In the first part of this mini series ‘Art and Money’ I wrote about all the ways I’ve personally generated money from my art practice, and discussed the difficulties of selling original art in today’s market. If you didn’t catch that column, you can read it HERE.
Today I hop over the fence and put on my art collector’s hat to chat about some of the reasons folks buy original art, and how artists can meet the needs of the various art collectors out there. Remember this is my Private View, formed from my own experiences, and as such, what I write may not resonate with you. The comments box is for your Private View, feel free to use it.
WHY DO FOLKS BUY ART ANYWAY?
In my experience, there are 5 types of art collector:
The Home Decorator: buys art to match their home so looks for a specific style and colour palette. Only buys art when they are updating their interior design scheme. Budget-conscious, so the price is important. Will re-sell work when it no longer fits their home decor.
The Artist Appreciator: loves the artist but lacks the funds to buy a large piece of work OR loves the artist but isn’t a huge fan of the work/doesn’t have space for the work, so buys to support the artist’s practice rather than wanting to buy the art itself. Purchases smaller pieces of work - prints, stickers, books - which may never be hung on the wall. Tends to purchase work at a lower price point. Sometimes gifts the work or sells when their stash gets too large.
The Art Collector: falls in love with the art and cannot resist buying it. Has more artworks than can be shown in their home so often has art storage and rotates work. Does not care if the art fits in with home decor - they probably have an eclectic home anyway. Doesn’t care if the art is “trending”. Price is less important but still has a budget. Rarely re-sells work.
The Art Wannabe: knows nothing about art but wants to impress their peers so buys the biggest, flashiest art available or buys what’s trending or the work of famous dead artists from well-known galleries/auction houses - it’s all about status. Likes to be seen at the VIP reception at Frieze art fairs around the world. Re-sells work at a profit when a more famous work becomes available to purchase. Price is unimportant.
The Art Investor: buys art as an investment. Has an art dealer who keeps them in the know about up-and-coming artists or auctions at Christie’s. Price is not a consideration. Often flips the work. Sometimes never even sees the artwork as it’s stored at tax-free ports. Most of the art they buy is by dead artists. Has probably dabbled with NFT art. Re-sells all the time.
The above is a little tongue in cheek and in reality, most art collectors are a mix of the above types. Personally, I mostly fit into the Art Collector category but in the back of my mind, I do sometimes think about whether the piece will work in a particular room or whether the art will gain in value (especially when I buy from young London artists). I also regularly buy prints, stickers, or postcards from artists whose work may not be to my particular taste but I see how innovative they are and I want to help them grow their business.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ART MAKING AND SELLING?
I’m going to take a guess and say that the work sold by most artists reading this substack falls into the top three types of art collector: The Home Decorator, The Artist Appreciator, The Art Collector. If The Art Investor buys your art, what are you doing here? You don’t need me!
If you want to make art that sells, or you want to gently lean into selling artwork, having a handle on why folks buy art is vital. I didn’t rank the types of art collectors in terms of how much they buy, but I’m betting that most art purchases in my local art galleries are made by the Home Decorator. And I say that because I see what types of art feature regularly on the walls of my local galleries: abstract, usually a mellow, neutral colour palette that fits in with the West Coast, Kelly Wearstler-designed vibe of the homes here. Seattle is still stuck in Abstract Expressionism. I only need to visit one of the large home decor shops in Seattle, like Crate & Barrel, to get a good understanding of what folks are being told is fashionable for their homes: white, grey, cream, black, texture not pattern. The Home Decorator in Seattle doesn’t want art that will compete with their serene monochromatic home.
Geography matters though. In London, interior design is completely different. If I visit Liberty London, my favourite shop, I see a riot of patterns and colours. London galleries show vibrant figurative artworks in every colourway, naive drawings in bright crayons and oil sticks, huge representational works. Homes are smaller and you will find layers of print and pattern on the walls, on the sofa, on curtains and cushions. Muted artwork gets lost on the wall. Contemporary Art rules, Abstract Expressionism appears only in retrospectives.
So what’s the art scene where you are? What’s the interior design like where you live? What types of art are the galleries showing? What’s in the home decor shops?
