Do you need an Art Advisor?

Until recently, the art advisor mainly assumed the role of curator of important collections, usually within large companies or organizations. This role is still very present as evidenced by the number of individuals whose identification in the directory of the Association of Professional Art Advisors links them to the largest public and private corporations of the world.

Then, little by little, other companies that can not afford a permanent curator, have allocated often ad hoc mandates to individuals to help them manage their expansion into the world of art.

The latest surge of art advisors with individual collectors dates back to '80 and does not seem about to be exhausted if one relies on the number of individuals and companies who identify themselves as "Art Advisor" on the Internet. Even banks have focused on this market under the guise of their client "wealth management".

This is having a definite impact on the other players in the market.

Traditionally, the mentor of the art collector was the gallerist. All collectors could testify about the gallerist who teach them everything they know about art. In the United States, Leo Castelli, up to recently, embodied this vision.

Since then, the gallerist and the "Castelli model" with which it identified, is beset on all sides.

• The auction houses are increasingly present in contemporary art, a niche that until recently was reserved for galleries.
• With the explosion of the art market and the arrival of new "collectors", usually relatively wealthy, but few knowledgeable, art advisors were able to make themselves necessary for those customers who can afford them. As Thompson¹ point at, their first role is to "manage the insecurity of their clients".
• Virtual intermediaries (galleries, auction houses, etc.) gently make their place among the remaining customers.

The art advisor has established itself between the gallerist and the wealthy new collector. This creates a relatively expensive filter between the gallery owner and the collector and is likely to create conflicts of interest at the limit of what is acceptable. And this does not please everyone.

Only the "branded" ones, high-level galleries that were able to create a distinctive signature for themselves, making of themselves a brand, manage to avoid being affected by the phenomenon. The special relationship that these galleries have with their customers virtually excluded "a priori" the presence of art advisors. Among the majors, ones "place" a work to a collector who was granted the privilege of being recognized as a client of the gallery. The link is organic and highly reluctant to the presence of "foreign body".

In practice, the distribution/diffusion model in art reproduces the income pyramid described by Piketty². The ultra rich³ found themselves with the majors, the "branded" galleries; those with growing fortunes, but with limited knowledge of art, use arts consultants to guide them in this strange world and the less fortunate buy online.  

And meanwhile, we are witnessing the slow disappearance of the collector belonging to what was once called the "middle class" and, sadly, of the galleries he used to support.

Do you need an Art Advisor?  It's up to you.

Some interesting articles on the subject.

o    Grant, Daniel.   When Art Buyers Need Help (The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 1, 2015)

o    Ferro, Shane.  The Ascent of the Art Advisor: Five things to Know about the Growing Taste-for-hire Industry  (Blouin Art Info, August o2. 2011)

o    Milburn, Robert.  Art Advisors: Are They Worth It? (Barrons, Nov. 8, 2014)

o    Adam, Georgina.  Hidden Persuaders: A look at the (very private) world of the top art advisers.   (Financial Times, August 4, 2011)

o    Markell, Catheryn.  Should You Work with an Art Consultant (December 2, 2015)

o    Pogrebin, Robin and Graham Bowley.  Soaring Art Market Attracts a New Breed of Advisers for Collectors.   (The New York Times, August 22, 2015.)

o    Abrams, Amah-Rose.  Frieze Masters Introduces Art Advisory Service to ‘Demystify’ the Market for New Collectors.   (Artnet News, July 4, 2016.)

o    Neuendorf, Henri.  Art Demystified: What Is The Role of Art Advisors?.   (Artnet News, August 11, 2016.)

o    Woodham, Doug.  The Secret Brokers of High-End Art Deals.   (Artsy, January 18, 2018.)

o    Anonymous.  Demystifying the Art Advisor.   (Artwork Archive, July 24, 2018.)

o    Sussman, Anna Louie.  What You Should Expect from an Art Advisor.   (Artsy, January 15, 2019.)

o    Custodio, Mariana.  Do art collectors actually need curators?   (June 27, 2020.)

And if your choice is to go ahead, some elements to consider in your selection of the best art advisor. 

o    7 Things to Look for When Hiring an Art Consultant.   (The Clarion List, September 05, 2019.)

See our page on "Individuals and organizations offering their services as Art Advisors"

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¹  Thompson, Donald N. The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.   p. 9.

²  Piketty, Thomas.   Capital in the twenty-first century.    Cambridge Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014. 

3 "The art market suggests just how powerful economic inequality can be. Many elite artists depend on a tiny fraction of the 1%".  in Fine, Gary Alan.   "The threads of Practice".   Society, March 2015. p. 1