I remember sitting in a drafty studio in 2004, watching a young painter cry because a local gallery owner had just told him his work was “too precious” for the market. The owner hadn’t even looked at the canvas; he was just looking at the artist’s lack of a price list. People love to shroud […]
Stop standing in front of a canvas with your hands clasped behind your back, nodding solemnly as if you’re deciphering a dead language. Most people think knowing how to look at a painting requires a PhD in semiotics or a deep understanding of the artist’s childhood trauma, but that is mostly performative nonsense designed to […]
Forget everything the glossy, high-end auction catalogues have told you about needing a private wealth manager or a degree in aesthetics just to hang something meaningful on your wall. Most people approach the question of how to start collecting art as if they are preparing to enter a high-stakes poker game where everyone else already […]
Most people think a “complete guide to buying art” involves studying provenance, learning the nuances of Post-Impressionism, or having a certain level of social grace to navigate a vernissage. They think it’s about prestige. It isn’t. After twenty-six years behind a gallery desk, I can tell you that most collectors are walking into a minefield […]
Stop waiting for a patron to descend from the heavens or for some prestigious academy to hand you a certificate of legitimacy. Most people think that learning how to start painting seriously involves buying the most expensive linen canvases or finding a mentor who will whisper sweet nothings about your “vision.” That is absolute nonsense. […]