The best way to figure out what your local Home Decorator will buy is to visit interior design shops and art galleries catering to those art collectors. Then, if you want to sell artwork, you can pivot your practice towards what’s appealing to that section of the art market - IF you want to. Sometimes it’s as easy as working in a colourway that’s trending. For example, if I want to increase my sales in Seattle, I know I have to mute my palette. That’s a compromise I’m sometimes prepared to make, sometimes not. Often I scan my original piece in all its bright colours, pop it into Photoshop to tweak the palette, and then produce limited edition prints in more muted tones. That’s one of my secret art hacks. What’s great about the Home Decorator is that if they love your work, they will make multiple purchases, which isn’t the case with the Art Collector…
Appealing to the Art Collector is a different kettle of fish. It’s harder to call directly to this buyer because they function on an intuitive level; they fall in love with the art. The Art Collector is also concerned with the diversity of their collection and will seek to own the work of multiple artists and not concentrate on owning just one artist’s work. In a nod to the Art Wannabe, they might also crave work that is trending. Repeat purchases are rare and this means that for us as artists, we have to keep attracting new Art Collectors and helping them fall in love with our work. It’s as tricky as dating! Just like with dating, what’s helpful is to find out what art a particular Art Collector enjoys and that’s where social media can be helpful. If you can find out what a collector already has on their walls, you can see whether your art would be a comfortable addition to their collection. And this is really what a good art gallery should be doing, both for the artists they represent and for their collectors: Matchmaking.
For most of us, the Home Decorator and the Art Collector are our primary customers. Traditional marketing advice tells us that we need to show how our “product” solves a problem for the buyer and I guess hunting for a piece of art that matches your sofa is a challenge, but as you can see from my list above, that’s just one reason a collector might buy art and it would be awful if we all started pivoting every season to create art that fits in with the latest interior trends. When I buy art I’m not solving any of my problems at all. In fact, seeing my bank balance reduce could cause problems! When I fall in love with an artwork it’s an instant decision to want to buy it. I don’t have time to be sucked into a marketing funnel and taken on a buyer’s journey; I know that if I wait, that piece of work might be sold the next time I visit the studio, gallery, or Instagram feed. Buying art is an act of passion for me - it gives me a buzz and it brings me joy to live surrounded by original art. I also find huge reward in supporting the arts ecosphere: I sell art and some of that money goes straight back into supporting another artist - it’s circular. I want the arts to survive and thrive for the next generation and I’m prepared to put energy and financial resources into ensuring that happens.
I’m not sure if any of this helps you sell art, lol, but perhaps describes how complex selling original art really is and always has been. There isn’t one simple formula that can be applied to all artists. Far from finding that fact disillusioning, I find it comforting: it’s not me doing anything wrong when I don’t sell. Understanding how tricky the art market is, can actually help us divorce the commerical side of art from the creative side. Yes, it’s a massive reality check but I’d rather work from a place of truth than convince myself fame and fortune is just around the corner if I work a bit harder. In the next column in this series, I’ll write about the role of the art dealer and the gallerist in setting art trends and influencing what art collectors want to buy.
Please let me know your experience with art collectors. Who would you add to my list? Here’s hoping you find the art collector who resonates with your work and gets a buzz from owning it.
Until next time.
JC
This is interesting:
Looking at what sold at art fairs is helpful? Not sure, but here’s what sold at Art Basel in 2023:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-sold-art-basel-basel-2023
An interesting article on how to attract art collectors from ArtBusiness.com:
https://www.artbusiness.com/how-to-find-art-collectors-tips-for-artists.html
I wouldn’t call it “wasted talent” but nice to find an article for artists who don’t want to sell their work:
Here’s a good article about artists who leave the art
worldmarket:https://hyperallergic.com/363448/goodbye-to-all-that-why-do-artists-reject-the-art-world/
great questions. I especially like the question of, "What is the art scene in the area you live?" We have a thriving art scene here in Winnipeg. It's quite diverse, and the work I'm most attracted to is from young-middle aged artists. A lot of them are doing conceptual work and being exhibited in large galleries and hired for mural and sculptural public works. There is a lot of support for the arts here. I really have a hard time with living-room art. Just the temporality of it. But the way you describe England's cottage/small spaces, layered feel appeals to me. I also love the eclectic feel of Toronto and New York. I long to go back to New York one day. I think in general the average buyer of art needs to expose themselves to a lot more variety. They need to see the way visual expression has moved across time and who is making it and why. The people who buy my work are in the "home decorator" category but also they purchase because it has special meaning to them. When I purchase it is for the same reason. I do not have the funds to purchase a lot of original art - which really points to a few other topics - where does our money go? Technology, travel to see family, housing/food/basic needs… The art world still seems quite elite and exclusive to a certain class. But maybe I'm wrong. Oh one more thing! Our city is filled with very socially conscious/educated people. We have several Universities. People are very excited to purchase art made by Indigenous and BIPOC artists. Have you come across that as well?
One last thought on selling art (not purchasing). I have found collectors are much more willing to purchase when they see the original in person. Most of my larger sales have been through group exhibits, art fairs etc.. This is why the pandemic affected visual artists so painfully.