Markets Where You Can Invest In Art

 

Some months ago I talked about the basics of art as an alternative asset class. Today I am going to show you the places where you can buy them (even if your budget is pretty low). There are both primary and secondary markets for art. A primary market for art is when you purchase directly from the artist, or sometimes get the art from a gallery. Anything after that first sale is considered bought or sold in the secondary market. The most common are:

1. Auction houses: they can be both in-person and online. Two of the most well-known and high-end auction houses are Sotheby’s and Christie’s, where premiums over costs can be as much as 30% of the hammer price. An auction house is your best bet for selling but often charges hefty fees. A fine art auction house will typically charge around 5% to 25% of your sale price for auctioning your piece. The do-it-yourself internet auction sites usually draw far less coin. In fact, auction prices reflect over 40% of art resales, and some experts estimate that only 0.5% of paintings bought are ever resold. Therefore, when a painting is auctioned, it's often because the owner of the work thinks the piece will attract a handsome price. Art enthusiasts who have a fiery passion for the finest masterpieces and an appetite for exciting bidding wars frequently flock to the spectacles that are auction houses. They know that these high-stakes events are both thrilling and potentially lucrative. With an intense environment and savvy competitors, bidding wars can be quite intense, but don't let that deter you.
2. Art galleries: offer the chance to see a variety of pieces, and they’ve already done some of the heavy lifting when it comes to determining whether something might be valuable (though you still need to do your research because any piece of art may increase or decrease in value). Reputable galleries are one good way to go since most of the times you can verify the origin and authenticity of the painting you are interested in. Most of them are primary markets. 
3. Art fairs: in these ones, you buy directly from the artist many times, though there are some prestigious fairs where the artist might not be present. Some of the more well-known art fairs include The Armory Show in New York, TEFAF New York, TEFAF Maastricht, Art Toronto, Frieze London, ARCOMadrid, La Biennale Paris, Melbourne Art Fair, India Art Fair, ArtBo in Bogata, Colombia, Contemporary Istanbul, and Art Dubai. Investing in art directly through the seller or artist can be an empowering experience. By skipping the middleman, you have more control over the entire process, from negotiating the price to choosing the piece that speaks to you. Not only does it give you the satisfaction of knowing that you have an original masterpiece, but it can also be a wise financial decision.
4. NFT marketplaces: On top of being able to buy individual pieces, some platforms offer NFT “drops” that amount to digital packs of artwork. Some NFT marketplaces to consider include: SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace, KnownOrigin, OpenSea, and Rarible.
5. Online marketplaces: Since this is the information age, plenty of high-end artwork sells online. But before you buy over the Internet, make sure you’re purchasing from a reputable and legitimate gallery, dealer, or investment firm. It is imperative to be cautious when making such purchases over the Internet. Masterworks is a great online option, especially for the novice art investor because they do most of the work for you in terms of authenticity and storage (because do not actually own or store the artwork) and you can invest in fractional shares, which lower capital requirements to invest in this asset class so that you can even invest in art with just 20 dollars. In addition, you also have others such as Saatchi Art, Artsy, and Artfinder.