In the colorful world of art, the business of investing is black and white. You buy a piece of artwork, and hope the artist's work goes up in value. Experts say you might not need to wait long. It can even happen within hours of your purchase!Trading in art is similar in some ways to dealing in other commodities -- it is subject to the market pressures of supply and demand. But art prices vary with other, sometimes arbitrary, factors -- including aesthetics, authenticity, condition, rarity and provenance.
To invest wisely in art you must have both good taste and business sense. Investing in art is investing in your own aesthetic. You have to want to live with the artwork, but you also have to educate yourself on the business end of it.
Collecting art can be one of the most enjoyable ways to spend your money. An engaging work can provide its owner with a lifetime of visual pleasure -- and then fetch cash! As with any other field, you must do your homework before investing. Art's unpredictable value makes it as easy to lose as to profit.
The art world is far less regulated than are investment in securities and real estate, so there is often no resource in the event of misrepresentation. The investor is very much on his own to perform appropriate "due diligence."
When people think about buying art, they might be initially turned off because they think it is such a pricey investment. This is true at the high end:
How many of us can buy a Renoir for $50 million? The key to art-investing success, experts say, is to find a lesser-known artist and invest early.
Like any investment, art is a gamble, so do your research. Buy what you love, because even though it might go through a transitory devaluation, the intrinsic value of the work will always be there!
