(Collecting · 12 Sep 2026)
Buying your first work
Seven honest pieces of advice for new collectors, from the people who sell art.
Look a lot before you buy anything. Go to openings, art fairs and graduate shows. Your eye gets better every week.
Ask the price. Galleries list them; there is no shame in asking and no obligation after.
Start with works on paper or prints. They are where many artists are most free.
“Buy what you cannot stop thinking about on the way home.”
Meet the artist if you can. You will live with the work for decades; knowing its maker matters.
Never buy as an investment alone. Prices go down as well as up, and paintings do not pay rent.
Finally: hang it at eye height, out of direct sun, and look at it every day.
