Collecting Art for Love, Money and More

This is a wonderful resource for art lovers and art collectors. It is extremely helpful for aspiring art collectors. Well written, beautifully produced and easy to read and relatively inexpensive. Great to own and a terrific gift.

Good book written from a person with an art interest from NY area. The rest of the country is ignored.

The book is wonderful.

A great book that demystify collecting modern art.

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This book I picked up at my library recently on the premise that, yes, I could still use some more insight on how that all works. On the cover there was a cartoonish picture of a man in an Eames chair sitting in front of tall, colorful sculpture that looks a lot like Willy Wonka's "Everlasting Gobstopper" gone out of control, almost literal eye-candy if you will. And that is all it really takes for me, unless another artist, or literary-type verbally reaches inside through the telephone and twists my arm about a must read. It has quotes in the margins for those of you with no time or attention-span to actually read drawn from interviews with collectors and stories of collectors who've done well, like John Quinn. What? You don't know of John Quinn? What kind of art aficionado are you, anyway? It is packed with photos and illustrations, again with a cartoonish humor. In it, under the topic of "The Impact of Personality" as regards artists I learned that Peter Paul Rubens was also an ambassador for the Habsburg monarchy, and helped broker peace between England and Spain when not futuristically cultivating the adjective "Ruben-esque". Talk about your Renaissance-man way out ahead of the curve before all the Renaissance Festivals! Further on, reading about developing relationships with artists it went on to say:"For avid collectors, visiting artists in their studios is an effective way to gain a deeper understanding of their praxis."This caused me concern. Getting so involved with your artist, at this point shouldn't you really be getting him or her to a dentist straight away to get that praxis cleaned out, and sent home with a prescription for some anti-biotics? Though I now know why Professor Turner was always groaning, "Praxis! Praxis! Praxis!" at the end of every life-drawing session.

Collecting art, especially the work of in-demand emerging artists, is opaque and difficult to say the least. In the book's promotional blurb it promises to reveal the "secrets of successful collectors" and offer advice on "discovering new talent and accessing the best work to getting the highest returns on investment." Unfortunately the answer to both of these problems is to hire an art advisor. And what do you know, the authors happen to run an art advisory business. It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise but you aren't going to get any secrets or insider tips on how to get access to the best work. One bit of advice they do offer that might help you get a coveted artwork: tell the art dealer or gallery representing the artist that you plan on donating the work to a museum. Any takers? This book is probably a great promotional handout to the author's prospective clients but otherwise it's an epic fail.

Oh dear. I really didn't like this book. In my opinion, this book is just an vehicle for the authors to tell you who they know and what they know. None of it is actually practical or useful. I say this only having got about a third of the way through before seeking out an alternative.

The book centres on themes of knowledge/taste, financing, and understanding the art world. It also does something important to underscore personal passions involved in collecting art. Specifically, the book also speaks about how personal and romantic relationships form and disperse around the art collections. When I started buying paintings, I expected art collecting to be something solitary and perhaps a little sordid. I remember reading Baudrillard suggesting that collection is an erotic act that runs counter to a normal romantic life. Personally, I have found this wrong. New relationships and conversations blossomed in my life. This book underscores my experience. This book is really about navigating this realm.The world of art is very “conversational”. Lets also be blunt, it takes some money. However, the more risk you take on ... (i.e., buying young cheep talent) the less cash you need. As well you need to look at art - because good art has “wall power” and has a different “look.” This is something lost in a word internet auctions. It also implies travel and "gallery hopping."Over all this a wonderful volume for someone who is no longer a novice.

A worthwhile book for those about to start out collecting art. A good book for dipping in and out of.

intresting experiences have been shared by the authors and its an eye opening book for collectors, artists, historians and art lovers.