I’ve written about this before, but it seems to me that most male art collectors fall into one of two categories:

The first is the kid with the sweater. He’s usually in his late 20s or early 30s, maybe with a few years of college under his belt. He’s someone who has taken a lot of art classes and has been told by older relatives that “art is important” and can’t imagine why no one else sees that. He’s passionate about art, but mostly he just knows what things cost.

The second category would be the middle-aged man (usually). These are men in their 40s or 50s who have some money to spend on art. They are mostly self-made people with little time for anything aside from work and family, who then throw themselves into collecting art as a kind of hobby when they get to a certain age. They are not passionate about art — they’re more like collectors than connoisseurs — but they have heard good things and they have some money, so they start buying up stuff.

They know what they like. They might have had an art history class or two back in college, but it was probably taught by a grad student, so you get the sense that all those Raphael

Since the art market has exploded in recent years, there are many more collectors around than before who buy or sell art for a living. They tend to be younger and male. But the majority of collectors are still older and female. Recently, I was asked by one of these new dealers to write an article about how to get started as a collector. It was not an easy assignment, because it is not something you can learn in an article or two, the way you learn everything else on the internet these days. Collecting is more like learning to play tennis or speak French than learning to use the internet, which is mostly copying and pasting other people’s ideas and opinions.

This is why I had to start with the basics: what it means to be a collector, and how collecting differs from shopping. For example, if you collect wine it means that every bottle you buy will cost more than you think is reasonable and fit on your shelves, but if you don’t collect wine then every bottle will cost less than you think is reasonable and never fit on your shelves anyway.

Following my advice does not guarantee that you will become rich. But at least you won’t run out of money!**

So you want to collect art. You’re not alone, and neither am I. But hold on there, buddy, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. You’ll need a big house, preferably one with at least one wall of windows — and maybe even a skylight or two. And you’ll need a big-screen TV and surround sound because the best art Is on TV these days. Then there’s the matter of furniture: couches, bookcases, end tables — all in black leather. You’ll have to hire an interior designer to help with the decorating, because good taste takes time to develop — and besides, you’re busy.

Step two will be finding that perfect painting for your den; it should probably be about 20″ x 24″ framed in gold leaf, but there are a few more things to consider. Keep in mind that almost all painters before 1900 are dead white males who can’t draw from life — but that’s OK because they’re all so great at abstraction anyway!

What’s more important than any of these considerations is that the painting must somehow reflect your personality. So it can’t just be any painting. If you want something personal and meaningful in your collection, then it has to be 19th

The first thing an interested collector should do is to take a look at the great masters. You can find them in books, or at museums, or at galleries and auctions. What you’re looking for is a style that really moves you, with artists who work in the medium that most appeals to you. Paintings, ceramics, sculpture – whatever works for you. If a painting really grabs you, go see the artist’s other works; if it doesn’t, move on to the next one.

Taste comes from living with art and getting to know it well — preferably over time. The best way to do this is by collecting what you love — but not too much of it. If a piece doesn’t grab you within 3-5 minutes of looking at it, move on to the next one (this is where I think dealers are pretty useful). If a piece does grab you and you want to learn more about it later on, make sure there’s something in the background that tells you what it is.

Don’t buy things just because they’re valuable; buy things because they’re beautiful and moving to you. Only buy art that moves you — otherwise why would you want to look at it? And if it stops moving you or your tastes change

There are two ways to approach collecting art. The first is to collect what you love, and the second is to collect based on a plan or strategy. Both valuation and appreciation of art are subjective and fraught with complexities. We present here some simple guidelines for navigating the world of art ownership.

What’s it Worth? It Depends

Aesthetics are personal and subjective; that’s why they’re called aesthetics. Not everyone is going to like everything you like, so if you want a piece that you love, even if others don’t share your taste, it’ll be worth a lot to you.

Money makes the world go round, but it doesn’t make everyone happy. If you love a piece, get it and enjoy it; if money is really what’s most important then think about selling it down the road when it becomes more valuable than you can afford at the time.

The thrill of collecting art is in the hunt – discovering something you’ve never seen before and adding it to your collection. If you’re buying things because they fit into a collection plan you’ve devised, then you lose much of that excitement. Collecting for investment rarely has the same satisfaction as collecting for love of the work itself. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying

What are you trying to achieve? Do you want something that will grow in value, or do you want something that you love? Are you aiming to impress your friends, or do you want to surround yourself with beautiful things?

If your primary concern is financial then this post is not for you. Since I’m assuming your goals are aesthetic and/or emotional, let’s get down to business. There are basically two approaches to collecting art: The first (and most common) is to buy well-known artists’ work when it is young and relatively affordable then flip it for a profit as the artist’s star continues to rise. This is known as “buy low and sell high.” The second approach involves buying work from up-and-coming artists when they have little or no name recognition and do not yet have a following. This is known as “betting on a dark horse.”

There are many ways to go about investing in art. Some people are very wealthy and can afford to spend millions of dollars on a single piece. Others of us must be more judicious with our funds and spread out our investments among several artists. Whatever the case, there are some basic principles that any investor should keep in mind:

1) Know who you’re buying from.

I have seen a great many art-collecting guides over the last few years, and they all tend to take one of two forms: the neurotic-manic ramblings of an aging hipster who was once-upon-a-time a punk rocker, or the neurotic-manic ramblings of an aging hipster who was once-upon-a-time an art critic. I can’t speak for punk rockers (although I’m pretty sure mine wasn’t a “classic” punk rocker because he was too young), but I think that the second type is best represented by the New York Times’ Roberta Smith.

Truly, my only complaint about Ms. Smith is that she has not yet published her collected writing on contemporary art as a single volume. She occasionally mentions “the book”, but it has yet to appear in an actual bookstore. If you’re interested in reading her work, it’s more than likely that you’ll be able to get them online (I usually find them at the ‘Times).

The reason I bring this up is that Ms. Smith has been talking about “mid century modern” lately in one of her columns, and she says some things that make me wonder what she would have said