The February issue of Commentary, which contains an essay called “Living with Art” in which I talk about buying and looking at modern art prints, is now being mailed out to subscribers, and I’ve started to get some interesting responses. One was from a Chicago art collector by the name of Philip J. Schiller, who sent me a copy of a book he wrote a couple of years ago called Buy What You Love: Confessions of an Art Addict. The book turned out to be a winner–engaging, straightforward, totally lacking in self-conscious art-world nonsense.
I’ll pass along Mr. Schiller’s ten tips for the novice collector:
1. Buy what you love–listen to your gut.
2. Don’t buy art to make money; there are easier ways to do that.
3. Learn about the artist–you don’t buy a car without being informed.
4. The love affair should remain strong, like a good marriage.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions–it’s your money.
6. Don’t be afraid to negotiate the price–again, it’s your money.
7. Seek advice from a knowledgeable and honest consultant–we all need help.
8. Display the work; see it every day.
9. Loan the work–others should see it.
10. Buy what you can afford–don’t miss any meals.
All fairly obvious, I suppose, except that people who develop a brand-new interest have a way of forgetting the obvious, or failing to apply it to their changed circumstances. I’m lucky–I didn’t make any earth-shattering mistakes in my first year of art buying, so far as I know–but I still wish I’d read Buy What You Love before I started. It’s one of the few things I’ve ever read about collecting art that I didn’t find inhibiting, even though the author obviously has a whole lot more money than I do.
Which brings me to the cover letter accompanying the book, in which Mr. Schiller wrote, “While you may not now be an addict, don’t be surprised if the addiction comes without your being prepared for it, but very happy nonetheless.” Yikes! If he’s right, I may someday be writing this blog from debtors’ prison–or a larger apartment. Buying art is a perilous hobby for a freelance arts journalist with a chronically slender bank account. But he’s right: buying art is addicting, in the nicest and most gratifying way imaginable. Try it and see.