2004-07-08

The role of Art Consulting in the Art of Collecting

A peculiar aspect of the fine arts as a profession is that it enjoys the participation and interest of a general public which is necessarily lacking in the knowledge and experience to make decisions for themselves.

That is, art collectors can be characterized as intelligent, self-assured, highlysuccessful in their own professions, and, above all, very busy people. They rarely can spare the time that art collecting deserves in terms of a devotion to the study and observations required to make intelligent choices in acquiring works of art. The new buyer/would-be collector who has confidence in his own business and thinks he can translate that acumen into the area of art collecting goes to auctions, and not understanding, is the one who pushes prices up and sets records for mediocre works. Those who recognize that art, the art market, and art history are highly complex subjects seek help from an art consultant.
Connoisseurship, as well as taste and an understanding of art history, develops only over decades of time and experience with thousands of objects of art, and a professional art consultant can help the collector, especially the beginning collector, hasten the process and prevent disasters along the way.

in: Art Manager (Russia), 1 (7)/2004