Customer Reviews

The Art of Buying Art: An Insider's Guide to Collecting Contemporary Art

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was a huge disappointment. It was an embarrassingly simplistic infomercial for the conventional narrow gallery system, her own gallery, and the art of her art world buddies. It was simplistic to the point of being misleading (particularly the Living with Art chapter.) There are some whoppers here-"Today I can only recommend three point of sale websites." The only redeemable content could have been covered in a pamphlet. Give it a miss.

This book is so light on information it's almost insulting. Buy what you like, go to museums? I didn't need to spend $26 for that. I love contemporary art, but pictures of goldfish are not grand statements in asthetics. They're goldfish. This book seems filled with artists from the author's own collection. I guess if we buy her book and her advice, those artists are promoted, their prices rise with the newly hyped demand, and the author is then "proven" as a great artistic sage. This type of self-promoting hucksterism is shameful.

Lisa Hunter's "The Intrepid Art Collector" is still rather frothy, but it's a better place to start for a beginning collector. Lisa doesn't attempt to dictate taste in the same way as Ms. West.

The Intrepid Art Collector: The Beginner's Guide to Finding, Buying, and Appreciating Art on a Budget

This is really more of a picture book than a genuine guide to buying art. It is a good-looking and nice to thumb through book though, worthy of any coffee table.

If you're really trying to learn more about collecting art, I know there are more appropriate guides on the market.

When someone recommended this book I was skeptical, as I thought of art collecting as something beyond my means. But Paige West does a good job of demystifying the art world, with solid advice on understanding, selecting, buying and living with contemporary art. It's an easy and enjoyable read, and the book is packed with examples of works from emerging artists. Some I don't care for, but there were others whose work I'll seek out. Fortunately, the book also explains how galleries work, and how to find artists you like. This book is not a coffee table decoration - read it and use it.

"The Art of Buying Art" is a wonderfully comprehensive primer for anyone interested in real art collection for real people with real budgets (but sophisticated taste levels to boot).

The author's unpretentious take on collecting is a refreshing point of view, and the scads of illustrations and pics help introduce new contemporary artists and new art styles that a fledgling collector may otherwise overlook. As a budding collector myself, I came away with an "I can actually do this" attitude, and look forward to applying this book's lessons to building my own little gallery in my own apartment.

I'm not particularly well-versed in art history, and visit museums infrequently (there are few notable ones near my home), but have always intended to learn more about fine art, and particularly contemporary art. Either from the perspective of a novice collector or someone who wishes to educate him/herself, I highly recommend this title. The book is accessible and informative, infuses the reader with the writer's clear sense of enthusiasm for the subject, and lacks the condescending or arcane tone taken by some of its similarly-themed predecessors. If you want to familiarize yourself with the basics of the fine art trade, sharpen your tastes, and/or eventually own a small collection, I strongly recommend this title.

For anyone leery of investing in art, anyone interested in starting collecting, and anyone simply interested in learning more about contemporary art, Ms. West's book is essential. "Buying Art" is well written, engaging and very informative and will make you a much more knowledgeable and shrewd collector.

The book is well illustrated and very informative, especially for beginners into art collecting. A great book I would recommend.

I've just started exploring art collection and discovered this book. I thought the book had some great advice about how to get started thinking about what art I want to collect and why. As the author says "art should be fun." After reading this book I realized that my approach was all wrong, I was dealing with galleries that weren't fun and it was nice to hear someone in the business tell me that it doesn't have to be that way for beginners like me.

I am brand new to art collection, and I found Ms. West's book to be highly informative, and a real pleasure to read. It is truly an exceptional book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in modern art.