Collections

What to Look For

For Your Consideration…

Artist Galleries

Select your favorite artists below to read their biographies and see collections of their work.

It takes a lot to become an expert. The information is there for the learning, but it'll take more than a few resources before you can consider yourself an authority. Don't just call one person or read one article and take that as fact. Cross-reference what you learn before you think of it as factual knowledge. You should also consider hiring an appraiser. They don't cost much and have the resources to answer these questions for you.

Here is some basic information to get you started:

  • Provenance. Can you find anything about who has owned the artwork before? Where has it been displayed? Think history and think location.
  • What does the art mean? How does it speak to the artist's repertory and the rest of the art of the period? What do people say about it? Also, beware of meaningless adjectives. Commentary on someone's "rich" brush strokes says little about the importance of a piece of art — in fact, it says little at all.
  • What biographical information can you find out about the artist? What can you find out about her background, popularity, and repertory? What kind of work is she known for? Is the price logical? Does it reflect the information you have gained about the piece? If not, can you figure out why?

These are the meat questions. If you can answer these, you have a pretty solid foundation of knowledge about the work. Education is key here. Make yourself an expert and you'll have the upper hand in any deal.