Art Investor – Can It Pay ?

Art Investor.
Art Investment is a subject I consider often.  I have on occasions asked people in the art world about in and I always get the same stock answer ‘you buy art you like and not for investment reasons’.  Yet I can not agree with this, for sure there is a business that surrounds the art world, auction houses and galleries surely set out to make a profit. Career artists certainly aim to make a career out of their work, even if not all of them are aiming for super riches. Are all collectors collecting purely for the joy of owning the art ?  are some of them aiming for long term financial gain ?   I have often wondered how some new artists are chosen by galleries to be shown, does the gallery pick them purely on artistic merit, or are they aiming to display artists that will sell and therefore earn the gallery a commission.

There are Art Investment Funds who cater for those who want to invest in Fine Art, obviously these guys are looking for a return.

So lets say I am right and you can buy art as an investment, how do you start. Like other subjects on here I am new to this and to be honest do not have the answers. An Art Investment Fund would probably take the pain out of deciding on an artist for yourself, but its not nearly as exciting, and you wouldn’t get to look at it.  Buying established artists like Rolf Harris seems to be a good idea, but these already command good prices.  Looking at a new artist it would seem wise to get an idea of their career plan, are they aiming for life as a career artist ? or are they looking to pay the way onto a different career. Most art colleges seem to have an end of year art show.  Following artists appearing at famous galleries might be an idea, along with those who have high profile collectors.

I quite fancy life as an Art Investor, maybe one day.