5 TIPS FOR BUYING ART

SUMMARY: Here's a quick check before you plop money down on that next are purchase

Thames by Bryan Zmijewski

1. Buy art for the art itself. Unless you are predisposed to get-rich-quick schemes, the value of the work should stem from the pleasure you get from looking at it. Consider art to be a visual investment rather than an ostensibly financial one.
   
   
2. Original art does not have to be prohibitively expensive. If you are willing look outside of traditional galleries, you can find excellent work for under $100. Becoming world famous doesn't actually increase the quality of a painting; at one time Picasso, Warhol, and Matisse were all undiscovered.
   
   
3. Go to museums. A quick field trip to a museum will allow you to see far more pieces than you could if you limited yourself to commercial galleries. Sure, you can't buy any pieces there, but you can get a very good sense of the current movements in art.
   
   
4. Ask questions. Artists and art dealers will be more than happy to talk to you about all aspects of art ranging from the technical to the philosophical. Understanding the thinking behind a new piece of art will dramatically enhance its value for you.
   
   
5. Know what you are buying. It is becoming increasingly common to buy prints or other works of art sight-unseen from the web. This is a great way to find inexpensive art, but make sure you know whether you are purchasing an oil painting or an ink-jet print.