finding cheap art -- using the eyes

There’s this article ‘French Gallery Shows off 'New' Rembrandt at Fine Art Fair’ on the abc.news website about a painting once destined to be auctioned for a pre-sale estimate of 500 to 800 dollars, when this clever, clever dealer sees it and thinks maybe it’s fledgling work by a young Rembrandt, could be, why not? After a slight massage, he turns it over for over a million dollars, and that’s one handsome markup for an autograph -- not exactly an autograph, just three scrawny little letters, one looks sorta like an ‘r.’

I don’t care if any of it is ‘true’ -- maybe it is. The painting which the dealer admits isn’t very good, ‘slightly crude’ he says, is, once you think about it, obviously a rembrandt (wink). They also admit to restoring/repainting it, just to make it even better. From nicknack destined for someone’s guesthouse to star of a big glamorous international exhibit is quite a skyrocket ride for a little patch of canvas, so inspirational.

Extravagant wealth plays a fiddle to the crackling of a burning planet and don’t the hippest among us love to dance? Just don’t have time for the sideshow, me, and probably neither do you. These stories of gigantic deals, major cons, capers pulled belong over bourbon in a hotel room after a big successful ‘art fair,’ or maybe off on a yacht, so grand. Don’t much care for glamour, not up to it. I like art. I’ll offer this radical, damn near heretical, notion -- screw a lot of paperwork, it’s what’s in the frame that counts. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

The actual resume, the credentials, the working history, along with a statement of depth and character are there on the wall in front of you, hopefully well-lit. I wouldn’t say that a running log of official accolades is unimportant, just that the tastes of academic curators and corporate asset managers might not, in the main, represent the thoughts and desires of the person considering giving up cash to own something. All that documentation has something to do with the price, you bet-cha, but that’s a negotiation that comes after the heart sees what it wants. It’s a whole new way of thinking about art.

Look first. When in a gallery, stop in front of something that appeals to you and bend an ear to the gentle patter of background and achievement there beside you, and then ask the price. If the art has no tender, in a restaurant or an office, look for a tag -- most art for sale has a tag, and if it doesn’t, ask someone. Many people, waitstaff and office personnel, like having original art at work and will be glad to tell you who did it, and maybe something about them. Contact that artist direct and you’re liable to get a bargain. It’s true, pretty good art can be had for cheap, or at least reasonable, when using just the eyes.