Do any of y’all collect art?

I’ve been buying some cheap pieces that I like. I just went to an estate sale and there was this great abstract piece for $300 but I can’t work myself up to buy it as a college student. How do y’all go about collecting art? How did y’all get started?

71 Comments
 

Art's a racket. I've bought a couple original paintings and prints because they would look nice on my walls. (I can't fill the whole thing with diplomas and certificates)  Only a very small percentage will appreciate, and even that is ripe for a crash given current values of famous works.  You could be buying a lottery ticket and win big, but there is a very significant chance that you'll lose.

Buy it if you like it. Don't take it as a serious investment.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

I bought a signed original limited edition print 'Richard Burtons  Nightmare Second Marriage' by pure evil for £150 .  Sold it for £699 3 years later.  I was lucky that I had print number 69/100, that upped the value. (this was pure luck not deliberate on my part but apparently numbers make a difference eg 1, 7 and meaningful numbers to buyer) It was easy to sell on ebay, had a lot of interest cos recognisable names pure evil, Richard Burton and the print is of Elizabeth Taylor. 

Echo the above of buy what you like and would add, buy what you can live with cos though the print is beautiful, it was truly macabre to look at all the time. Have a look for yourself. It was certainly a talking piece. 

https://st-artgallery.nl/en/art/pure-evil-richard-burtons-nightmare-sec…

 

I consider some of the watches I buy art as they share the same characteristics. 

Yes there's the mass produced watches made by richemont etc but...

Some are made by small independent watchmakers and a insane amount of handwork + engineering. Think Gauthier, Journe, Ferrier, etc..

If you look up the work they put into each watch I think you'd agree!

I like to buy/sell them for fun. It's a nice little profitable hobby, especially when I'm in the US where the market is huge compared to other countries. 

 

Do cars count as art?

if they do then I don’t collect them either cause I’m broke. If I weren’t, cars is what I’d collect, classic American muscle cars are my favorite. Also really like the TDF and a few more modern super cars.

 

They can. There's a NA Miata tail light in MoMA.  I'm not sure how you'd mount it on your wall though.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

You're a virgin and a nerd that's why you don't understand.

I'm kidding, for me its because they look stunning, just the sleekness of the car and the lines and angles that give them such an aggressive stance gives me a hard on and that's not a joke. Also it's because they can give really good performance, for a fraction of the cost of European exotics. This is the reason they became popular in the 1960's. Have you ever seen those 1000 hp challengers, corvettes on YouTube, like why wouldn't you want that!? 

I was going to show you a Boss 429, but pics aren't uploading. Look one up and tell me that's not more beautiful than your girlfriend.

 

Get thee to a classic car show! 

While you'll see folks strolling around the foreign imports like a Berlinetta or a Russian Volga and the older Chevy Bel Airs from the 1950's with the massive fins, I daresay the biggest crowds almost always seem to be around the Mustangs, Chevelles, Chargers, GTOs, Challengers, Camaros, AMC Rebels, and my personal fave, Novas.

Muscle cars are sexy, with powerful engines.  If you're a gear head, they're fun to restore.  They're American in all their glory, warts and all, when you consider how much gas they guzzle, LOL.

 

If I ever end up outrageously wealthy, I want a zoo on my private island. With only the rarest/most dangerous of animals. I also want a pack of viscously trained dogs to hunt people with, I think there’s a book about this.

 

I travel a lot and I like to pickup pieces that showcase that city/region/country and even better is if the material medium relates to that country/region, ceramics from Spain, copper/gold foil work in Cusco, carved teak in SE Asia etc. 
 

None of it is particularly expensive, but I like it and I can appreciate its craftsmanship. That’s another rule I have with art, I’m actually quite capable and if I can realistically paint/create/make that “piece” I’m considering, I generally pass on it.

 

If you believe that you can get $20 million of enjoyment from a $20 million painting, then go for it......but for most people, they will enjoy that painting the same as one for $5,000 of their favorite spot on the beach. However, if meaningless things like prestige drive your purchase and your entire life, then go for it, and I'll thank God that your money is being redistributed to someone else.

