Building an art collection you love

“The Veil”
By Mel Fiorentino • Oil & gold leaf on canvas
36” x 48” • $6,000

“Just buy what you love!” That’s the advice we most often hear regarding art collecting. But this simple advice doesn’t encourage us to train our eye and our brain to pick the most valuable works.

First, before we get too far into this, we need to dispel the art snobbery based on the cost of art. When we use the word “valuable” for the purpose of this article, it is not necessarily referencing how much we paid for a particular piece or how much we could sell it for. Instead, let’s consider the factors that qualify a particular piece as important.

For example, if you have a piece of art that is a great conversation starter when guests come to your home—then that art has value. If you find a piece that represents a complicated social issue and the artist addresses the subject in such a way that brings awareness and dialogue—then that art has value. If you have a piece of art where the artist executes a technique so perfectly that other artists study it in order to improve their own craft—then that art has value. 

Just being “pretty” or pleasing to the eye is not enough to make art valuable. Let’s skip over discussing the superficial reasons leading you to a particular piece of art, like how it complements your décor, and dig a little deeper.

We asked local art expert Leslie Hammond, ASA, founder and president of Artistic Eye Fine Art Services, who possesses decades of experience as an art historian, archaeologist, and museum professional, including at the Appleton Museum of Art, what advice she has for someone starting a collection on a budget who wants to build one that will stand the test of time. 

“Rumbling on the Track”
By Jordan Shapot • Acrylic, Acrylic Spray, Acrylic Markers, Oils, and Oil Bars on Stretched Canvas
68” x 48” x 1 1/2” • $4,500

Education is key

Hammond recommended spending time educating yourself first by taking an art appreciation class to learn the basics of art history and reading articles about artists and exhibitions and noted that even artist obituaries give historical reference for the artist’s impact.

Rather just visiting an art museum, Hammond encourages taking docent led gallery tours, and/or using an audio guide. At the least, read the gallery labels/text panels as those details will help give an understanding as to why the piece is museum worthy.

Also, Hammond encouraged people not to be shy in asking questions of artists about their work, their process, perspectives and purpose. Additionally, art dealers, museum curators, or other art professionals often expect questions, so ask them. 

Once an educated consumer has a firm grip on what makes art more important than what we can see as its face value, we’ll ask ourselves deeper questions, such as how does this art help us observe the human condition? What is the artist trying to communicate?

“Scupture 3”
By Whitney Powell • Mixed Media
$275

Making decisions

Hammond encourages a lot of window shopping before making decisions, “Look, look and look some more! The more you see the more you will refine your taste and train your eye,” she wrote the “Gazette.” 

“If you find an artist or style you like go with it; your art doesn’t need to match your sofa,” Hammond offered with a chuckle. 

Although Hammond encourages, “buy what you like, and don’t initially try to buy for investment purposes,” she acknowledged that for some people that’s a consideration. 

In that case, Hammond encouraged the tried-and-true advice of buying the best example of an artist or art medium that you can afford. 

“You want to have the best example of an artist’s work, which may mean spending a little more,” Hammond advised. 

For those working on a budget, Hammond encouraged, “It’s okay to start with a print, but try to buy a signed, limited edition one.” 

“Water Hazard”
By Margaret Watts • Oil on canvas
18” x 24” • $600

Then, when you can afford more, Hammond pointed out that you can build on what you have by upgrading pieces with an artist already part of your art collection.”

“If you are thinking of making a ‘significant’ purchase, consider consulting with an art advisor first,” Hammond encouraged. 

Collecting local artists

One should not overlook the potential for discovering burgeoning talent at a local level. A few years back on a tour of mid-century modern homes in Gainesville, I was awed by a private collection of artist Hiriam Williams. The artist, a professor at the University of Florida, who passed away decades ago, has work that now hangs in many notable museums, including The National Gallery. The private collection hanging in the residence encompassed many different mediums and reflected decades of evolution by Williams. I speculate that this collection was started very deliberately at a time when the cost of Williams’ work was still attainable and I think it serves as a lesson that a valuable art collection can begin in your local community.

Hammond pointed locally to John “Jack” Thursby, a retired College of Central Florida art professor, who taught so many of the local working artists, and said, “to have something by him and by one of his students—legacy tracking for this community.”

Another legacy artist Hammond pointed to was Margert “Peggy” Watts, “her legacy with this community and her representation of it are classic.”

The “Gazette” commissioned Watts to illustrate Ocala’ City Hall or their our first edition, in July of 2020.

We asked Hammond which local artists she felt were worthy of watching and collecting. 

“Wooster Walk”
By Jeff Sekler • Acrylic on Canvas
36” x 48” • SOLD

“This is tough, as you know, art is subjective, like food and wine, it’s either to your palette or it is not. While at the Appleton, I was often asked what was my favorite painting, my typical reply was, which of your children is your favorite? That being said, I enjoy different art for different reasons. Likewise with different artists,” Hammond said.

Hammond shared a few notes on the following local artists:

Mel Fiorentino – “Classically trained by her mentor Jack Thursby, Mel has great command of representing the human body.” Learn more: melissafiorentinoart.com

Jason Alsedek – “His creative spirit shines bright; the things that he comes up with continues to make me look twice.” Learn more: gypsea-arts.com

Jordon Shapot – “With his first solo show at MCA he hit it out of the park, who was this guy and where did he come from?” Learn more: jordanshapot.com

Jeff Selker – “New to the Marion County art scene, he is one to watch.”

Whitney Powell – “Her coiled fiber ‘basket’ sculptures evoke nature not only in material but also form.” Gallery: ccfinearts.com

To learn more about Leslie Hammond’s art consulting services, visit artisticeye-fas.com