Collecting Art for Love, Money and More

Arranged into ten topics that are approached through a key question and answer format, art advisors Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner offer an accessible yet unrivalled insider's view into the often opaque world of collecting art, drawing from their extensive experience in working with collectors and institutions of contemporary art. Collecting Art for Love, Money and More looks at why collecting art is a completely unique experience that offers emotional, intellectual and social rewards. The authors argue that the motivations for acquiring a work of art and building a collection, unlike buying anything else, may be any combination of investment potential, aesthetics, love of art, challenge, intellectual exploration, social status, adrenaline rush, ego-building or public attention. The chapter-opening questions are informal and direct: questions we would all like to ask about collecting contemporary art but are afraid to ask. The authors are informative yet chatty and provide specific examples from their experience. Each question is illustrated with a series of photos/extended captions: these expand on the text and offer advice, personal insights and behind-the-scenes access to the various facets of the commercial art world, including exhibitions, art storage, biennials, art fairs, collectors, and interpretations of individual works of art. As both influential participants in and observers of this world, the authors also bring the historical and social context of the dynamic complexities of the art world today to their narrative. Why people collect art, what rewards it might offer, how one goes about it, what the relationship is between the commercial and the public art world is, and who can take part in it are amongst the vital questions they address.