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Art can transform any space, good art can beautify a space, making it an improved living, working, or visiting area.
Doctor’s offices in particular are enhanced by good art. Except for those individuals coming to your office for a routine physical, many people are, at least, slightly apprehensive about being there. A comfortable environment can certainly add to your efforts to put them at ease. Additionally, the right art can create a more pleasant environment for your employees as well as yourself.
There are many ways to approach purchasing artwork, using an interior designer, an art gallery, an art consultant, or you may feel more comfortable making choices for yourself. Once you have decided to purchase art for your office, you need to make a decision on the quality of that art. Art can be purchased as posters, limited edition prints or original paintings or sculpture. The cost of course will vary accordingly.
There is certainly nothing wrong with poster art and it is available in almost anything you may choose for your office from artists like Monet to current top-selling artists. Prices on poster art start around $30 and can go up to around $300 or more for original posters by very famous artist’s reproduced works. Limited edition prints are signed and numbered by the artist and are a major upgrade from the poster. Limited edition prints can vary in price from around $200 each to several thousands of dollars for a Rembrandt etching or a Picasso lithograph.
Why would you choose limited edition prints vs. posters?
· The quality of the printing is far superior
· The work is signed by the artist giving it a more prestigious appearance
· Posters will not go up in value as they are usually unlimited in supply
· Limited edition prints can appreciate quite nicely if you choose the right work by the right artist
Original paintings are certainly the high end of the art world and unless you are a serious and knowledgeable collector or wish to work with a good art consultant, you may want to go easy in this area, at least with the established artists. You can however purchase up-and-coming artist’s work. These artists are usually priced reasonably and, with a good eye or good advice, you may acquire a valuable collection.
The serious art collector, however, waits for an artist to reach a certain level before purchasing their work. The logic is simply that most up-and-coming artists never achieve the second or third tier of success and therefore their work never becomes very valuable.
‘You may be intimidated by the idea of working with an art dealer, or perhaps you don’t think you really need one, especially if you are “buying what you like.” But a reputable dealer can educate you and assist you in starting or building an art collection that you will enjoy for years. The New York City-based Art Dealers Association of America (www.artdealers.org) offers a free online guide, Collector’s Guide to Working with Art Dealers, which gives numerous tips on how to purchase art through a dealer. They also explain what to look for in a piece of artwork, including authenticity; quality; rarity, which is determined by “how many similar examples exist and how frequently such work becomes available for purchase”; condition, provenance and exhibition history; and value. On value the ADAA notes, “Art chosen solely on the basis of price will yield a mediocre collection that does not necessarily hold its value on resale, especially during economic downturns…” As to what exactly dealers will do for you, the ADAA says they offer education, publications (catalogs), curatorial advice, appraisals, and sales and re-sales. The association and other experts also stress that it’s all right to go to galleries and just look. Ask the dealer or gallery owner questions – they are happy to work with you.’
There are other ways to acquire art. There are dealers in your area that lease art with the option to purchase, just as you would with an automobile. By leasing art, you can have your office decorated with art that you simply make a monthly payment on. Most leases have a four-year term. At the end of the lease, you can either renew or change the art for a new look, or purchase the art for a percentage of the original value. Many professionals lease art through their company, and then purchase the art for their personal use. This could be an interesting way of creating a valuable collection of art.
Many great collectors throughout history started by just purchasing a few paintings and ended up building a tremendously valuable collection of art. The famous couple in New York began purchasing contemporary artists in the 70’s such as Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg and Lichtenstein. On a very modest budget and a great eye for art, they have built a multi million-dollar collection.