The art of buying art

ONLINE EMILYMcINNES

Founder and director of online store Eye Buy Art Credible sources: Search notable blogs or trusted media sources. You’ll see some of the same galleries listed.

Check out the materials: Make sure proper, longlasting archival materials are used. With photography, look for museumquality printing processes such as C-prints. Be quantity conscious: Avoid open or non-limited editions, where the image can be printed repeatedly — essentially, posters.

A FAIR WILL RAMSAY

Founder of the global Affordable Art Fair, and its sister fair, Love Art Fair

Have a pen and paper ready: Write down the galleries and stand numbers of the artists you like. Have a drink and a think, then make another round. Forget investing: Buy what you like, not what you think you should buy. Don’t buy to match the sofa: A collection is a reflection of you, it’s whatever you decide to collect.

A COMMERCIAL GALLERY LISA KEHLER

Owner and director of Lisa Kehler Art + Projects

Don’t assume galleries are out of your league: Galleries representing emerging artists are often quite affordable. Understand how pricing works: An artist’s popularity and experience are factors. Very generally, the bigger the piece, the bigger the price. Medium also matters: Oil paintings are often costly because of the time they take to dry. Finally, the more an artist’s work is collected, the more you can expect to pay. Affordable payments: Layaway and instalment options are good ways to acquire larger, more expensive works.