Buying art as a gift for a loved one can be tricky - here's how to do it well
An art specialist weighs in on how to select a painting, sculpture or photograph as a surprise for somebody else
ART ADVISOR3 December 2020 • 7:17pm
A gift represents so much more than the object, more than the shiny paper, the ribbons and bows. A gift represents how the other sees you, what they know about you, what they feel about you. Buying art as a gift takes the potential for success or failure to a new level. It’s a risky business that you need to pitch just right.
That said, a well-chosen work of art can reach places no other gift can. It is perfectly emblematic of sensitivity and connection. It symbolises both how you feel about them and how you want them to feel about you. It is supposed to be thoughtful, intelligent and lasting. It has the potential to freeze-frame your feelings for that person, at that moment in time, forever.
But how do you get it right? Do you buy what you think they would like - or what you think is good? Or do you choose something because it holds meaning for you both?
If you opt for what you think they would like, then you need to be very confident in your choice. This is the riskiest path as you are clearly making a statement about what you think the receiver values, how sophisticated they are in their tastes, and how bold they are in their aesthetic choices.
You should do some research, establishing style and content preferences by taking them to galleries – whether online or physically. If there is no appetite for spending time looking at art, then art as a gift might not be the best plan.
If you buy with only your own aesthetic and intellectual preferences in mind then, even if you’re buying a superb piece with investment potential, it might feel more like a critique of their tastes than a thoughtful purchase. And knowing how to buy for investment is so specialised an area, that you’re very unlikely to be able to rest easy in the knowledge that, at worst, you’ve given them something increasingly valuable.
If you opt for a work with meaning for both of you, then you are giving more than a physical gift - you are gifting a connection that can be enjoyed long into the future, a physical memory of a moment. That narrows down what work would be suitable - but then that might be helpful.
If it is art from a particular place, then just make sure that the quality of the association doesn’t outstrip the quality of the art. If it is art from a particular artist whose show you visited together, or who holds a significance in the history of your relationship, then I’d suggest approaching the artist directly, via Instagram or their website.
Always ask whether they are happy to deal with you, or whether they’d rather you go through a particular gallery. Artists and galleries have a range of relationships – sometimes the artist has only a few pieces consigned to the gallery, sometimes it is all their work. There is always the possibility that you can secure studio priced work (about 70% of the full price) directly from the artist or have something particular commissioned.
Budget is always going to be a deciding factor in what you can buy. Photographs and works on paper will be valued in the hundreds and low thousands. A painting is usually in the low thousands to tens of thousands. Happily for the buyer, the need for enterprise and innovation that was pressed upon the art world by the pandemic means that this Christmas there are great options available for those looking to spend hundreds rather than thousands.
There are a wealth of options provided by the Instagram hashtag #artistsupportpledge. All the work offered there is £200 or under. You could also look at the prints offered by Vide Atelier (which is a commission-free artist focused edition space), at House of Voltaire (which supports the Studio Voltaire artist studios), and the editions shop at the Whitechapel Gallery.
With a greater budget, with thousands to spend, you can begin to look at original work from emerging artists. Unless you spend a lot of time involved in the art world, you’re not going to be aware of who these artists are, but you can approach a gallery that you trust and that seems to exhibit interesting work.
In the art worlds within art worlds there are serious gallerists who are committed to promoting art that they genuinely believe in - the kind of art that finds its way into museums and then into the history books. In the UK there are dozens of such galleries amongst the hundreds of less discerning spaces. In London you could try Dave Hoyland at Seventeen Gallery, or Amanda Wilkinson at Amanda Wilkinson Gallery. If you’re further north then visit Miles Thurlow at the Workplace Gallery, and in Scotland you would do well to visit The Modern Institute.
If the intended recipient of your gift already has a collection of art, then they will probably have an aesthetic, a kind of work that they collect, and this might be a carefully considered thing. Your gift could muddy the clear waters of their collection if it doesn't reflect this aesthetic.
You would do well to note which artists they’ve collected and then either work with a trusted art advisor to find a piece that would match, or look for a work from one of those artists that is being sold at auction - you can often get a great work at great price. There are several sites, such as Artprice, that will direct you to the relevant lots at upcoming auctions. Just be careful that the intended recipient isn’t bidding too. Neither of you would be happy to find the other had driven up the price.
One last quandary is whether to frame - this will also make you consider exactly where in their house they might have room for the work. If they have room, and the art needs to be framed then the tendency is to convince yourself that it’s probably best to let the receiver frame it themselves, as ‘they will probably want to choose’.
But framing is tedious and expensive, and by not framing it you are consigning the work to remain leaning against a wall in their spare room for months or even years – constantly niggling at the receiver as one of those things that they ‘just must get around to’. A final framing tip - If possible, if the budget allows, always plump for non-reflective glass.
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