Why Do We Buy Art?

        Motivation is a typical subject for folks in the arts. We often hear, “Where did you get the inspiration for that painting?” There is another side of inspiration to consider, what motivates the buyer of art.

First we buy - that landscape, then another - and before we are aware of it we have a full blown obsession.           We have become art collectors or more precisely, collectors of art that we must have to complete that feeling of something deep inside us, something that makes us feel really good. Art collector is a term that implies collecting more for investment than affection.

        What motivates collecting art is a topic way beyond my understanding. My close brush with collecting art came a few years ago when we were in an antique shop and spotted a beautiful etching of a winter scene. I just had to have it and so I paid the asking price of about ten dollars. It was mine, all mine.  I was so happy until I went to another shop and found the same print. Two prints of the same subject?  Of course, it’s a print. Seeing the second print wasn’t as much fun as finding the first. That’s when I realized that maybe collecting is because we like the thrill of the discovery and the stories of the conquests.

Spring Gold 16x20 oil on linen

       About the same time as the great winter scene find, we were collecting/rescuing old art pieces found in unusual places like roadside trash day pickups, yard sales and second hand stores. We felt rather noble about our mounting collection. It “mounted” in the back of closets and under beds, to be alternately placed on a wall designated for found art. We received great joy and pleasure from our efforts. Some art treasures could be that lost piece from Vincent or Pablo, but for us, the humble lovers of the arts, we had the fun and adventure of the discovery and the tales of the conquest (plus the burden of the stuffed closest and attic).

       If you too collect art, have fun and if searching for that special piece that makes you say, “Wow, remember when…” then the pleasure of real art and the stories behind the painting on the walls can be motive enough for the prestigious title … art collector. 
       Happy hunting,
Joel   

Summer Celebration 20x30 acrylic on canvas