The art world can feel like a maze – glossy fairs, hushed galleries, and the constant hum of speculation. Barbara Guggenheim has been the trusted guide for collectors navigating this high-stakes terrain for decades. She’s unearthed hidden masterpieces, built collections that rival museum exhibits, and witnessed the shifts that make or break trends. With her candid charm and razor-sharp expertise, Barbara Guggenheim transforms the complex into the approachable. Now she dives into her remarkable career, her best advice for new collectors, and why sometimes, a little psychic income is the biggest win of all.
hube: You’ve seen the art world from so many angles throughout your career. What’s a piece of advice you’ve given to a client that has stuck with you over the years – something that you think really encapsulates your approach to art collecting?
Barbara Guggenheim: Too many people get into collecting because they think it’s a get-rich-quick scheme. They believe that if they buy from a popular dealer or follow what other collectors are buying, then whatever they purchase will multiply in value. I suggest clients think of collecting as a long-term endeavour. There’s a steep learning curve, and in the beginning, most buyers don’t even know what they like.
The bottom line is that working with a reliable art advisor shortens the learning curve and provides access to pieces they might not ordinarily encounter. Conducting due diligence, such as establishing authenticity, ascertaining the condition of the work, and determining the right price to pay, is complex. Without a reliable art advisor, a buyer can easily make costly mistakes.
h: Art can be so personal, but the market side of things can’t be ignored. How do you help clients find that sweet spot where their personal taste meets smart investment? Do you have any examples where that balance played out perfectly?
BG: People used to buy because they loved the work. Then, as prices rose, they bought for love but wanted assurance that the work was a safe investment. Now, they come looking for a great investment, and love plays less of a role. People may start with a budget, but they soon gain confidence in knowing that buying art isn’t spending money; it’s just investing. People come to me with a budget but often wind up spending more. Going for the burn and buying the best works you can afford is a great way to invest – as the best works are always the rarest.
Years ago, a man who was a management consultant came to me to help him start a collection. The process was important to him, so I hit on the idea of collecting sculptors’ drawings that they made for sculptures. His collection wound up travelling to a number of museums, with a great catalogue, and then, as the collector made more money, we began buying the sculptures that related to the drawings. The work meant a lot to him, and he got a big bang for his buck!
h: When you’re working with someone new to collecting, what’s the first thing you like to get across to them? Are there common fears or hang-ups people have when they’re just starting out?
BG: New clients need to take the time to learn. Long ago, in the 1980s, a Cleveland client got divorced and bought and decorated a new bachelor pad, an apartment in NY. I saw a Basquiat in a gallery on the Lower East Side that I thought would work. I called, and he didn’t have time to come to NY, but he bought it for $3,000 from my description. Several years later, he called and told me he hated the painting and wanted me to sell it. I told him it wasn’t worth what he paid for it, and he said he’d take a loss. I said, ‘It’s not that; it’s worth several hundreds of thousands’. Dead silence. Then he said, ‘I love my painting’. Nothing beats psychic income. He waited a few more years and sold it for over a million, way less than it would bring today, but he thought he won the game, and he did.
h: The art market has changed so much, especially with the rise of digital platforms and online auctions. Do you see these changes as positive steps forward, or do you worry about how they might impact the traditional ways we value and authenticate art?
BG: We’re all so familiar with the internet that we make decisions based on images all the time – whether for clothes, kitchen appliances, and so on. So, if you’re used to doing that, and more and more people, young and old, are, you won’t think that art’s any different, even though colours, textures, and size can be deceptive. Dealers send videos, photos of someone standing next to the work for scale, photoshopped images of the work you’re considering in the spot you have, and so forth. If I think there may be a problem, I make a deal contingent on the client or me seeing it.
h: Art fairs have become these huge, almost spectacle-like events. Do you think they’re good for collectors who are serious about building a thoughtful collection, or do they risk turning art into something too commercial?
BG: Art fairs have their pros and cons. On the pro side, you get to see hundreds or thousands of works in one place. You may find one or more works you love, or you may observe trends. One year, art fairs may have a lot of photography; the next year, weaving. You also learn a lot by observing which artists are no longer hot. One year, you might see a lot of a particular artist, and the next year, there will be none, which suggests that their star has fallen. On the contrary side, you may attend a fair thinking you’re going to rush to the booth of a dealer who has a hot artist and buy the work of your dreams. Likely, the dealer has sent PDFs to their favourite clients in advance of the fair, and the work you want is sold. Add to that the fact that there are so many fairs and fewer and fewer good pieces on the market, and fairs aren’t as compelling as they once were.
h: We all know there’s a tension between buying art for love and buying it as an investment. How do you talk to clients who might be more focused on the investment side, especially during those times when the market feels shaky?
BG: As an advisor, it’s my job to explain how art can be a hedge in your financial portfolio. Classic artists like Warhol and Picasso share the fact that they have robust supply and demand and an orderly market. Something is always being sold, so if you own one, you know your own net worth without having to sell yours. These markets tend to grow, then plateau, and grow again. Other new hot artists may rocket, but they can tank just as quickly. It’s all about your risk tolerance.
h: Your work combines a deep knowledge of art history with a sharp eye for what’s happening now. Can you recall a time when your understanding of an artist’s history led you to make a surprising or important discovery for a client?
BG: Years ago, I was working for an art dealer and went to visit a packrat collector. I bought for $75 an Impressionist-style painting of flowers with an extraordinary point of view from the ground looking up at a field of mums. A few months later, I went to the Monet Museum in Paris, and in the basement was a show of Monet and his friends. There was a painting just like the one I’d bought, labelled Caillebotte, a wonderful Impressionist painter. The dealer I was working for was thrilled, and he went on to sell the work to John Whitehead, an investment banker, for $100,000, who gave it to the Metropolitan Museum. It’s worth a lot more now.
h: The art world can sometimes feel a bit exclusive or intimidating to newcomers. What do you think needs to change to make it more welcoming, especially for younger people who might feel like outsiders?
BG: If galleries and auction houses seem intimidating, it’s because the dealers and auction staff want it that way. Gallerists often wear all black and remind you of a priest in a room that gives off a distinctive spiritual air. The desks are so clean and everything is so calm, you could do surgery without antiseptics. Front desk workers talk in hushed tones, and often it’s difficult to get a price list. Once a salesperson greets you, you’ll notice some quick banter – where you live, where you went to school, where you summer – all designed to find out in short order how much you can spend. From that, they take you to a private room to show you works that might fit your taste and budget. In the trade, those rooms are called STING rooms. Having an advisor cuts all that out, as if you show up with an advisor, the dealer or auction house staff will know you are serious.
h: When you think about the future of art collecting, what trends do you see on the horizon? Are there any artists, mediums, or regions that you think are about to have a big moment?
BG: People love collecting. As long as there’s interest in young artists, the market will expand. Buyers and sellers are appearing from every corner of the globe. Art fairs are proliferating, and there are no limitations of style, medium, or subject matter that exclude artists from the ‘conversation’ taking place between artists, scholars, the trade, and collectors.
Photography courtesy of BARBARA GUGGENHEIM and the artists
