Visiting art galleries and their acclaimed masterpieces is one thing, but the real satisfaction of being an art lover lies in building a collection of your own. Here are some expert tips on how to do just that
Who hasn’t felt a twinge of envy upon seeing a beautifully furnished home with an equally well-curated ‘gallery wall’ of artworks that ripple seamlessly through rooms on a wave of warmth and soul?
Creating an art collection is a form of psychology that reflects much about a household, says independent gallerist Katherine Kittoe of Kittoe Contemporary. kittoecontemporary.com
‘These artworks are not just decorative objects, but things that are going to bring joy to your life over many years. Pictures are the backdrop to family life, with meaning and interest gathering as your taste evolves.’
So, an art collection tells a personal story, but how to begin that narrative?
Do your research
‘A wonderful thing for budding collectors to do is to go to as many exhibitions as possible to be amongst paintings, prints and drawings; to become engrossed in it and refine your taste,’ says Caroline Lay of Lay’s Auctioneers in Penzance. davidlay.co.uk
‘View auctions, too, even if they are completely out of your budget, to familiarise yourself with what’s selling for what price,’ she adds.
Hugo Barclay, director of the twice-yearly Affordable Art Fair in London, agrees. ‘Developing your taste and understanding what art resonates with you requires seeing a variety of artworks, making art fairs the perfect starting point for this journey.’
He also recommends adopting a spirit of openness and curiosity, adding: ‘Inevitably, there will be artistic subject matters that take more than simply looking at the work to unpack the stories. Collecting is fun when you embark with the right mindset!’
It might be landscapes or beach scenes that float your boat, or portraits of people and animals, or cameos of domestic scenes. Simply put, the more art you see and appreciate, the more your own taste will start to emerge – mediums you’re drawn to, colours you like, compositions that chime.
Go to fairs
‘Fairs are a great way to get your eye in, tuning you in to what speaks to you and makes your heart sing,’ says Katherine Kittoe, who sells a range of contemporary art via pop-up shows and art fairs including the annual London Art Fair in Islington. londonartfair.co.uk
Led by her own taste, she presents potential buyers with a selection of artworks, from serene still lifes to vivid abstract paintings to nostalgic prints, with prices from £150.
‘It’s important to have things that are affordable for sale, as accessible price points can be the start of an art collector’s journey.’
For 25 years, the Affordable Art Fair has been a hub for art enthusiasts at every level. Over 100 galleries participate, bringing thousands of artworks with them, all clearly priced, with a cap of £7,500.
Says director Hugo Barclay: ‘With approximately 40 per cent of the fair’s visitors being first-time art buyers, we place great importance on supporting newcomers.’
Initiatives include route guides designed to help visitors navigate the artworks on offer, such as ‘Natural World’ and ‘The Director’s Cut’, and special displays highlighting artworks at certain price points, such as the ‘Finds Under £500’ display.
Many of the galleries also accept payment by instalment, through loan schemes such as Own Art and Art Money. affordableartfair.com
Concentrate on prints
Focusing on prints, rather than one-off artworks, is another affordable way into the market and also puts more established artists within reach.
The London Original Print Fair, held at Somerset House in March, is a honeypot for print lovers and describes itself as the place to ‘learn about and collect works by the world’s greatest masters, as well as new pieces by rising talents hot off the press.’
This year’s show offered works by David Hockney, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse alongside Grayson Perry, Marc Quinn and Joe Tilson.
And the gathering of over 40 galleries included Hauser & Wirth for cutting-edge international artists; Glasgow Print Studio for Royal Academicians such as Elizabeth Blackadder and Eileen Cooper; The Redfern Gallery for Modern British artists such as John Piper and Victor Pasmore; and the Peter Harrington Gallery for tasteful antiquarian prints. londonoriginalprintfair.com
For Modern British Art dealer, Freya Mitton, fairs are a vital way of reaching clients, and she attends the renowned British Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery each autumn, as well as a number of art and antiques fairs such as this month’s Petworth Park Fair in West Sussex. saatchigallery.com petworthparkfair.com
She has also taken up a permanent gallery space alongside art dealers Harry Moore-Gwynn and Guy Peppiatt at 6 Mason’s Yard in St James’s. At any one time, she stocks 200–250 works, dating from the 1930s to the present day; everything from Julian Trevelyan to Mary Fedden and Ken Howard.
‘I buy what I really love myself – what I would be happy to live with in my own home – so whatever clients purchase from me is likely to go with other things they’ve bought from me in the past.’
Buy through a reputable gallery
The authenticity of artworks is guaranteed and gallerists will sell only good examples of an artist’s work, often acquired through private collectors rather than auction.
‘As a dealer your reputation is everything, so you don’t want to damage that by selling things that aren’t up to scratch. If I don’t like the subject matter or the composition of a painting, for example, I won’t buy
it for my gallery,’ adds Freya.
She advises new collectors to work out what they enjoy and feel drawn to, and to trust their instincts. ‘Then be patient; start gently. It’s worth spending some time considering what you want and doing some research on the artists you’d like to collect before you buy – Google images of their work, for example – and you must see works in the flesh.’
Pricewise, Freya stocks slight works by established artists or Royal Academicians from £500–£800, with significant pictures by well-known artists beginning around £2,000. freyamitton.com
Of course, you can buy for investment as well as for love if you have the funds. David Messum has been running Messum’s in the heart of St James’s for 60 years, and has built up an unrivalled knowledge of – and access to – the works of British Impressionists and the Newlyn School of artists, as well as leading contemporary lights.
