Career Stages - Emerging, Mid-career and Mature
Next ask yourself-- "At what point is the artist in his/her career?" Is the artist considered 'emerging', 'mid-career', or 'mature'? Where the artist is in career terms helps you to understand how the work is priced as well as the risk you will take in buying the art.
Emerging artists (who haven't yet caught on to how sales work) usually sell their work for far less than it is worth. This is because collectors use the artist's newness to drive down the price, and so the artist must sell at the low price if he/she is to continue.
Your risk here is that although you can buy the work for less, you may end up with just that -- a work of art for which you paid less, yet because the artist could not continue to produce caused the artist to stop making any more art. No body of work, no established prices, no future collectors, no value beside what you actually paid for the art. When you buy art for less than it is worth you do a disservice to the artist, the gallery owner, and to yourself. Why yourself? Because what you pay sets the future value (i.e. 'less' resells for a little more than 'less'). So if you think you've found a budding Picasso, Cassatt, or Sargeant you might want to take the risk, because you can be pretty sure that prices will increase over time. (Make sure the 'emerging' artist is in it for the long haul.) Otherwise, pay the artist a fair amount for the time spent, and hedge your bet by helping the 'emerging' artist to succeed.
Mid-career artists sell their art at established prices (this is why being established is so important). They have produced a substantial body of work and their prices have steadily increased over the years. By mid-career you can tell the direction the artist's work is going, how collectible the work is, and how important the work is historically. By mid-career you know that the artist will continue to produce, thereby locking in past and future prices. If you've avoided taking the risk of the 'emerging' artist, the 'mid-career' artist is the safest, most practical bet for your art purchase.
Mature artists almost always comparatively set the highest prices for their work because they can. They have a substantial history and a very large body of work sold at various prices. However, one major factor determines pricing in this category: The longevity of the artist. (Think about it -- after 'mature' comes 'dead'.) Once the artist is dead there will only be a certain number of pieces that he/she created, a limited supply. Limited supply equals very high prices, so it is best to buy at lower prices while the artist is still alive. If you 'bought in' at 'mid-career', here ('mature') is where you see the return on your investment dollar.
Copyright 2022 Eric Jonsson. All rights reserved.
U n i t e d S t a t e s E u r o p e
S o u t h A m e r i c a A s i a
