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Investing in Art

the-easel.com

11–18 of 18 posts

Re: Investing in Art

#11
post #4

Shameless plug: If you're interested in the art market and factors which affect price/value, I work for Arthena (YC W17) and we're hiring for a variety of roles. If you're interested check out https://angel.co/arthena or reach out to me directly: adrian@arthena.com

Hey Adrian, I've recently been looking into this area and stumbled upon your site only several weeks ago. I was wondering if musical instruments would fit into the "art" investment category as well, or is it a separate asset class? Stradivarius/Cremona violins, Steinway pianos, etc. Would rare musical instruments yield similar returns on average?

Re: Investing in Art

#13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to sound too cynical, but I am wondering how over-pricing can be a problem when the price for a piece of art is however much someone is willing to pay for it?

Further, if there is any measurable value to much art other than how much someone pays for it? Which is seemingly driven by hype, not any intrinsic worth such as beauty/utility. For example, anyone going through Gloucester Road tube station in London might wonder if the platform 'art' there does anything noteworthy but hide the brickwork behind.

>> Further, if there is any measurable value to much art other than how much someone pays for it?

Well, materials cost money, and then there's the time spent producing the work of art. Assuming each artist has her own hourly wage (think minimum wage for a no-name artist), there's your perfectly measurable value of any artwork.

https://binnedart.com are trying to do something along these lines.

Re: Investing in Art

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Further, if there is any measurable value to much art other than how much someone pays for it? Which is seemingly driven by hype, not any intrinsic worth such as beauty/utility. For example, anyone going through Gloucester Road tube station in London might wonder if the platform 'art' there does anything noteworthy but hide the brickwork behind.

>> the platform 'art' there does anything noteworthy but hide the brickwork behind. Too true. I guess the value of the platform "art" might be equivalent to the financial cost of actually fixing the hole, which in this case, could be millions if you factor hiring the hole fixers and the lost of revenue due to closing of the tube station.

So the value of art by Jeffrey Koons could be the gainful employment of the people that physically produce it, though their number appears to be dwindling.

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jeff-koons-downsizing-1442...

Re: Investing in Art

#15

I'm curious, does anyone here invest in books (or trade in rare books in order to get the books they want)?

Perhaps not exactly what you are asking, but my grandfather collected antiquarian books. It was quite the collection and even had a first edition of Alice in Wonderland with beautiful colour plate illustrations and one book that looked like it had been signed by Queen Victoria. My mother had previously sold a miniscule little book of (I think) Patrick Kavanagh's poems for around £1000 or £2000, but had opted not to sell the Lewis Carroll because it was so beautiful.

So one summer, many years ago, she tasked me with valuing and selling off some of the rest of these books that had just been collecting dust under their bed and I hopped online to sites like Abe Books, made a little spreadsheet, then set off with a rucksack of what I thought was around €1000 worth of books. Now, as I was quite young and unemployed this seemed like a lot of money.

Alas, my first few trips to various bookshops specialising in this very thing were all futile. I eventually managed to sell a few but for much less than I thought, and to get anything reasonable I ended up having to part with the Alice in Wonderland. Thankfully I read it before.

This is all to say I would not recommend investing in books. They take up a lot of space, gather dust, are not particularly liquid, and most won't even appreciate and you've got to be careful not to damage the ones that will. Anything less interesting than a signed first edition by a renowned author will barely even get a second glance.

Re: Investing in Art

#16
Tangentally, I don't think "investing" is the right term here. When you invest in something, you buy/create an asset (like a machine, or stocks in company) that is creating returns. Meanwhile, buying assets that don't create returns, with the hope of selling them for more later, is just speculation, not investing.

Re: Investing in Art

#17
post #16

Tangentally, I don't think "investing" is the right term here. When you invest in something, you buy/create an asset (like a machine, or stocks in company) that is creating returns. Meanwhile, buying assets that don't create returns, with the hope of selling them for more later, is just speculation, not investing.

So, how come speculating on some shares and futures for your interpretation could become investment BTW? Am intrigued with your query! In fact, there are many dynamics and statics of investment, tangible and intangible etc etc... Ain't main point is return? Correct me if it is worth your highly valued time.

Re: Investing in Art

#18

I'm curious, does anyone here invest in books (or trade in rare books in order to get the books they want)?

Perhaps not exactly what you are asking, but my grandfather collected antiquarian books. It was quite the collection and even had a first edition of Alice in Wonderland with beautiful colour plate illustrations and one book that looked like it had been signed by Queen Victoria. My mother had previously sold a miniscule little book of (I think) Patrick Kavanagh's poems for around £1000 or £2000, but had opted not to s…

Thank you for sharing your experience. Your last paragraph does make sense.
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