Customer Reviews

Art Dealer's Field Guide: How to Profit in Art, Buying and Selling Valuable Paintings

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Art Dealer's Field Guide is an invaluable reference book. I have dog-eared half the book for future reference. It is full of useful web-addresses, resources & experts. It is an extremely practical book & I found it to be a crash course on the business of art. I do not think this information is readily available to the general public. I have a degree in fine art, but would never have known where to begin the type of research that is described in the book. This is full of information that can only be learned through years of experience & is most likely kept an industry secret. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning how to invest in art.

I don't usually write Amazon reviews. But this book annoyed me so much I felt compelled to spend the time and effort coming back to write a few brief words. This self-published book is for rank beginners only. It is poorly written, full of generalizations, truisms, flawed logic and "groan-out-loud-head-slapping" banal observations. If you have never set foot in a gallery nor bought a piece of art in your life, you may find it interesting. Anyone with even a modicum of experience would be well-served to look elsewhere. Alternatives I'd recommend include:
- The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art gives an excellent overview of the art business, including auctions, dealers and artists.
- Collecting Contemporary Art is a compilation of interviews with leading collectors of contemporary art who provide fascinating insights into collecting and dealing.
- Seven Days in the Art World dedicates each chapter to an "insider's" view of different art world sectors including dealers, auction houses, art fairs, magazines, etc.
- How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery is an incredibly thorough guide on that topic, some of which is relevant to those looking to become a secondary dealer.

Well written, informative, and motivating. A how-to guide for those interested in buying, selling, and/or investing in art. Provides a broad range of resources. Fun and exciting to read!

Art Dealer's Field Guide is the only book on the market that teaches the "art" of making money in the art world. Ron Davis generously shares his many secrets gleaned from a lifetime dealing in art. A must read for novice and expert alike.

This book gives very good hints on how to deal with art but I think it illustrates very well how things work in the USA but not how to deal with the european art market.

This is an amazing book. For the novice or even someone with some knowledge of the art world, Davis reveals his tricks of the the trade and inside scoop of the business brilliantly.

I can't recommend this book enough. It gave me confidence to talk the talk with the dealers and gallery owners. Wish there were more books like this on every topic....

Thanks Ron.

This book gives you all you need to accomplish what you want in the world of art. Priceless information and all of it is practical. If your goal is to become a successful professional or a casual collector everything you need is in this book. I read this book time and time again because it reinforces what I have already learned and makes the path to what I want to do even more clear. I highly recommend it.

I found Ron Davis' book to be very valuable and a great guide for me as an art collector. After reading it, I learned what to look for, where to find the information that will allow me to make a sound business decision before I hand out my hard earned money and buy that painting I love. Art Dealers are very knowledgeable but they won't help you much if you don't know what to ask for. This book will teach you all you need to know.

I also found the book well written and very easy to follow. I was really impressed on how organized the chapters were and how gradually the author educates the reader by introducing one by one the main aspects of the art dealing. I have and will continue to recommend this book to my friends who buy art and to anyone I know who is or want to be involved in the art.

Art Lover

This book is an outstanding compilation for engaging in the field of art with a legal perspective on the basic do's and don'ts. Not only is this book full of useful information, it is well written and very understandable. For those who want to buy and sell fine art, this book is must reading.

I'm relatively new to art collecting, and found this book to be helpful and practical. I learned a lot from it. Recommended.