Dec 2nd, 2020 • 6 minute read
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#CollectorEducation Series: Why Does Artwork Cost What It Costs? Part 2
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Based on sticker value alone, art can seem like a pricey, intimidating investment. Here at Art in Res we are on a mission to make high end, original art affordable by offering the ability to purchase and enjoy fine art via manageable monthly installment payments. We also want to help our collectors understand what exactly they are paying for in a work of art. We want to break down why art costs what it does. You may be thinking it is all subjective, but in fact, there are many practical, calculated, and familiar reasons behind artists’ pricing.
There are a lot of misunderstandings around the pricing of art, starting with how artists assign cost and value to their work. When we take the time to pull back the curtain we find that artists truly are just small business owners in messier, paint-stained clothing who carry the same expenses as any other business. The pricing of their work is based on a delicate combination of factors involving their craft, supplies, expertise, and more.
In the end, if you don’t know exactly what you are paying for, it can seem that art is that dreaded word: overpriced. We hope to put our heads together and shed some light on the intricate cost aspects of what it means to be a working artist and teach you, as a collector, some ways to think about the intrinsic monetary value of art.
Like any product being sold, the cost of production is factored into the final sale price, but what does that mean for art and artists? Last time we discussed some of the tangible costs associated with creating art such as Materials, Monthly Expenses, and Time, Labor, & Skill. This article we will focus on some of the more intangible factors of understanding why art costs what it costs. We will explore ideas around valuing:
Expertise
Speaking to the points made last week during our discussion of labor, time, and skills we lead to one major point: artistic expertise! So, how do we measure expertise in art? Is this about an artist’s training? Or is it about the time spent developing the technique with or without schooling? Or perhaps a mixture of a lifetime of experience?
While an MFA (Master of Fine Arts Degree) is absolutely not necessary for art to have value, it can lend expertise to the artist’s work through the rigorous training required for a graduate program. Many artists who have completed MFA programs are likely to be empowered by higher-level thinking, critique, and theory. This has immense value and is often reflected in the quality of work produced. As with any higher education degree, this knowledge and skill level comes with a higher monetary value.
However, time spent developing unique artist craft is also extremely valuable. An artist develops their own unique set of skills, their individual process unique to their work, their hand alone. It can be helpful to understand how an artist prices their work in conjunction with how long they’ve been working as an artist. Age, time, and wisdom are valued in almost every field and art is no exception. If an artist has been practicing for 40 years, that knowledge and experience has immense value. Their skill-set, experience, and wisdom gathered carefully over time is often unparalleled to anything one can learn in school. This, again, has value! This specific skill set is developed and refined over time through persistence, perseverance, and constant repetitive motion. That right there is expertise!
Experience
As we know, it is also important to understand an artist's experience beyond just formal education or training. As with any resume or job application, we want to see what a creator has in terms of ‘real world experience’. What exactly does this mean for an artist?
Turns out, artists have resumes just like everybody else –– they just look a little different. That bio you see on each artist’s profile page is a little taste of what we’re talking about. When looking at where an artist has studied and shown their work––whether in solo or group shows or juried exhibitions––it is important for understanding whether the artistic community believes in their art.
For this reason, all shows are important; gallery shows are important and museum shows are even more elite. This is all incredibly helpful information for understanding how committed an artist is and where they currently stand within their artistic career, as well as how successful the community views them and their art. The more show experience, the more you can understand that others have also invested in this artists collection and the more you can feel secure in your investment.
There are many complex and key factors to understanding and deciphering an artist’s bio and resume. We get it might be confusing, but we can teach you! Keep an eye out for an upcoming #CollectorEducation article that will guide you on how to go about reading and understanding those perhaps boring, but very important and valuable artist bios!
Because you like it!
As we firmly believe at Art in Res, this is the most important reason art has a dollar value. It’s simple enough –– because we love it!
If we have the means, spending good money on well-crafted items we love is incredibly meaningful. This can be a good chunk of cash, but we all agree Art is worthy. It’s special to the collector, the artist, and the viewer alike. It speaks to us and we truly fall in love. In addition, we call art an investment not simply because of the sticker price, but because it actually has an intrinsic return on investment value; the price of art can appreciate over time. (We know this can be confusing, so keep an eye out for a #CollectorEducation article discussing Artwork as an Investment to publish in the very near future!)
A piece of art will grace your walls for years to come and help shape memories within your home. It’s time to invest in something you love to look at. When it comes down to it, you’re paying for something you have a deep connection with, which, in our opinion, is the best way to invest your time and money.
So, so far we have discussed both the tangible and intangible costs of art. From materials, monthly expenses, & time, labor and skills to experience and expertise, we have focused on many of the factors artists are considering when pricing their art. However, we still haven’t discussed some of the immediate expenses that occur when a work of art is sold. So, Part 3 of our #CollectorEducation Series, Why Art Costs What it Costs will discuss:
We hope you learned something new from this article and are excited for more #CollectorEducation to come! If this article raised more questions for you than it answered, that’s ok too. We encourage you to reach out to us directly with any follow up questions you may have. We’d love to hear from you! You can message Mel Reese and Noni Culotta directly at mel@artinres.com/@melaniereese and noni@artinres.com/@austinartscout respectively.
Virtual installations courtesy of ArtPlacer