If you need advice on purchasing or investing in art either on a personal or corporate level Alan will be pleased to help you. Alan offers a consultancy service covering all aspect of buying and selling art. Click here to contact Alan.

TIPS

Do you want a nice piece of art for the home or to make money from that artwork?, very unlikely to find a piece that does both.

The hardest part of making money from art is the selling, where will you sell it?, your choices are...

• Ebay....buyers market, so low prices, but great place to spot a bargain.
• Galleries.....they will offer very little, or take 40-50% commission to sell on.
• Auction Houses......you need to have the piece with them 3 months in advance, they will get you the market value that day,
  but THEY!!! set the reserve, and take out insurance, listing fee and commission on the sale price.

There are a million artists, the chances of you discovering the next Hirst are very remote, so unless you are serious, have deep pockets and are prepared to visit all the degree shows, stop now!.

If you buy from a high street gallery chain, the true value is what they paid for it, if they tell you the artist is a good investment, check it out, look at the various auction sites (Sothebys, Christies, Bonhams), check the latest results for that artist, if the name is not recognised then think why?.

Short term investment.... for a return look at prints by established names (HIRST, EMIN, BANKSY ETC), they can be bought from a few hundred pounds.
eg Banksy 'Love Rat' from 2004, print number 145/150 sold in 2011 at Bonhams for £6000

Long term investment....for a return look at originals and prints by established artists of the last century, the pieces will cost more but should increase steadily over a period of years.
eg A Picasso black and white linocut from 1963 sold at Sothebys in 2011 for £241,250

If you are about to spend and have any doubts, think about the above or give me a call on 01926 495506.