As a young collector, I was drawn to the art of Whistler, the intimacy of the etching medium, and then to scenes of Venice. And so for many years I pursued etchings by Whistler and his American and British followers from the 1880s into the 1940s. This time frame encompassed the great etching revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. My focused collecting and the pleasure of living with these prints and studying them closely allowed me four extraordinary insights: there were only a handful of reallygreat artists working in the etching medium during this period; the anxiety of influence the artists faced with the supreme example of Whistler looming over them was huge; the challenge of rendering Venice, that most color-saturated of all places, in a black and white medium forced these artists to innovate like mad; and the very best grappled with the sheer terror of discovering a fresh take on Venice—desperate to avoid a Venetian potboiler. What I realized: almost without exception, over long careers, these artists did their best work in Venice. And I uncovered some great lost geniuses like Clifford Addams and Donald Shaw MacLaughlan—and the brilliant early Venetian etchings of John Marin from 1907. Seeking out these works from dealers and auctions accelerated my learning curve in connoisseurship and market savvy, while indulging my love of Venice—over 200 prints and going strong!
An enthusiasm that would lead to exhibitions and the writing of two novels set in Venice, With A Gemlike Flame and Love’s Attraction.
Without a strategic vision to guide your collecting you may well be foregoing the most gratifying part of the collecting experience: a chance to build something remarkable and lasting, that may even add to art historical knowledge—and enhance the value of the collection as a whole. By having a game plan, a flexible approach that allows for change and serendipity, it’s possible to assemble a collection that tells a fascinating story reflecting a unique taste—yours! A great collection should tell as much about the collector as the artwork itself. There are as many ways to go about this as there are kinds of art and artists.
The most obvious approaches are enshrined in the traditional collecting categories used by auctions and specialist galleries: from contemporary to Old Masters, or by artist or medium (prints, watercolors, photographs) or geographical region. Within these larger contexts, you can collect by specific subjects (check out Artsy genomes for examples) or stylistic affinities within historical categories, or cross-collect to explore the enduring themes that unite artists over the millennia, or how the influence of a certain artist or school has carried on over many generations.
By focusing your aesthetic tastes on thematic narratives, you will find that your collecting eye is enhanced and your connection to the art deepened. Marvelous things about the creative process leap into view as never before. The trick is to come up with a collecting focus or theme that encompasses subjects and styles that get you excited on many different levels: as aesthetic objects, as artifacts touching on people and places and experiences that matter to you—an overarching narrative more intriguing than just the sum of its parts. And if your insights prove out, you may end up telling a story that museum curators and academics will envy.
And when the time comes to pass your collection on to your children, or a museum, or sell: your life’s passion will make all the difference!
(Seventh in a 21-part series of posts on the Art of Collecting. Originally published on Artsy.net. David Cleveland, an advisor to Artsy, is available to Collector Program members to discuss both the critical market details and strategic vision necessary to building a fine art collection.)
Leave a Reply