The most important tips for any new collector:

1. Figure out what you like. The better education you have, the better collection you’ll have.

I suggest going to museums and art galleries and trying to familiarize yourself with different periods and styles.

Very often you evolve from what you originally thought you liked so don’t be surprised when you look back.

2. Determine what you’re buying: Are you buying something that you love and you want purely because you think it’s great? Or are you buying something that you love but you secretly want to be an investment?

If you’re buying it because you love it, it’s much easier. All you have to do is figure out if you can afford it, and if the price is something that you think is worth the passion you have for it. If you’re buying with an eye toward investment and you want it to actually have long-term value in the future, it’s a little bit trickier.

3. Set a budget. In your mind you really need to set a budget in terms of what you can afford, and I would say you have to be prepared to spend a little bit more. The things that I regret in purchasing are not any works that I purchased, at least so far, but the works that I didn’t purchase. They were things just a little outside my price range but I loved it and I didn’t buy it. And then I lost the opportunity. If you really love it, trust your instincts. Set a budget and be prepared to spend a little more, A, because there’s shipping and insurance and things like that; but, B, because if it’s the something you really love and it’s a little bit over your price range, I would say “stretch”. Life is short and you want to be inspired.

4. Keep your documents: save emails, invoices, receipts and artist biography. Another generation may not have your same taste, but when they inherit, they should know the value. Wouldn’t you hate to see it in a yard sale?

I have nearly two decades of finding “homes” for beautiful works of art and I would love to help YOU develop your fine art collection!