Buyers' Information Page

Buying for Investment or Pleasure
Part 3

Kim Dommer, Ph.D. DD

Buying for Pleasure

Purchasing art does not have to be done with an eye toward potential future value of the piece. A beautiful work of art can mean a great deal to its owner, without respect to any dollar amount.

Ars Gratia Artis

Not all artists have to create for their own sanity or mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual well-being (as has been documented throughout history). And it is not to say that an up-and-coming or semi-professional artist cannot be a good investment. On the contrary, if the elements described in the previous section are there, with little money down the investing buyer could receive a greater to equally great return on an investment.

It is just that the art market and the art world is a highly competitive field. Not only are the artists competing with one another, but the good artists are constantly competing with themselves to product better and better works. For this reason, among many others, many buyers will buy for pleasure.

So what should a buyer look for before purchasing a work of art?

To do this effectively we must first look at a few elements of the decor of your home or office where you plan to exhibit the work.

Placing Artwork

I have know people who find the perfect piece of art first and then build the decor of their room up around that piece of art. But most often, people have a certain style, motif, or genre already established in their decor and then shop to find the perfect piece of art to accentuate that chosen style.

You probably already have in mind a wall or space in which you would like to exhibit the art. So here are a few ideas to consider before you buy.

Viewing Distance

Certain artwork needs to be viewed up close. Smaller images, often portraits or flora, will fall into this category. Usually the pieces are close-up studies. These pieces often display best in small rooms or in hallways, stairwells, or anywhere the view is in close proximity to the viewer.

Other pieces of art are viewed best from a distance. Often landscapes, waterscapes, abstract and surreal images fall into this category. These pieces are better placed in large rooms at a greater viewing distance or at the end of a hall.

Whether you are viewing artwork that has been fit to your computer screen, or out in a gallery or at a show, step forward and back from a piece until you find the viewing distance at which that piece looks best.

Let us say you are viewing from a computer screen and you find that four feet away from it was the ideal distance. But your screen is 16 inches wide and the actual piece is 32 inches by 36 inches. You would have to do a bit of math to determine that four feet from your screen would put the actual viewing distance at about 16 feet.

Wall or Display Space

Some viewers like a painting to take up 90% of the available wall space while others would prefer the piece not to dominate the wall, but to accent the color and style of their interior design.

When I hang an exhibit, I measure wall space and viewing distance to place an appropriate piece in that space each time.

So measure your space and gauge with your eye which size would be the smallest you want to go and which would be the largest.