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JANUS ARTS’ SHORTCUT GUIDE TO HIGH-END ART
JANUS ARTS' FAST-TRACK GUIDE TO COLLECTING HIGH-END ART
Get the lowdown on buying high-end art — from old masters to emerging artists — with Janus Arts' fast-track guide to art collecting for pleasure and profit.
High-end art has always needed high-end collectors to survive. Strip away the support of patrons like Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Sir Richard Wallace, J. Paul Getty, and Charles Saatchi, and today’s thriving art landscape would be unrecognisable. Philanthropists, museum creators, and art market manipulators all rolled into one; the importance of these elite influencers can’t be overestimated.
But whether a legacy left to the nation or a private compendium viewed only by a select few, every great art collection has one thing in common: it began with a single work. Yes, even Sol and Peggy Guggenheim (whose contemporary collections have spawned three internationally acclaimed museums, with a fourth — the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi — set to open in 2025) had to start somewhere.
CLEVER COLLECTING: BUY WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
What that first work should be is up to you. The first rule of clever collecting is simple: buy what you love. If you’re Sir Elton John, that means modernist photography. The musician’s unrivalled archive spans more than 2,000 vintage works, including seminal images by Man Ray, Alexandr Rodchenko, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange. Madonna, meanwhile, has the best art deco jewellery collection of anyone in the public eye. Plus, a multi-million-dollar art collection that includes original paintings by Picasso, Léger, Frida Kahlo, and “a ton of” Tamara de Lempicka works. “I have a Lempicka museum,” she told Vanity Fair back in 1990.
BESPOKE SUPPORT BUYING HIGH-END ART
Being hugely wealthy (or a pop icon) isn’t a prerequisite for starting an art collection. But when serious money is involved or buying high-end art as an investment, you must get expert advice. The art world is notoriously hard to negotiate successfully. Whether you’re a novice or an old hand, make sure you have an advisor you can trust. Choose someone with integrity who knows the landscape (and the sharks to avoid). They’ll be worth their weight in gold — or at least their commission! Janus Arts’ Director, John Kulukundis, has more than twenty years of experience in the business. He has brokered numerous high-value sales by artists as varied as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Paul Gaugin and Edgar Degas. The latter work being a ballerina gouache (ex-New York private collection), that had been off-market for more than 50 years.
PAUL GAUGUIN
INCANTATION
PAUL GAUGUIN
INCANTATION
INVESTING IN HIGH-END ART VERSUS REAL ESTATE
Bricks and mortar are often touted as THE safest investment. But when it comes to sizeable returns, property doesn’t always trump paint. Take the May, 2022 sale of Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn for $195 million at Christie’s New York. The most expensive 20th-century artwork ever to sell at auction; at first glance, the record-breaking purchase price seems insane for a silk screen print — even a Warhol one.
Consider this, though. In 1998, Orange Marilyn — an equivalent work from the same Marilyn Flavour series — sold for $17.3 million at auction: seen then as a record-breaking ‘ludicrous’ price for a Warhol. But the original artwork proved a phenomenal long-term investment when it sold privately in 2017 for $240 million. An increase of 1387% on the original investment, that’s more than double that achieved by prime London real estate over the same period. In time, Blue Marilyn — which, unlike a multi-million-dollar property, will cost virtually nothing to ‘run’ — may prove one of this century’s wisest buys.
But what if you want to park your money safely, where the only place it will go is up? Then look to buy art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries’ post-impressionism era. Works of art by Van Gogh are a rock-solid bet. Ditto original paintings by Matisse and Gaugin, albeit they must be high-quality examples to start with.
HIGH-END SCULPTURE ON OUR RADAR
Similarly, Edgar Degas’ paintings and sculptures always have an army of people chasing them, so never bomb at auction. In May 2022, La Petite danseuse de quatorze ans — a bronze cast of the only sculpture Degas ever exhibited during his lifetime — smashed the previous Degas auction record when it sold for $41.6 million. For more abstract high-end sculpture, look to the work of Barbara Hepworth, Antony Gormley, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, and the Romanian artist considered the patriarch of modern sculpture: Constantin Brâncuși.
COLLECTING HIGH-END CONTEMPORARY & MODERN ART
For sure-fire modern or contemporary art investments, look to Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko: two artists whose work keeps going up and never dips in value. That said, Tate’s recent decision to ditch a thousand documents and sketches initially thought to have come from Bacon’s studio highlights the importance of clear provenance. Donated to the museum in 2004 by the late artist’s close friend, Barry Joules, the compendium had been deemed the Tate Archive’s most important acquisition ever. However, according to a Tate statement first obtained by the Art Newspaper, research by art historians has raised “credible doubts about the nature and quality of the material”. The collection is now being offered back to Joules, who remains adamant about its authenticity.
THE PROS AND CONS OF BUYING HIGH-END ART AT AUCTION
Under common law, whether you’re buying a Monet or a second-hand Mini, the principle of caveat emptor — Latin for “let the buyer beware” — applies. You’re responsible for checking that what you’re buying really is what you think it is. So, always read the sale terms and conditions, no matter how dull.
