Something About Collectors of Fine Art
by Cork Marcheschi - 10/2/2006
The relationship of the art collector to the artist is long-lived and very inter interesting. Until 1973 the collector and the artist were tied in an intimate, symbiotic relationship. We needed them and they needed us. What the modern artist did was a mystery to the general public and most of the world in general.
Art is stuff that exists outside the logic of commerce. The $100,000 canvas and the $100 canvas may be the identical size, made with the identical materials and even be of the same subject matter but something between these two objects is different? For a linear world that assesses value based on scale, and quantity, art is more mysterious than religion and marriage.
Early in an artist’s career the artist produces whatever the artist wants to produce. With some luck, a gallery will offer the artist a show. Then the opportunity for the person who is every bit as mysterious as the artist
comes into play: the collector.
There are 3 major groups of collectors. The most interesting is group 1.
The group 1 collector has an intuitive connection to art. The collector is not an artist only because of some DNA phase shift. What the artist may produce out of an active state of inspired direction, the collector intuits and sniffs out. The great collectors buy the work before any one else (except mom). They buy from the first show, they buy directly from the artist, they want to know the artist, and they understand the work and have the inherent tools to appreciate. These collectors build great collections out of fearless choices. These choices are similar to the choice made by the artist in the creation of their work.
These purchases are made before critical articles have been written and museums have included the work in their shows. Robert Scull purchased an entire show of Clase Oldenberg from the Green Gallery in NY. It was
the final day of the show and no one else had bought a thing. He made an offer for all of it. Others had the chance but nobody stepped up to the plate. I must add that all of the collectors in group one are not wealthy. But they do have an art priority at work. For example, Jim Morgan, (a great collector and supporter of the arts) was visited one afternoon by a
traveling art dealer. This dealer presented several pieces to Jim, one of which really hit home. He had to have it!!! There was no question about this. He didn’t have the money and the dealer was only in town for the day. Jim made a few calls and sold his wife’s classic 1953 Cadillac convertible.
He quickly made the exchange and got the art. The next problem was to go pick up his wife. He went in his old pick-up truck. When Myra got in the car and asked why he wasn’t driving her Cadillac…I don’t have to go any further but she refused to ever set foot in his car again until he replaced her ‘53 with something else of equal value.
The committed collector will go to great lengths to get what they need. They are every bit as inspired as the artist’s whose work they collect.
Group 2
The second group is larger than the first and doesn’t have the deep fire or native intuition but they are smart enough to know who does, and this group closely follows the first group and pays higher prices for the work. It is at this period during the collecting cycle that the reviews start and the work of the artist can expand into larger geographical zones. This is a subtle and important period for the work and the artist. These collectors create a small market for the work. Through this the artist has the opportunity to make more work and not have it hang around the studio. The first work produced by the artists is usually some of the rawest and most powerful. The
second wave of pieces is very good and, usually, a refining of the original body of work.
This is still great stuff and can lead to a mature style. The second group of collectors is usually a bit more precious about their collections and the displaying of the work in their homes. In the first group the art is dealt with in a very natural way. I once found an Arshile Gorky propping open a door at Allan Stone’s home. There was no
question about his love for the work–there was also no desire for pretension.
Group 3
This is the group that likes the idea of art but doesn’t know much about it. They have seen many images of great homes in Architectural Digest with ART on the walls. These people usually do not know much about art but have a shit load of new money. They want to be part of something they don’t understand but love the way it looks. This is where the collector impacts the artist in a big way.
This large group of collectors likes to own things that other people recognize. Like Rolex watches, Beemers–branded elegance is the proper term. The first two groups of collectors love art and don’t care if anyone knows what they own except each other. Their pleasure is an intimate relationship with art. This 3rd
group is different; they need the work the artist makes to be recognized by others. In order to be financially successful as an artist, your work has to stop changing. People must be able to recognize it when they enter a room. Liechtenstein and Warhol are excellent examples of work that only changed subject matter but never its definable visible trade marks.
These collectors do not have much (if any) contact with art history or the cultural world in general. The dealers that live
off them keep them away from the larger intellectual world of art. You never want to sacrifice your cash cow and, knowledge can create questions.
So this group of collectors is very insecure, needs guidance, buys for status and exclusivity–the
prices create exclusivity. But this group does support large numbers of galleries and artists. The cost to the artist is a lack of personal growth. To be financially successful your work must stay the same!
I LIKE MONEY. I have no problem with it. But I have noticed that it changes many good things into mediocre things.
There is a group of collectors below this that does not get a category: they are the cash and carry collectors. They buy from galleries at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, from storefront galleries in Boca Raton, from the Southwest. They buy the limited editions of Salvador Dali–editions of over a 1000 with 200 artist’s proofs–the Calder prints and Miro prints. And that BLUE DOG?@#$%^&*() part of the group is the Peter Max, Leroy Neiman and Thomas Kincade (Painter of Tripe) collector.
These folks have nothing to worry about. They are not involved in collecting art.
— Cork Marcheschi | October 2, 2006
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