Why they buy

Mood: Reading
Listening to: Everyday is exactly the same ~ Nine Inch Nails
Reading: The Secret Life of Bees ~ Sue Monk Kidd
Watching: Art 21

For some of us it's a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Why do
people buy art? How do they choose? What motivates them? If I
had fifty cents for every time someone has asked this over the
past few years, I could purchase that new Bentley.

I once painted a Dalmatian that was jumping up and kissing a
girl who was wearing a spotted dress. It wasn't anybody's
typical subject. Over a period of twenty years I sent that
painting to thirteen different galleries. Every time it came
back I shipped it off again to somewhere else. I liked the
painting. One fine day, surprise, surprise, there was a cheque
in the mail and a note that caught my eye--"Girl with
Dalmatian"--16 x 20--sold.

By telephone the dealer told me that the man who bought it had
a Dalmatian and three daughters. This confirmed to me that one
of the main motivators is simply "connection." Look at it this
way--paintings are on a quest to find someone. The darling
things are just seeking a little love. And if they don't give,
they don't get. It's my feeling that for every painting, no
matter how obtuse, there's somebody. But if what a work of art
has to give is pretty esoteric, like my Dalmatian, it might
take some time. And art that gives less may take until
doomsday.

Before I get ambushed for talking about "catering," I'll
mention some of the other reasons people buy. It's not that
anyone has to pay attention to any of this--in some ways it's a
waste of energy--but these are the facts: People buy because
they are sold--either by someone else or themselves. They buy
because they want to enhance their lives. Because what they see
reminds them of something. Because there's a story behind the
art or the artist. Because they want to get rid of
money--sometimes lots of it. They want to invest. They need to
make a gift. Their neighbors have something like it. They want
to look smart, sensitive or clever. They want to have something
on the wall. They already have a taupe chesterfield or a maroon
Berber carpet. They want to encourage somebody or become a
benefactor. Like a Bentley owner, they may just want to look
good. And last but not least, they may actually buy because for
some unknown, deep-seated, atavistic reason they can't explain,
they just can't live without it. These last are the buyers you
feel like jumping up on and kissing.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "When you do a thing with your whole soul and everything
that is noble within you, you always find your counterpart."
(Camille Pissarro)

Esoterica: Popular, mature artists often find the going gets
easier. Collectors finally get the idea that they "need to get
a Bloggs." This is fortunate for Bloggs, who has paid his dues.
These collectors, who tend to be the wealthier holdouts, may
even pass up something better (and cheaper) by someone else, in
order to get the Bloggs they now think they ought to own. This
injustice is not lost on young artists. Youth has a wisdom that
age knows not of. Age has a cumulative advantage that
frustrates youth's dreams.

As always, used with permission from Robert Genn.