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By Barbara Guggenheim<\/strong><\/p>\n Guggenheim Is a partner In the art\u00a0consulting firm Barbara Guggenheim Associates, Inc.<\/a> Her clients Include Tom\u00a0Cruise and Steven Spielberg.<\/em><\/p>\n If your ten-year college reunion has\u00a0come and gone but that dorm-room\u00a0Water Lilies poster is still with you, it’s\u00a0time to get your feet wet as an art collector.\u00a0Many of my clients decorate\u00a0their walls with works priced at several\u00a0million dollars, but you can start collecting\u00a0with only a couple thousand, about\u00a0the price of that Dolce & Gabbana\u00a0suit you’ve had your eye on.<\/p>\n \u2022 Take your time.<\/strong> Don’t buy the first\u00a0thing you see. Visit galleries, check out\u00a0museum exhibitions, subscribe to art\u00a0magazines. Art fairs also offer a great\u00a0way to see many different genres in\u00a0one place. Several new ones have\u00a0popped up recently that specialize in\u00a0affordable works by young artists.\u00a0Don’t be intimidated by auctions\u00a0either. Charities often auction moderately\u00a0priced work-even Sotheby’s and\u00a0Christie’s have four-digit options.<\/p>\n \u2022 Buy for love, not money.\u00a0<\/strong>Art is another\u00a0place to put your money, but one \u00a0that becomes part of your life in the\u00a0meantime – stocks and bonds rarely\u00a0look impressive over your couch. So\u00a0rule number one is, you have to love it.\u00a0If a piece doesn’t really appeal to you\u00a0aesthetically, don’t get it just because\u00a0someone told you it’s a wise investment.<\/p>\n \u2022 Start small.<\/strong> Photography, prints, and\u00a0drawings are all good first purchases.\u00a0A print by a contemporary master\u00a0such as Jasper Johns can be had for\u00a0$3,000. Other big-name painters (and\u00a0even sculptors) often have original drawings\u00a0that are quite reasonably priced.<\/p>\n \u2022 Fire away.<\/strong> When buying works from\u00a0less famous names, ask the art dealer a\u00a0litany of questions before you write the\u00a0check. Has the piece been in any shows?\u00a0What is the artist’s exhibition history?\u00a0What is he or she working on now?\u00a0Who else owns his or her work? In\u00a0terms of investment value, you want\u00a0someone with a broad appeal, so don’t\u00a0get caught up with a local hero. For\u00a0photography and prints, find out how\u00a0many the artist did-“limited edition”\u00a0should mean less than 200, not 2,000.<\/p>\n \u2022 Go ahead, negotiate.<\/strong> Galleries expect\u00a0you to, and many will give a 10 percent\u00a0courtesy discount. Most will also\u00a0allow you to pay over a period of time.\u00a0You can even ask if you can take the\u00a0piece on approval and hang it in your\u00a0home for a couple days to make sure it\u00a0works in the space you had in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Barbara Guggenheim Guggenheim Is a partner In the art\u00a0consulting firm Barbara Guggenheim Associates, Inc. Her clients Include Tom\u00a0Cruise and Steven Spielberg. If your ten-year college reunion has\u00a0come and gone but that dorm-room\u00a0Water Lilies poster is still with you, it’s\u00a0time … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/barbaraguggenheim.com\/bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/10\/apc.jpeg\" "\\"Water")
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