Buying at auction, though — versus, say, from an art gallery —provides an additional level of security. If at any time it turns out you’ve been sold a fake, the auction house must refund your money. That’s not to say you won’t overpay to start with. In the heat of the auction, getting carried away and bidding more than an item is worth is easy. Then there’s the actual cost of buying at auction. The buyer’s premium (the auction house’s commission) will add 20% to 25% to the final hammer price. That’s considerably more than you’d pay an art dealer. Just give us a call to learn more about Janus Arts’ (extremely reasonable if we do say so!) rates.
Traditional auctions for high-end artworks are on the decrease. Increasingly, vendors are instructing experienced dealers to broker deals. These private sales remove the unpredictability and publicity of a live auction, and offer more flexibility as to the territory and terms of sale. Plus, the lack of a buyer’s premium benefits the vendor — who keeps more of the final sale price — and often the buyer, too. Keen not to lose out on this sector of the market, auction houses now often broker private deals behind closed doors. Incredibly, nearly half of Christie’s sales are private treaty sales versus live auctions.
Connections and relationships have always been a vital element of the art market. But where high-end private art sales are concerned, they are everything. You simply won’t hear about these opportunities unless you are in the inner circle. That’s why wise art collectors instruct experienced third parties like Janus Arts to oversee their arrangements. With industry connections stretching back decades, we have the network you need.
TRACEY EMIN CBE RA (B. 1963)
GRAND HOTEL I, 2016
SIGNED, TITLED AND NUMBERED 87/100 IN PENCIL
POLYMER GRAVURE ETCHING IN COLOURS ON 300GSM WOVE PAPER
SHEET 54.4CM/45.5CM
PUBLISHED BY EMIN INTERNATIONAL, LONDON
GBP 5,500
TRACEY EMIN CBE RA (B. 1963)
GRAND HOTEL I, 2016
SIGNED, TITLED AND NUMBERED 87/100 IN PENCIL
POLYMER GRAVURE ETCHING IN COLOURS ON 300GSM WOVE PAPER
SHEET 54.4CM/45.5CM
PUBLISHED BY EMIN INTERNATIONAL, LONDON
GBP 5,500
TRACEY EMIN CBE RA (B. 1963)
GRAND HOTEL I, 2016
SIGNED, TITLED AND NUMBERED 87/100 IN PENCIL
POLYMER GRAVURE ETCHING IN COLOURS ON 300GSM WOVE PAPER
SHEET 54.4CM/45.5CM
PUBLISHED BY EMIN INTERNATIONAL, LONDON
GBP 5,500
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A leading figure in contemporary art since the 1990s, Emin achieved international fame with the ground-breaking installations ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995’ and ‘My Bed’. Raw, confrontative and yet intensely intimate, ‘Grand Hotel I, 2016’ perfectly captures that same radical, brutal honesty for which the artist is so rightly revered.
DISCOVERING HIGH-END EMERGING ARTISTS
Everybody wants to be first onto the next big thing; the problem is knowing what that will be. There are no dead certs when it comes to emerging artists — anyone who says otherwise is lying. An intelligent collector follows an artist’s trajectory, notes where they’re exhibiting, and buys as prices gently simmer, but well before they boil. (To get truly ahead of the pack, visit degree shows to find emerging raw talent, but be driven by personal taste.)
Nor are shiny awards and positive press the art market’s best barometer. Take Tracey Emin, CBE. Shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1998 for My Bed, Emin — who didn’t win — was panned by critics and subjected to horrible personal attacks by certain sections of the media. (It’s fair to say Little Britain didn’t get Tracey…and probably still doesn’t). A quarter of a century on, Emin still shocks with her work, but it’s hugely sought after and continues to increase in value. For example, in 2019, You Are There Now (acrylic on canvas) sold for $819,000. (For those looking to start an Emin collection, Janus Arts has the signed Emin print Grand Hotel I for sale at an entry level price.)
Conversely, when English artist Keith Tyson won the 2002 Turner Prize, his artwork’s value soared only to drop considerably since. The moral of the story? Buy what you love versus what you think you ‘should’, and you won’t mind so much if its worth fluctuates.
THE COST AND KUDOS OF LEGACY ARTWORKS
Once the media gets hold of an artist, that bargain-hunting ‘golden hour’ is long gone. It doesn’t matter how ‘street’ the artist is, either. Buying a Banksy now is like buying a David Hockney. Both are established (some will argue overly hyped) artists who sell for big money. Take Hockney’s The Splash. Sold in 2006 for £2.6m; when it resurfaced in 2020, the iconic artwork sold at Sotheby’s, London, for a hefty £23.1m.
While undoubtedly influenced by major retrospectives at The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, Tate Britain and Centre Georges Pompidou; the final hammer price illustrated the investment benefits of high-end pop art.
But will The Splash hold its value, let alone offer such returns in the future? Maybe not, but does it matter? People don’t buy legacy artworks merely as investments, but for the pleasure and prestige they bring. So, if you want the kudos of owning a landmark work be prepared to pay above and beyond. And remember, while it will go down in history, it may also go down in value.
BUILDING AN ART COLLECTION YOU CAN BE PROUD OF
Find out how Janus Arts can help with your fine art acquisitions. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat. We’ll be entirely transparent about our services, fees, and what we can and can’t achieve. And if we’re not the right fit for the type of art you’re interested in, we’ll help you find the expert who is.