‘For a lot of the artists we’ve looked after, we now have their estates, so we get the cream of their work, with the majority of what we sell ranging from £2,000 up to £15,000,’ says David.
Such estates include those of the equine painter Lucy Elizabeth Kemp-Welch, and the sought-after Newlyn School artists John Miller and Rose Hilton. All three are already bankers.
David enjoys the nurturing nature of his business as clients buy one, then another painting from him. ‘So many customers have become close acquaintances and, if they want to change a painting or buy something more expensive – trade in or trade up – we’ve got that relationship.
‘We’re a dealing business and we own our stock, so we have a long-term vested interest in whatever we have to sell.’ David’s paintings are beautifully framed by specialists, gleaming with gold leaf and wall-ready. messums.com
Buy at auction
Auctions are another great source of art for novice collectors, with timed online auctions (similar to the way eBay works) the least intimidating type of sale to dip into.
Mallams’ Affordable Modern Art timed sale is held in August and February, offering around 150 lots that date from 1900 to the present day, with prices ranging from around £40 to £200.
Max Fisher, 20th-century art specialist at Mallams, says: ‘It’s all done with the click of a button, so there’s no mystique of the auction process to deal with. People do buy for investment at our sales, but mostly they want to spend money on something they like.’
As you become more familiar with auctions, you can gravitate to bidding live at Mallams’ Modern Art & Design sales, where average artworks go for around £600–£700, so more of an outlay. mallams.co.uk
If there’s a particular artist you’re interested in, Max advises setting an alert on the-saleroom.com; if something by that artist comes up for sale at an auction house around the country, you’ll be sent an email.
You could also focus on developing a good relationship with an auction house that specialises in a favoured category, for instance Cornish, Scottish or East Anglian art. Lay’s Auctioneers in Penzance holds five Cornish Art sales a year, and Caroline Lay is in charge of them.
‘A great thing for budding collectors to do is to make friends with the auctioneers and cataloguers. Go to the pre-sale viewings, introduce yourself, say that you’re looking to start a collection or ask questions about particular artists.
These are incredible events, with pictures hung from floor to ceiling. It’s like being in a gallery but even more intense, as you browse 450 lots.’
Look for bargains or entry-point works
Caroline advises looking at artists who are peripheral to the main schools of art in the area, which in Cornwall’s case are the Newlyn, St Ives and Lamorna colonies.
‘Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson are out of most people’s reach, but look instead for pieces by Denis Mitchell who worked for Hepworth for years and was a sculptor in his own right,’ she suggests.
In the field of pictures and prints, artists such as Tony Giles and Rose Hilton would have known these earlier St Ives figures as young adults, but their paintings and prints are much more affordable; a small gouache painting by Giles might make £400 at auction, while Hilton’s paintings go from £2,000.
The drawings and etchings of Karl Weschke, a former German POW in the Second World War, are also a good bet, costing £300–£500.
Remember that Buyer’s Premium will be applicable, and that royalties (known as Artist’s Resale Right or ARR) are payable on artworks sold for the equivalent of €1,000 or above, if the artist has been dead for less than 70 years.
Buy ‘antique art’
Oil paintings, watercolours, Old Masters, drawings and prints spanning the 16th to the 19th centuries are auction house staples.
‘Old Masters are more accessible than you would think,’ says Roseberys’ specialist Charlotte Russell, who’s in charge of three sales a year. ‘While the museum names are very expensive, there are other artists from the same context who would have moved in the same milieu, but are far more affordable.’
She adds that if you’re interested in the really big names, such as Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt, then start small, looking for works on paper – drawings and etchings – that cost in the low thousands of pounds.
‘At Roseberys we see a huge variety of things – Dutch and Italian works; lots from Britain, too. Among them you can find absolute bargains, and that’s why auctions are exciting.’
Miniature masterpieces
Start your art collection with small works by big names. This November will be the 10th anniversary of Art on a Postcard (AOAP), the timed online auction founded to raise money for The Hepatitis C Trust.
Initially, artists were asked to create an anonymous, postcard-sized work of art for auction, which made the bidding process particularly piquant. Nowadays, artworks are attributed to artists and the big names continue to donate – Grayson Perry, Julian Opie, Andrew Cranston, Vanessa Garwood, Antonia Showering and Shaqúelle Whyte among them.
To date, AOAP has raised over £2.5million for the Trust and has recently run similar auctions for other worthy causes, such as War Child and International Women’s Day.
The barnstorming initiative is the brainchild of filmmaker Gemma Peppé, who spends her year combing art schools and Instagram for new talent, as well as approaching established artists around the world for contributions.
The online auctions are open for two weeks and all bids start at £50, sometimes going up to as high as £11,000 for a very sought-after or fashionable artist’s work.
Says Gemma: ‘High-profile artists are happy to do it if it’s a cause that they like, while for emerging talent – art graduates and outsider artists – it’s a great platform for others to discover them and to own a bit of their work before they are priced out of the market.
These auctions allow you to be a prolific collector of contemporary art on a small scale.’ If you’re not lucky enough to win one of the 650 or so postcards up for grabs, box-sets of greetings cards featuring the best artworks are sold throughout the year. artonapostcard.com