Conversation
about collecting.
I
want to discuss this view that paintings should be priced by the
square inch.
I
was asked about this subject a few days ago and the person in
question was quite upset with me for not agreeing with them, as they
put it, “ This is how we do it here” and who am I, an intruder to
come out against the standard practice in this Art community.
The
fantasy.
I
am one of those who does not subscribe to fantasy of PSI, price per
square inch of a painting by an Artist, no matter what the quality of
the painting is like. This is just the hype of the Artpreneurs who
have a vested interest in getting the highest price possible, no
matter what the quality of the painting is like by a particular
Artist.
I
do not believe every painting by an Artist is his best.
Artists
like all of us have good days and bad days.
Tiger
Woods the greatest golfer of all time has bad days.
It
is part of being human and Artists are not exempt from this
particular human frailty.
I
know of a champion sportsman who after he retired wanted to become a
dealer in Impressionist art, he bought many pieces by Monet and
Renoir believing that any painting with their signature on it would
be valuable and they were sold to him priced per square inch. He
bought the paintings believing the fantasy to be true and sadly these
were not A list paintings and he got stung badly.
Needless
to say he is no longer an art dealer.
Conversation
about collecting.
I
would like to continue our discussion
about the pricing method of price per square inch.
Why
do I bring this PSI, price per square inch subject up?
Because
I was challenged about it and told I was wrong and my view was
unwanted and uncalled for.
So
I will again say my thoughts about this pricing method.
I
must reiterate, every painting by a great Artist or any Artist is not
his best and collectors need to resist this cash grab and begin to
say no.
I
understand that many practising artists value their paintings by the
square inch and I do understand why they do it, my problem with it is
that is fine for the good paintings but what about the not so good
and the bad paintings?
Are
they all of the same quality and value?
Are
they all equal?
No,
I do not think so?
It
is amazing when young artists come along and show their work, they
will even say that this is their best work but they feel others are
not so good. Very honest in there own assessment of their work,
unsure of themselves you may say, but 20years later all their
paintings are now of equal quality and all demand to be priced the
same at so much per square inch?
What
happened to some are very good and some not so?
Why
then do so many artists discount their work when asked to by a buyer,
if the work is really priced by the square inch and it is all of
equal quality and equal value?
I
am sometimes left quite perplexed by what happens, the price is set
at so much per square inch and the collector then wants a discount
and the artist caves in, I thought the price was set?
Conversation
about collecting.
I
want to continue to discuss
the view
that why should paintings
be priced by the square inch?
Collectors
it would be fine if every painting was
of the same quality and they are not.
It
would be fine if that was a stable price but I know if discount is
asked for it will be reduced in price, thereby saying that PSI is not
a firm and fast rule but it is the first price before we give
discount.
Auction
prices prove that this is a fantasy.
I
looked at the paintings sold in the last couple of years in Auctions
by a National Artist to see if the selling price achieved by the
Artist could be calculated at PSI and I was amazed to see the wide
gap between the highest and lowest PSI value, as much as
PHP10,000.PSI.
This
does show me that collectors on the whole do distinguish between the
good paintings and the not so good paintings by the same artist, they
demonstrate this by the prices paid.
If
an Artist is one of the Art World stars then they may be able to
price PSI and get away with because of their popularity and demand,
but be careful make sure they are all their best work.
Collectors
let me know your thoughts about this very interesting subject.
Happy
collecting.
Mark
Shellshear and Team Galeria de las Islas.
