Top Tips for Buying Art

'The Rebel' (1961) gives good insight
into the art world

Buying art is simple and far more accessible than many think. Why live surrounded by bare walls? Here is my top ten tips for buying art. It could be condensed into: 'buy art that you love and which will grow with you.' 

1. Buy work you love 
2. If you are looking for an investment, make sure the artist is devoted to his work beyond everything other than the muse (this can be many things; a woman, a mountain, a colour or God but it can’t make logical sense.) 
3. It might be possible to hang a piece at home or to see it in different light. 
4. Ask to be put on a gallery’s mailing list, and follow artists whose work you like. 
5. If you want to appear knowledgeable and taken seriously in a gallery, scrutinise the paint on a canvas up-close and talk freely. Don’t ask whether the bubble wrap is a work of art or assume that staff have painted all the work. 
6. The high cost of a piece of work will seem less in a year or two. 
7. ‘The Rebel’ (1961) starring Tony Hancock gives a good insight into the art world. There are many levels there.
8. Be open minded and creative with any bare walls you want to fill.
9. If you are looking for an investment, don't buy from a gallery that sells food, coffee or gifts. Eat first and then look. Professional artists show in dedicated gallery spaces.
10. Buy work that is complex enough to grow with you.

Tony