The Art of Buying Art

by Alan Bamberger

The best and easiest-to-understand book on how to buy, sell, evaluate, appraise, and collect art. Soft cover; 284 pages. By Alan S. Bamberger, noted art expert, author, and syndicated columnist.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

283 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2002

Reviews

[Kevin Bjorke]

The "practical" parts of this guide feel out of date. The "personal" ones -- about how to reat yourself and your excitement while shopping, buying, and (maybe) keeping -- last longer

[Maman à Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read if you are an aspiring art collector, or if you just like to buy some artworks now and then.

It details , regardless of whatever reason you buy, how you should operate and document, always seek many different outside advice, ... and what you must do to avoid getting in all the pranks you could fall into.

Thank you Mr Bamberger for this worthy advice. I think it's time for a change, and hopefully new blockchain websites such as codex protocol will make things a little easier and safer.

[Christopherseelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, informative material. Easy to understand. Demystifying of the commercial dimension of art and some of its intersection with the critical/scholarly dimension.
That said, anything about the internet is out-of-date and unusable. Many of the websites no longer exist or exist in degraded states. Auction platforms have multiplied and become more sophisticated. The industry is moving too fast to expect otherwise.

[Steven Willmott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive and detailed introduction to art buying. It is a little dry and the examples abstract so it's a little hard to really appreciate the depth of the purchases discussed. A companion following a number of buyers on different budgets would be really great.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painfully dated in some places but overall a very thoughtful and helpful guide for a beginner who is interested in wading into the waters of art. It can be a very intimidating experience but this book is a good way to become less anxious.

[Alan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello all. I'm the author. The current 2018 edition is revised, updated and enlarged. Much improved over the 2007 edition. Thank you all for your comments. Most appreciated.