In their everyday lives, art advisors visit galleries, auction houses, art fairs, museum
shows, and artist studios. They attend events, meet dealers, and do research.
An art advisor acts as a professional guide, negotiator, strategist, and advocate, helping
you navigate the complex and regularly unclear art market. Not like a gallery owner who
represents specific artists, a good independent art advisor represents your interests,
providing unbiased and fair expertise to help you build a collection that matches your
personal taste, educates you and pays attention to financial and collecting goals.
Listening to clients very closely and offering as much knowledge and information
as possible…
Art collectors look to their art advisors to not only educate and inform them but also help
them develop a thoughtful and cohesive collection strategy within a set of financial
parameters. It is important to be as specific as possible about what you are looking to
do, to collect or invest, or both, and what type of art and art experience may be of
interest. Every art advisor is different. They help you get access to things you may not
know of or normally be able to get.
How does an Art Advisor Assist You?
- Accessing Exclusive Works using connections to give you access to artworks
that aren’t available to the general public, including pieces from auction houses,
galleries, private collections or highly-demanded artists with long gallery waiting
lists. - Curating your Vision into a cohesive collection strategy. An advisor can introduce
you to new genres, artists and historical contexts to refine your “eye”. - Due Diligence and Authentication researching information about the artwork’s
provenance (ownership history) physical condition and verify authenticity. - Financial Negotiation using market trends, auction results and gallery
relationships to ensure you don’t overpay. - Logistics Management handling the “un-fun” parts of collecting like professional
framing, specialized shipping, insurance and the final installation if necessary.
Ok, you’re sold, you want to work with an art advisor. Now, where do you find
one?
There are reputable directories like the APAA (Association of Professional Art Advisors)
or advisory firms, galleries and art fairs.
How do I pay for an art advisor?
Hourly rates can range from $150 to $500+ per hour depending on reputation, location
and experience. Commission is often 10% to 20% of the purchase price of the artwork
especially if the advisor is involved in the acquisition.
I recommend paying an art advisor a retainer to do their job—”that way everyone has
skin in the game”—and they are not basing their advice on what the commission would
be. Rather, they are basing their advice on what would be the best thing for the
collection.
You may pay a bit more with a retainer, but accordingly, “you’re getting an art advisor
that will go from galleries to auctions on your behalf looking for the thing that pulls your
collection together. It’s worth it.”
If you’re balking at the price of an art advisor, whether it be an annual fee, commission-
based, or retainer, remember that an art advisor is a professional service, I encourage
you to consider whether you’d negotiate with your CPA, attorney, or psychologist.
Now let’s take a deeper dive to know what an art advisor is doing for you…
The best art advisors need to be educated in art history and have experience in the art
market. They need to know about genres and how to help you locate and find the art or
artists to purchase. It’s important to choose an advisor who understands the history of
art because it is important to place whatever paintings or sculptures you like in their
historical or stylistic context. It needs to make sense and make you happy at the same
time.
The majority of advisors have expertise in theory or in a certain field of art, having been
at an auction house for example, but don’t necessarily know how the practical aspects
of the market work or how to negotiate or find the art you need, educate and give you
choices. Such an advisor might be good for you if you want to do all the negotiation and
administration yourself. Not many art advisors can do both and you might need the help
of a team that offers the advisory and brokerage services.
Not all art advisors have the same skillset…
Many advisors have a good eye for many different types of art and be able to help you
develop your taste without being dogmatic. Of course, there are also top-rated advisors
who specialize in a particular period and are of great service to collectors who know
what specific artist or style on which they want.
It’s good to find an art advisor with the skillset to source art and can help you with single
purchases or have a vision of building a collection of complementary pieces based on
the client’s individual aesthetics, taste, and budget.
And it goes without saying…it is also best to choose an advisor with whom you enjoy
spending time with as the client/advisor relationship works best when there is a mutual
understanding.
There are many in the art advisory field who can research and discuss the background
of an artwork and/or artist. But as a buyer or seller what you need is someone who has
an opinion, and one of the most underrated qualities of the best art advisors is their
informed opinions. These will necessarily be subjective but also tailored to the client’s
needs and taste.
Hence, a professional art advisor’s opinion based on years of experience and market
knowledge can do things like prevent you from making mistakes in choosing the wrong
pieces or support you by helping you selecting the best work available from three or four
examples by the same artist or different artists that match in style, history and budget.
Because an advisor can also help with that budgeting and investment potential and
deciding when is the right time to sell – if selling is in fact an option you are looking at doing