Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010. Its references to times of crisis and recent years describe the 2008-2010 financial crisis and the art market at that time.
In times of crisis, speculative art collecting has taken a hit, but collecting by people who are passionate about art and have the means to buy it hasn’t slowed down at all because of the crisis.
When it comes to investing in works of art in search of a safe haven, contemporary art is the best option. It has kept gaining value over the past few years.
These days it isn’t that old art doesn’t appreciate; it simply does so on a much smaller scale. Old art is now left to true lovers of the works with plenty of purchasing power. Those who buy art as a business should get into contemporary art.
With good advice, you can buy a work by a young artist and double its initial value within 2–5 years.
The average buyer usually pays more than 50,000 euros for a work, so this sector clearly hasn’t been affected.
Experts say that investing in certain pieces by particular artists is a safe bet.
Further reading
- Safe investing with fixed-term deposits
- Investing in mutual funds
- The cashflow quadrant
- The businesses of the future
Featured image: Amy Vaughters, Smithsonian American Art Museum, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
