Basic Guidelines
(Excerpts from Contemporary Western Artists)

2. Buy The Work Of Professional Artists

The excuse of the uninformed collector who buys badly is generally something on the order of "I know what I like and that's what I buy". He fails to comprehend the second key to collecting Western art, that you should never buy any painting, print, or sculpture unless you know at least that the artist is a professional. You must avoid acquiring the works of students, amateurs, and Sunday painters. Works that are merely decorative will eventually have no more value that used furniture, and they will diminish your collection.

Some of the artists who are professionals can be identified by their listings in art reference books such as Who's Who In American Art, but acceptance into Who's Who is many times by chance and by choice rather than by talent. There is no defined objective standard for admission, and listing is generally the result of nominations by lists, not by selection. For that reason, an artist who is in Who's Who is a professional, but most of the finest Western artist are not included.

Whey you are considering buying the work of an artist, you can judge the artist's professionalism by his representation in galleries and associations, you can also read articles that have appeared in the leading Western art magazines.

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