Seven Tips for Beginning Collectors

NEW YORK—Starting an art collection can be intimidating for a number of reasons: financial constraints, lack of a formal art background, or the attitude beginning collectors can be greeted with at certain galleries, a standard of customer service W.M. Hunt of the (friendly) Hasted Hunt Gallery describes as: “You could be set on fire and no one would give you a glass of water.” Last week, Hunt moderated a panel at Aperture Foundation’s gallery about the first steps to creating a photography collection. In principle, the advice applies to other sorts of art as well, though Hunt told ARTINFO, "Photography seems like a smaller field of dealers and auction houses. As overwhelming as it is, it's easier to negotiate and, at least in the past, the financial consequences weren't so huge." At the panel, Hunt talked to beginning collector Gael Zafrany, who works at Charles Schwartz Ltd., preserving and creating museum and personal collections; longtime collector David Kronn; Modern Art Obsession blogger Michael Hoeh; and designer Todd Oldham about their experiences as fledgling collectors. ARTINFO gleaned the following pieces of advice on amassing pieces of art:

1. Focus on the future
Oldham forewent food for a week, he recounted, when he bought a pair of Cindy Sherman film stills from a Houston gallery before both either he or she was famous. “I knew that it would be worth it, and I had to have it,” he says, and was right: “In 1980 it was worth $500, and now it’s worth at least two—almost three—zeros more at the end of that.”

2. Be selfish
Hoeh, who works in finance in New York City, focused early in his collecting career on pieces that reflected his interests: industry and the city. Kronn amassed 11 photos by his “early obsession,” Irving Penn. The panelists agreed: A personal collection is for personal enjoyment, and collectors should buy what appeals to them, not what’s in fashion.

3. Do your homework
Although some collectors buy impulsively, Hoeh called purchasing “a methodical process,” especially for collectors with limited financial resources who need to be selective. Kronn said he has a collection of art books that rivals his collection of actual art; he also advised potential buyers to “look at as much work as possible.”

4. Have patience
Kronn suggested collectors develop a list of works and artists that interest them so they’ll be poised to acquire when opportunities present themselves. Oldham suggested to “show up wherever you can” (auctions, galleries, or anywhere else art is sold) and noted that the interesting works at Art Basel Miami Beach were not, in fact, in the convention center but at the satellite fairs.

5. Avoid the “gallerinas”
Those “glorified shopgirls,” as Oldham jokingly called them, are notoriously intimidating. Many of the panelists avoided them by buying their first pieces at benefit auctions, where, Zafrany said, museums donate works by under-the-radar artists to increase their exposure.

6. Get bang for your buck
“I can’t collect what I really love because I can’t afford it,” Zafrany said, but her young collection is edgy and noteworthy nonetheless. She bought one of Thomas Allen’s pop-up pulp fiction pieces long before Aperture published a book about them. Another find was a New York City streetscape by Walker Evans that isn’t representative of his work but that Zafrany characterizes as a sweet, simple photo of the city she loves.

7. Haggle
While Hoeh said negotiating at galleries was uncommon even until the recent past, Oldham divulged that bargaining a sticker price down 10 percent is now “pretty standard.” Either way, there are other ways to manage price points: Kronn bought an Edward Weston on eBay; collectors can put down deposits over time; and it never hurts to have friends in the art world (and access to their insider discounts!). In the end, though, Hunt told ARTINFO the most important thing to do when buying art is to "commit, commit, commit! Look at the hair on the back of your hands, listen to your heart, figure out if you can afford it, and then commit!"