
View blue-chip art by Jasper Johns, Alexander Calder, Richard Pettibone, Jeff Koons, Tony Rosenthal, Andy Warhol for sale from Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. on ArtFixDaily here:
https://www.artfixdaily.com/directory/member/Joseph_K_Levene_Fine_Art_Ltd
