Shopping for Art

Last Friday I learned about 'Amazing Things Arts Center' group in local newspaper and attended an independent artist exhibit listed on their site. I procured two paintings by a local contemporary budding artist (He sure wasn't a Picasso or Van Gogh but his bubbling energy & devotion to his true passion interested me a lot!). Even though visual appeal of both artworks played a vital role in my quick purchase decision but what's interesting was that the process left me with so many more intriguing questions. Questions such as:

• As an art collector, how can one ascertain a reasonable estimate of an artwork?
• How can one establish authenticity of an artwork-especially when the transaction is being done online or say from an art dealer,museum or art gallery.
• Do such transactions have some kind of post purchase warranty/guarantee concept?
• Is it advisable to shop for artworks in real world or online auctions?
• Is there a way that an art collector can get a candid opinion (with a decent consulting fee) from some trustworthy art-historian before signing the check?
• Say if certain painting or sculpture really engages an art collector, is there an easy way he/she can connect to the artist and know about his other works?

[Margo Leavin Gallery, with works by Willem de Kooning and John Baldessari]

I spent a Sunday afternoon in Framingham Library researching for trustworthy sources where as an newbie art collector one can get several informed & unbiased opinions about artists & artworks. I saw books (thanks to Lib's cordial staff) that give you pointers on what aspects to see in good artworks, how to find a good art dealer, how to do background checks of auction firms etc. And that's when I saw this "2010 Art Show" flier in the 'Visual Art, Fine Art, Graphic Design' shelf.

ADAA seems the single perfect answer to most of my questions and I am quite positive that some of you might the website interesting too! And while you are on ADAA's website, take a look at their Collector's Guide-a very well drafted primer on shopping for and understanding ART! Happy Reading folks :D

I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.~~Vincent van Gogh

[Image Courtesy © Artnet]