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by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Right now thanks to the growing presence of worldwide auction houses online, the world is for sale. If you're a committed (even obsessed) treasure hunter like me, you want to know as much as possible about how to acquire as much as possible of the highest quality you can afford. This report will help.
1) Don't be intimidated by the art auction market. The people employed therein will greet you with open arms as soon as you indicate you are a serious collector... or hope to become one.
Personally, I started where you are probably positioned today. I wanted to connect with major international and regional auction houses but was afraid they might be exclusive and condescending. You certainly have nothing to worry about in that department. From the very first minute I trod on the red carpet at Sotheby's London (one of the grandest places on earth) I have been the recipient of graciousness, constant help, masterful insights, and (on days I failed to achieve my goal) friendly commiseration. Show that you are a budding collector, and you enter the rarified world of olde money, hot-shot billionaires, defunct aristocrats, and a host of bright people who have been waiting for you to make the party complete. Dress accordingly.
2) Gradually establish contacts with all the auction houses worldwide that sell what you're interested in collecting.
Remember, the world is now your (on sale) oyster. Like all serious collectors, you want to know not just what's for sale at the auction houses nearest you. You want to know (and be connected with) every auction house everywhere on earth that makes the items available in which you're interested. This seems a tall order (I confess), but Rome wasn't built in a day -- and your collection and worldwide contacts won't be either.
3) Start at the grandest of dames, Sothebys and Christies.
These two names stand above all others. Thus, start your special journey there. You can easily find their ever-changing websites and should do so at once. (A word of advice: I have never found their websites particularly easy to navigate. Don't let that stand in your way. Responsible techs take note.)
These websites are (aside from some navigational unfriendliness) pure delight. Control yourself to avoid hyperventilation... and an unsettling feeling that you are already overwhelmed.
At first, you may be tempted to gorge by following all auctions. Avoid this temptation. Collectors specialize, at least in part to avoid feeling swamped. Over time (and taking that time is essential) you will pick a period or style... and thereafter make your principal focus mastering these auctions. In other words, you will select a style like Empire or a collectible item like 18th century English silver. Make this choice as soon as you feel comfortable in your new role as budding connoisseur.
4) Introduce yourself to the experts in your field(s) by phone or email.
Of course, you would like to meet and know all the experts in your fields at the major (or regionally significant) auction houses. But a personal meeting with each is unlikely to occur, given the fact they are posted worldwide. Thus, email or telephone experts. Introduce yourself. Be brief, be friendly, be focused. These people are very important in your quest for the very best....and you will over time make friends, not just professional contacts. Believe me, they will be glad to meet you, too, and to help you mature from an episodic grazer into a meaningful, knowledgeable collector.
5) Develop a list of conservators.
Face it. The overwhelming majority of antique art and artifacts on the market at any given time needs (often major) renovations. Prepare yourself. Smart collectors work hard to develop the necessary contacts, understanding that good conservators make good collections. How do you find such people? Almost always by referral.
All auction houses maintain lists of suitable, recommended conservators for all collection categories. For instance, if you are collecting Old Master paintings, any good auction house will be able to recommend suitable conservators. They have vetted these people and always want to know your experiences with them. No one wants to recommend someone mediocre.
Now hear this: once you have found conservators who turn your wounded acquisitions into the cynosure of every eye, cherish them. Such conservators are absolutely essential to the development of what I call the "Wow factor!", the unmistakable look that causes your visitors' jaws to drop.This all- important look comes about by saving the maximum amount of the original object and using the conservators' sophisticated talents and skills to solve problems so that no one ever knows they ever existed.
6) Have credit lines available for immediate use
A few months ago, my long-time painting conservator, London-based Simon Gillespie called me with important intelligence: there was for sale in London not one but a pair of 18th century floral still lives by German master August Wilhelm Sievert. Because they featured the tulips (and more particularly the parrot tulips) that I desired, he drew them to my particular attention.
"When is the sale?", I asked. "In 60 minutes," he responded, having just come from the show room. "They are just what you've been seeking for so long." The next hour was pure chaos, as I reviewed condition reports, talked to the auction house, booked my phone bid, etc. Exhausted, I was ready just in time... and now this marvelous pair graces the wall before me as I write, resplendent, life like for all their ancient provenance. They are here,however, only because I had financing readily available for just such eventualities and was ready to move fast to acquire what I wanted! Take note... and plan accordingly.
7) Collecting is a marathon, not a sprint.
Inexperienced collectors make one mistake above all others: they don't know the vital importance of bidding limits... and of all the expenses which accompany acquisition.
Over and over again in auctions, I have seen otherwise intelligent people break the cardinal rule of auction bidding: to bid without previously established limit. As a result they acquire items at exorbitant cost, items from which they will never get their money back should they decide to sell, which may well happen as their "eye" matures and spendable resources wax fat and ample. This is a very serious mistake.
Remember, when you acquire an item you acquire the buyer's premium (usually between 15-20% of hammer price), the cost of shipping to your conservator, your conservator's fee, relevant taxes both in the place of acquisition and your locale, shipping insurance, shipping costs to you (including custom agent), movers to bring the goods to you and position them, insurance in situ chez vous, etc. It all adds up... and it adds up fast. Forewarned, however, is forearmed.
Now get started
You are about to embark, with the help of these suggestions, on the voyage of a lifetime, an activity replete with joy, victory, mayhem, frustration, and, as you contemplate the beautiful items you have acquired, pure, unadulterated satisfaction and bliss. I congratulate you. I know the thrills (as well as the pitfalls and irritation) of this journey. However you know as well as I do, a thing of beauty is a joy forever... especially after you have acquired it and so positioned it that you see it before you each and every satisfying day.
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is an avid art collector and founder of the Jeffrey Lant Trust. Republished with author's permission by Lawrence Rinke http://ActionEqualsProfit.com.
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