The price of art 🤑

How much does art cost? Is it a good investment?

The number one complaint I hear from people when they start to flirt with collecting is the lack of publicly available prices. I used to be one of those people—loudly bemoaning the lack of accessibility in the art world. My feelings have changed slightly in recent years.

“If you have to ask, you can’t afford it” is a common and catchy refrain in the fashion world in reference to expensive pieces that don’t have a prevalent price tag. Asking a sales associate for a price only to hear an astronomical figure and needing to awkwardly back out of the conversation used to make me feel embarrassed. Then, I stopped being embarrassed by not being able to afford things. I saw the conversations as an exchange of information. I simply say “Thank you” and move on with my day (knowing I won’t be purchasing a pair of $850 shoes).

The same is true in the art world. While prices are not (and should not be!) printed on the wall, you can ask for a price list, even if you probably won’t buy anything. By accessing the prices of the work, you unlock information about an artist: what point in their career are they at and if you can afford it. I love being surprised that a work I inquire about is within budget. If it’s not, I simply say thank you and that’s that.

Prices aren’t publicly available in the art world for a few reasons. Primarily, since the market changes so quickly, and artists' prices can go up 1-2 times a year, the listed prices would be inaccurate quickly. Also, art is art. It’s nice to have some separation between art and its economic value to remind us of that. Art becomes a commodity if a price is listed next to it.

• This is an excellent package from artnet on artists to watch at the Venice Biennale and their price ranges.

• Is it time to cut art prices? artnet journalist Katya Kazakina asks the controversial question in a recent article. “How to cut prices on the primary market in a safe, sustainable way is a riddle that has not yet been solved. Several dealers told me that they are not opposed to doing so in principle, but they are not sure how collectors and artists would react. For now, they are just offering discounts,” Kazakina writes.

• I don’t think the art market will ever be able to handle galleries reducing an artist’s price on the primary market—it’s too risky. It threatens the entire emotional and financial premise people buy into when collecting. It’s better for pricing to rise steadily over time, allowing for a foundation of strong collectors. The art world is a marathon, not a sprint.

Julia Scher, “Security by Julia Uniforms,” 1998, two uniforms with embroidery, installation dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist, Ortuzar Projects, New York and Esther Schipper, Berlin/Paris/Seoul.

• An exhibition at Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University explores the day jobs of artists and how it influences their work. The review concludes that artists’ lives, including their day jobs, provide “surprisingly rich fodder, in both form and content, for thought-provoking art.” I know many artists with day jobs—librarians, restaurant workers, framers—and I love seeing how elements of their work play out in their art. That said, it’s still very shush-shush for artists to publicly talk about their day job.

A few more thoughts + how much Marlowe paid for her art collection