[nyc999]

Wondering if anyone in the El D forum considers themselves to be an art collector or investor? You don’t have to be serious about it, but I would love to get a discussion going about what you collect, how much you spend, and your motivation (e.g. the enjoyment, the potential for appreciation, etc.).

I’m moving into a new apartment soon and figure why not buy some art for the empty walls? I’ve read that art collectors can spend as little as $500 for an art piece that has the potential for serious appreciation over time.

My criteria for selecting art will be as follows:

1. After research, a piece that I think could increase in value
2. Something that I like – that is, I would be happy to display it in my home regardless of future value

I had started this about 2 years ago, buying two pieces – one from a gallery in Chelsea (NYC) and one in SF. However, I parted ways with both of them during my recent divorce.

Also, it appears to be extremely difficult to predict which artists’ work will be more valuable in time. I read an article in Portfolio that said one of the primary reasons an artist’s work increases in value is having it purchased by one of the major collectors (think David Geffen/Steve Wynn). They cited how Michael Ovitz (former Hollywood super agent) recently purchased a painting for around 5K-10K and the value increased when he stepped out of the gallery. He sold it recently for $500,000 (which was actually considered a slight to the artist and may actually hurt the value of his other pieces). It seems weird to me, that these major art investors can basically snatch up cheap pieces/collections and essentially set the market value, making themselves more rich with every purchase.

Anyway, any collectors/investors out there?