It's the same thing as someone who buys a $500 t-shirt with a Gucci symbol on it that would sell for $5 at Wal-Mart. If you're such a loser that prestige drives you so much, you deserve to have those $495 ripped from your account. It is life's tax for your stupidity and lack of enlightenment.

 

Not things like paintings, but my dad and I collect gold coins (Krugerrands, American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leaves, etc.), which have the benefit of being widely recognized, easy to value, and cool among gold bugs like my dad. We have historical coins as well, and I also collect US quarters like a nerd.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Indirectly, yes. I don't have the wherewithal to seriously collect art, but my father is a big lover of art, so occasionally I will accompany him when he goes on one of his shopping trips. My father is mostly into old masters and french impressionists, but every now and then he will buy something based on my input, so I attempt to "diversify" his collection with contemporary pieces. With that said, I will occasionally buy some older fine art as well. The last thing my father bought upon my suggestion was early renaissance (circa 15th century) Florentine art. It's currently on display in a museum right now.

As others have said, don't buy art as an investment. Only buy art if it speaks to you in some way.

 

Deo et Patriae

Indirectly, yes. I don't have the wherewithal to seriously collect art, but my father is a big lover of art, so occasionally I will accompany him when he goes on one of his shopping trips. My father is mostly into old masters and french impressionists, but every now and then he will buy something based on my input, so I attempt to "diversify" his collection with contemporary pieces. With that said, I will occasionally buy some older fine art as well. The last thing my father bought upon my suggestion was early renaissance (circa 15th century) Florentine art. It's currently on display in a museum right now.

As others have said, don't buy art as an investment. Only buy art if it speaks to you in some way.

Damn.........mic drop

 
Most Helpful

In the early 2000's, I was in a comic book store and saw a signed limited edition poster-size print of a character from one of my favorite comic book series. I loved the 2-tone coloring of black and bronze, and I got it matted to match.  It likely won't appreciate much, I only paid $100, but I enjoy it and that's what matters.

I've bought small wooden or clay sculptures/carvings in my travels in the US, Cuba, and elsewhere by local artisans, hand-blown glasses in Venice, etc -- better than buying a mass-produced shot glass or t-shirt, LOL.  Have 4 original oil paintings, by 2 different artists, both living.  And I've been collecting silver Art Deco era as well as niello jewelry from Thailand for many years, which to me is wearable art.

I buy what I like and what "speaks" to me, if it should appreciate in fiscal value, great, but I look at buying art like buying a penny stock, the chances that you're buying a big-time winner that will massively increase in value is pretty damn slim, but sometimes you just have to trust your gut.

 

Anything you hold dear to your heart is art. Whether it be porn, models, cocaine, watches, cars, paintings, home decor etc.

 

I make large abstract pieces of art. Mainly oil on canvas. I haven't done a piece in a minute, the next one will probably be 5 x 7 feet. I currently have a 5 x 6 ft, 5 x 7 ft, and 3 x 8 ft pieces in inventory. I have a bunch of other smaller pieces just laying around places. I also have some art from the Spanish painter Fermin Santos as well as a large piece of a Matador from the Philippines. 

I am pretty firm on selling prices and don't need to sell if I don't want to. I probably would only sell the art I have created - I'm more attached to some pieces than others. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Since we're on the topic of art, what do you guys think of this piece https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/64528207146172721/sent/?invite_code=44280c…;

I know the owner of it currently and I can buy the original for $8, 000 USD (he is the first and only owner of the original, bought from the artist for $5, 000). I love this painting and it speaks to me, I was planning on hanging it in my walk in my den area of my apartment. 

Problem is - is this too misogynistic for my apartment? I do have casual flings over, and sometimes my bro-y co-workers over at my place for celebrations, hanging out, etc. Is this tasteful enough or would I get cancelled for some shit like this in my apartment?

 

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