ANALYSIS FOR COLLECTORS

Who has the courage to be a connoisseur these days, what with legal threats over authenticity assessments that in themselves can cost millions to defend? And if the role of the connoisseur is indeed finished, who will be the ultimate determiner of the value and importance of art works? And does that even matter anymore?

In this first of a three-part series on her highly intriguing ethnographic study of the New York art world, Hannah Wohl explains her concept of creative vision as it applies to the endeavours of artists, dealers and collectors.

Why should governments fund the visual arts?

With the imminent closure of one of Australia’s oldest premiere galleries, we ask: what happens to an artist when their gallery closes?

Are the costs to an artist of donating their works to charity auctions ever worth the benefit of exposure?

Will social media herald the end of the art world as we know it?

What collectors should know about how economic disinterestedness is performed by contemporary art galleries.

When old rules founded on considerations of resale value and a return on investments get involved in decisions about buying contemporary art, the collector can get needlessly thrown off balance.

Jane O’Sullivan investigates the problem with prizes and how collectors can distinguish the meaningful wins from the blue ribbons in country halls.

There comes a time when a collector begins to toy with the idea of a book on their collection. Let’s examine the arguments.

In the first of this four-part series, we discuss the question: what happens to an art collection when a couple splits?

Should public galleries spend more of their acquisition budgets on local artists and less on big ticket international art?