5 Tips for First Time Art Collectors

Brian P. Kelly

Aug 12, 2022 2:54PM

Beginning your art collecting journey can be an intimidating process. Some brick-and-mortar galleries can seem stuffy, elitist, and unwelcoming. Prices may not be readily apparent. Works might appear like they’re for sale, when in reality they’ve already been reserved for VIP clients. In discussions, the vocabulary—vernissage, BOGO, intervention, oeuvre—might feel like listening to another language.

But starting a collection, while a big step, doesn’t need to be an anxiety-inducing ordeal. Artsy reached out to several gallerists and asked them to share their best tips for novice collectors. And while following their advice might mean it takes more time to acquire a work of art than if you’d just gone in and picked something off a gallery wall, doing so will ensure that you’ll be confident when it comes time to buy.

Find connections with the art that you’re going to collect

This means not quickly acquiring a work just because you liked it, but making sure that the experience sticks with you long after you’ve encountered it. James explained that collectors should take “time to make sure the work stays with them, that it goes into their heads and stays there.” 

And forging connections with artworks can take other forms as well. Storm Ascher, founder and director of Superposition, a nomadic space that hosts projects in Los Angeles, New York, and elsewhere, suggested that “if you are thinking of adding an artist’s work to your collection, listen to what that artist is also doing with social impact and how they are inspiring change.” From that point, she said, “You can start by supporting causes and communities that artists are invested in before collecting their work, and it will be more fulfilling once you finally have a piece up on your wall and you look at it every day knowing you in some way were a part of contributing to art history.”