It is very unusual for a respected collector such as yourself to write a column in which you candidly describe your likes and dislikes. But is it, as I suspect, just a forum for you to blatantly promote your own purchases and raise the value of what you own?

I’m sorry you feel that way, but I think you’ve missed the point. I often write about what I’m interested in and what I believe in, and if I have a good opportunity to buy what I’m writing about, well, that’s proof that I put my money where my mouth is. It’s simply not true that I write only about my own inventory, read my review of “L’Amour Fou” or… Read more
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Art is easy to buy, but how do I know when to sell?

Several people ask this simple question, but the answer is complex. I can’t help you because you haven’t defined your collecting goals. Do you want to preserve art, use art for power, a show of wealth, do you LOVE art or is it just a “game”? If you are solely interested in making money, buy a financial instrument, not a painting.… Read more
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I want to collect art but I just don’t know where to begin, and I’m afraid it’s too expensive, what to do?

Art is available at every price point, and don’t forget even the top artists in the World started selling for almost nothing. Research is your first key, buy my book, read every art magazine, see the shows, and buy the books on artists you respond to. Then find someone you can trust, a dealer or an art advisor and find your way. You’ll have to start somewhere, so jump in,… Read more
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Gold Is Up, But What About Art?

Back in early June I wrote a piece for the Art Newspaper in which I predicted that bad news would drive the price of gold, then at $1,500 an ounce, substantially higher.   Well, the bad news came, with the Standard & Poor’s rating agency’s downgrading our U.S. government debt, precipitating massive fear of a double-dip recession, which in turn has led to the overall perception that the current Obama… Read more

Out With the New

I spent almost a decade chasing the new new art but for the past year or two I’ve felt that there is less and less there there. What do I mean? I’d always sought to collect artists who were “emerging” or on the cusp of international renown, but in the postcrash, recessionary environment I’ve changed my outlook. My serious art collecting started a little more than a decade ago, when… Read more

Charles Saatchi’s Highs and Lows Revisited by Reissued Book

Charles Saatchi is the most influential collector of the past 25 years, and one of the most controversial. Notorious for never appearing at his own openings and for not granting interviews, the British former advertising magnate remains a mysterious figure who wields his influence through his Saatchi Gallery shows and the subsequent sale of the artworks in them; to this day he continues to influence the market for contemporary art… Read more