artbrokerage.com

Collecting & Purchasing Fine Art

As with anyone who has collected fine art, we do it to support the culture and love of art. After collecting and investing over time, I became educated that in order for any Artist to be able to produce their works, they must have investors willing to purchase their time to produce such works of art. Equally, in order for those chosen Artists who are successful creating desired art, investors must support their journey. Without willing and able investors, how else would artist receive the support necessary to create art, which in turn enables the public at large access to the cultural experience of the opportunity of owning, if not viewing art of our choosing. How would we be able to visit museums and galleries, and ultimately collect fine art, if it were not for those who invest and support in the artist? So, in essence, the Artist's success is established by a business model that typically originates with displaying their work in a Gallery who is willing to represent their work. As their work is made available for viewing, they may equally produce pieces of work for individuals, if their contract terms permit. But without Gallerys and Musuems for those of us who admire fine art to view works of Art, how would the fine art world survive? Speaking as a collector over a period of decades, there is not a day that I take for granted the beauty of the art that resides on my walls. It has been a passion of my life. Have ultimately found lifelong friends that share this passion as well.What then happens as we age, and we must downsize our footprint and find a future place for our art? Perhaps we can donate it or pass it to special loved ones. If we are in a position that we need to consider resale, what stewards are out there that will, most importantly, manage that resale in the manner in which fine art should be treated to respect its value and the investment that the collector committed to support the art culture that allows artists to exist? I read a review of a fellow collector who stated they encountered significant medical costs and attempted to resale their fine art collection and how ArtBrokerage.com treated their imminently, unfortunate circumstances and I found it most concerning.I inquired myself with Art Brokerage.com to better understand how they are managing their fees and appraisals of fine art resale. I submitted 3 original fine art pieces for their review, with a genuine interest to work with them, given their apparent volume of the resale of fine art. I was stunned at their immediate justification of why they ultimately net a value of return to the seller @ 25%! They claim this is what the market is willing to pay, when in fact, it is format in which they chose to create. Equally, they stated, "WE DO NOT PAY GALLERY PRICES" for your art. YET, they want, require the seller to provide an appraisal and a Certificate of Authenticity. Again, so they can then use their standard model to define that the piece is worth 50% or less of the value, and they take 20-25% off of the valued appraisal and COA that the seller provided. Which by the way, the seller, as an investor of the art, paid for this service when they purchased the art.I have given a good bit of reflection on this apparent business model of ArtBrokerage.com.They do not staff appraisers but instead claim themselves to be appraisers of fine art while promptly and conveniently justifying their opinion, based on the SELLER PROVIDED APPRAISAL. THEY require the seller provide an appraisal and COA! This is obviously for their benefit to have the valued documents that the seller paid for because they do NOT know value, nor invest in validating value. Instead, they then devalue the work, based on the seller provided documents, so they can quickly resale it with little to no investment in the process. Yet, they claim they are experienced! OBVIOUSLY experienced at SCAMMING off of the investments of sellers who purchased through educated, legitimate fine art distributors. I appreciate that buyers are looking for deals and will go wherever they can find them. But as STEWARDS of investing in fine art, should we be supporting business entities like ArtBrokerage.com, who clearly ARE DRIVING down the value of fine art so they can make a (significant) quick buck?You be the judge, but I think it is a very sad state of affairs when fine art is treated in such a poor manner. Should this model continue its "QUICK BUCK" success, what Artist will survive such disrespect of their work? As a collector of fine art, I challenge everyone to give some thoughtful consideration to the culture of fine art and please consider reputable sources when purchasing. Not only for the preservation of fine art, but for the integrity that should exist in collecting and maintaining the value of fine art. My best to all!

Date of experience: Mar 25, 2025