When I started collecting African American art, the first piece I bought was a signed and numbered print by a Washington, DC, artist named John Anderson. I didn’t know much about who to collect and what to collect back then.
I was inspired to buy after visiting the home of a friend whose walls were covered in framed images of people who looked like me. I knew that I wanted that same feel in my home. So I started buying prints from the same shop where she had bought hers. I bought and I bought, never bothering to read much about who I should be buying. I was buying what I liked.
Soon, though, I started reading about African American artists and certain names kept turning up: Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Lois Mailou Jones. Then I became interested in the older artists, and I read everything I could get my hands on. When I went on vacations, I sought out local galleries. I bought art anthologies and artists’ biographies. I went to museum exhibits. I even started collecting children’s books illustrated by artists.
At one point, wanting to be closer to the art, I volunteered at my local African American museum, where I spent time cataloguing works in its storage room. African American art became my passion and it still is.
Without realizing it, I began to develop an eye for quality art – which was what one gallery owner and expert suggested for new collectors during a session called “Tips for the New Collector” at the USArtists American Fine Art Show and Sale in Philadelphia last weekend. The show drew 36 dealers from around the country selling colonial to contemporary paintings, prints and sculptures.
The speaker, Matt Kendall of The Kendall Collection in Atlanta, specializes in French and American artists. Much of what he offered was information that I already knew, but he noted that these were only his opinions. But they are commonly shared by people who’ve spent years buying, selling and becoming experts in their particular niche in the art world.
“Collecting is an art in itself,” Kendall told about 20 or so of us gathered at his booth at the show. “It is a way of expressing yourself. It is continuing education. You learn something new every day.”
Here are his suggestions for the new collector:
Develop an eye for quality, which he acknowledged was tough.
He told the story of his father who started out – like so many of us – buying contemporary works from artists at tents set up in a park. As his father learned more, he began to buy California impressionists. The tent art ended up in the basement because he had learned to recognize quality art.
Kendall wasn’t clear in defining what quality art was, but he said that you could figure it out by going to museums, shows like USArtists, the library or searching the internet.
“Quality is not always what people study in art history class in college,” he said. “As a dealer, you can start to see quality in places you don’t expect. Trust your gut. At some point, you should train your eye.
“You’ll never find bad art in books,” he added.
Develop a theme for your collection, which he acknowledged was “controversial.”
Focusing on a theme can make you an expert in a given area, Kendall said, because most collectors study what they are interested in. I know that from my own experience. You devour every bit of information you come across.
Even people who collect what they like may be developing a theme without even realizing it. Themes can be based on a certain time period, subject or individual artist, he said. Kendall told of one collector who only collected women artists after realizing that she had no women in her previous collection.
“Figure out what makes you tick, what you are passionate about,” he said.
Kendall got some smart questions from the audience:
How about fakes? French street-scene artist Edouard Cortes painted 6,000 works over his lifetime, Kendall said, and 18,000 were sold in the United States. The statement drew our laughter. Beware of fakes, he warned, suggesting that we buy from dealers who will stand behind what they sell.
How about buying at auctions? He used to buy at auction when he first got started, he said, because he didn’t know where else to get the works. Now, “I will buy at auction if something slips off the table. … I will still do so if I see the estimate is too low and no one else is bidding and it is undervalued. … But I do have to know what I’m buying.” He makes sure he looks at the painting in person or has someone on site to view it.
How about buying art as an investment? That’s up to you, he said, but recommended against buying art for financial gain. If you’re going do that, become a dealer, he said (was he joking?), adding that “great collectors are dealers. They’re competing with me.” Your goal could be to create a collection that is a legacy or a donation to a museum.
How about negotiating the price at a gallery? “Most dealers are willing to negotiate,” he said. He urged buyers to do their homework: research the artist in online art databases or the library, find out how much the artist’s works have sold for, know his or her most desirable works and what he or she is known for, and understand their place in history. He noted that the provenance – who has owned the artwork, or in essence, its history – affected the value.
Kendall noted that collecting has intrinsic value beyond just the artwork itself. “You become an addict,” he said. “It changes your life. It’s a wonderful pursuit. It’s a wonderful aspect to add to your life.”
I could not agree more.
