What do Collectors Want

 

“True art collectors go to art openings.  True art collectors seek out and meet artists.  True art collectors follow the careers of artists they love.  True art collectors have relationships with gallery people.  And true art collectors purchase works of art by artists they follow. True art collectors follow the careers of artists they love.  True art collectors have relationships with gallery people.  And true art collectors purchase works of art by artists they follow.”

 

The “Others” would include those who might want a painting to match their home décor, people who hire designers to fill their walls with art, people who purchase a piece on the spur of the moment.  We could add family and friends to the “Other” list as well.

 

Both categories of art collectors make purchases, although the true art collector is likely more connected to particular artists and galleries.  The true art collector may have more passion about the piece of art, or about following the growth of an artist over time.  But again, both types of art collectors make purchases.

 

“Put all those types of collectors together, and there are a lot of people out there who buy art.  And a big percentage of those art sales happen through traditional art galleries.  Unlike many industries, the art industry has yet to be fundamentally transformed by the internet, which makes this the big question:  is the internet ever going to disrupt the art industry?

 

 

Will the internet disrupt the art industry?

 

A lot of industries have been turned on their head by the internet.  Think of retail brick and mortar stores vs. Amazon; think of Blockbuster vs. Netflix; think of the corner bookstore vs. Kindle. 

 

The internet transformation hasn’t really transformed the art world the way it has other industries.  Why not?

 

Why is the art world still dominated by many scattered, individual galleries rather than having consolidated into being dominated by a few large players?  Why hasn't the industry been disrupted driving a wave of consolidation, or a wave of closures?

 

What about artists selling directly on the internet?  A new artist who has never been represented by a gallery can set up a website and sell directly online (at least try to).  But how does that artist get noticed?  As Watson points out…

 

“It's never been easier to publish and it's never been harder to get noticed. “

 

“In the "old" days, that artist would need to get noticed by a gallery and, if the quality of the art was great, that wasn't too difficult: the artist simply had to enter the right shows, place a "seeking representation" ad in the right magazines, send a portfolio to the most likely galleries, or get a friend to refer them to a gallery.  These were concrete steps that advanced the artist's chances of getting in front of the right people.  And they were much more targeted steps than "set up a website and start posting on Facebook."   The galleries were then able to discover the artist and to advance that artists career in a way that, so far, has been difficult to recreate online.”

 

“Today, because it's almost too easy to set up an online portfolio and store, far too many artists, avoid that painful but necessary process of feedback and move quickly into the marketing and selling phase a long time before they are ready.  And the results are predictable: they don't sell, they are disappointed, and they bounce from online service to online service, frustrated.  They keep looking for that one magic service that would only "do a good job marketing my art."  But in many cases, the fix for lack of sales is to go back and fix the product.  In tech, we get feedback from customers, and we go back and rework our software until we achieve "product/market fit."  In the art world, it means getting feedback from master artists, gallerists, or other professionals, and going back and working on one's mastery of craft and improving the quality of one's paintings.”

 

“Why do art collectors still deal with art galleries?” 

 

“Why don't more collectors just find new artist websites and start buying directly?” 

 

“What do collectors want”

 

So, what do true art collectors want?  And can they find it on the internet?

 

According to Clint Watson, they want these four things:

 

• Credibility,
• Curation,
• Spillover Effects, and
• Exclusivity.

 

 

Credibility

 

If a collector doesn't know anything about you and comes across your website, it is difficult for you to establish credibility.  But if you are a young, unknown contemporary realism artist, and accepted by a well known gallery with national or local presence you instantly are conferred the credibility of being serious and worthy of attention from collectors. 

 

How can you build credibility with a stand-alone website?  Here are some ideas offered by Watson:

“Make sure you list any credible galleries that represent you. 

Prominently display any awards you've won in major shows. 

Make sure you clearly indicate any major signature memberships you've obtained.  

Republish quotes from any master artists, gallerists or other respected art professionals on your homepage.

If a respected artist has mentored you, and earnestly sees promise in you, tactfully ask that artist if she would share her thoughts about you with her followers and subscribers. “

 

 

 

Curation 

 

What is curation?  According to Wikipedia, “Content curation is the collection and sorting of information.”  Imagine 100,000 websites from various artists.  Each artist posts 100 of their favorite works.  That’s ten million pieces that a collector would need to wade through.  Curation of this collection by a knowledgeable curator could present to the collector a greatly reduced subset.  A subset that could satisfy a collector’s desire for painting type, artist history, and so on.

 

Wouldn’t it be nice if search engines could find your art and your website easily for any collector?  Maybe search for “trees”, or “portraits in oil”, or better yet, use Clint Watson’s favorite search term: ”only show art that I love”.

 

Here’s a bit of what Watson says about curation:

 

“… if I use the word "curator", most people will think of someone organizing an exhibit at a museum or gallery.   When an artist decides to forgo the gallery route and sell online, this curation piece is lost or greatly diminished….

 

… curation is definitely something collectors want.  They want to focus their energies on artists who've passed certain milestones in the mastery of their craft, the quality of their art, and the likely track of their career.”

 

 

Spillover effects

If a gallery displays the work of a “famous” artist, any work that an upcoming artist can display at that gallery will benefit from the spillover effect.  The newcomer benefits from the association.

 

How can the spillover effect be implemented online?  Of all the four elements, spillover  is one of the most important, and likely the most difficult to re-create online without an art gallery involved. 

 

Watson describes a strategy for creating spillover online:

 

A real spillover effect would be having a respected artist agree to sell your works on her website (or let you sell her works on your website).  That way, the "famous" artist would be a continual draw, bringing potential collectors who would then notice your artwork.

 

Associating with a group of artists and linking your website to the group’s website is one way to create “spillover”.

 

 

Exclusivity

 

True collectors want exclusivity.  They want first look at a new display of an artist’s works.  Galleries have opening nights for invited guests only.  Private events with the artist can also generate exclusivity.

 

How can these “exclusivity” practices be translated to an online presence? 

 

“Of all the things that collectors want this is the easiest one for an individual artist to recreate without an art gallery.  Not only can you create exclusive experiences for your collectors, but you can do it in a way that is better than an art gallery.  After all, who's in a better position to offer exclusive access to an artist's work or an artist's time than the artist herself?”

 

 

What Art Collectors Want

 

Clint Watson summarizes his thoughts about the four elements the attract collectors. 

 

“Credibility of the artist as established by some third party or brand they trust.

 

Curation of artists and artworks:  meaning someone else, a trusted and knowledgeable party, sorts through the noise and shows collectors relevant artists that are "worthy" of attention, interest and time of the collector.

 

Spillover effects - this is a major way collectors discover new artists.  They follow an artist they know and, in doing so, discover an artist they didn't know of.  You can reach far more collectors through spillover effects than through search.

 

Exclusivity - they want first choice of new promising artists and first choice of artworks by artists they follow.

 

Can these four things be recreated online without traditional art galleries?  It might be that the galleries themselves evolve to disrupt themselves.  Or it might be something completely new.  Whatever happens, I don't think that recreating these elements online has (yet) been successfully done at scale. “