Investing in Wildlife Art, Buying Art as an Investment
Investing in art is similar to investing in stocks and shares and as with any investment there are always risks and you should make yourself fully aware of all the investment risks and seek professional advice before choosing to invest in anything.
You can however offset some of the risks by choosing to invest in art considered low risk.
On the other hand investing in a young relatively unknown artist would be classified as an aggresive / high risk investment opportunity and could potentially be very hit or miss, however their work can be picked up for very good prices, but whether the artist becomes a well known artist or becomes appreciated within the world of art or famous for another reason would
certainly be a big gamble in my view and it is mainly these factors which would effect the return on your investment in the world of art.
But I would also say that if you enjoy their artwork and are not reliant on it being an investment then why not? You should certainly only by artwork that you love and will enjoy and want to hang on your wall.
Investing in well established art or artists would be considered a low to moderate risk, depending on how well know the artist was and how collectable his or her work is.
In the world of stocks and shares investments this would be considered basically less of a gamble as the artwork would general hold its original value, have greater potential for a steady return over a period of time, but obviously could cost more to buy than say a less established artist's work.
If you buy any Art through an Art Gallery then generally speaking the Gallery will put on anywhere between 40% - 70% (dependant on how prestigous the gallery) on the price the artist values their own work at. Therefore you can generally purchase paintings direct from the artist for a better price, as their overheads will be much lower than a highstreet art gallery.
So if you buy direct from the artist their work will generally be less expensive than buying through a middleman or gallery and this leaves a greater potential for a better return on your investment.
Similar to investing in antiques or other collectables you must look after your artwork and ensure you protect your asset from damp, strong and direct sunlight and fumes and smoke, this will help maintain the value of you asset.
When purchasing art prints for investment purposes you should ensure that you have a Certificate of Authenticity and the print is actually handsigned by the artist.
When looking at art print investments choose limited edition art prints or artist proofs. Artist proofs are given generally as part payment to the artist and will be a much smaller edition size.
Prints should be printed on high quality, thick acid free paper that will not deteriate as quickly over time if looked after properly, some will come with guarantees. But as with any artwork it is best not to position it in direct sunlight.
Look for low Limited Editions numbers, most editions will be anywhere from hundreds to several thousands.
Some art collectors will only collect their lucky numbers and some investers will always vie to get the lowest number they can in the edition. Edition numbers 1 -10 are always very highly sort after by collectors and investers alike.