In all the houses we called home while I was growing up, there was always some or other piece of art hanging on the wall, so too in the homes of all my cousins and even my friends’ homes. It was very beautiful art for the most part, even though it wasn’t quite what you’d call the art of an avid art collector or indeed the art of a millionaire art collector.
So anyway, a home decor trade fair which recently came into town got me thinking rather deeply about just what goes on in the mind of an art collector, which led me to the realisation that there are indeed different types of art collectors in existence.
The Homemaker
This is the type of art collector who collects art based on how it’d look in their home. It’s always about “how nice this would look in the kitchen” or something like “this would go well against the colour scheme on the living room wall.” The art collected in this way ranges in price.
The Old-Money Collector
These are art collectors who have inherited that generational wealth, identifying art as one of their hobbies through which they can channel some of that old-money that’s burning a hole in their pockets. As far as taste goes, it’s usually more about “etiquette” and maintaining status quo in the art they purchase.
The Multi Lotto Winner
These are my favourite type of art collector, whom I like to call the new-money collectors. With their newly minted, brimming bank accounts from their Multilotto.co.uk winnings, these art collectors seize upon their newfound riches to express their taste in art which was previously really stifled by a lack of funds. There are more of these than what you might think!
The Art Lover
The pure art lover only collects art based on their love for the art and nothing else. It helps if they have the money, but otherwise they’ll buy a piece of art if and only if they truly love it, no matter how much it costs or how cheap it is, or by whom it was painted.
The Investor
Investor type art collectors generally have no taste in art whatsoever, buying art based on its investment value. If they do hang the art they buy up in their homes, it’s usually art which makes no sense to anyone looking on and is often grotesquely ugly as well, but as I said it’s all about how much they can get in capital gains from possibly selling the art in future.
The Art Inheritor
Art collectors who inherit art often have their taste influenced by the art they grew up with and so they develop a sort of liking to a certain style which isn’t really a true expression of what they personally like, if they do indeed harbour any love for art at all.
The Painter
Painters are the most all-over art collectors you’ll find, with many of their own works littered across their living space. Unsurprisingly though, painters and other types of artists have a deeper appreciation for any art which makes up their collection because they know what goes into the making of these pieces.