Buying and selling art can be a lucrative profession as well as an enjoyable pastime. Attending art auctions can be profitable, entertaining, and a great place to meet fellow art enthusiasts. There are tips and tricks to enhance your buying and selling experiences in the art world. Not only are there several types of auctions, but there are also several types of art buyers. Whether you are an art collector, investor, or dealer, art auctions give you the opportunity to procure pieces that will appreciate over time.

Types of Art Auctions

Auctions can be broken down into three types: estate, consignment, and mixed. They can be held at a person’s residence, which is usually the case with small estate auctions, at a person’s place of business, in the case of consignment auctions, or in storage warehouses where items are often sold in lieu of unpaid rent. Interesting art pieces can be found at any one of those events.

The goal of an estate auction is to sell all remaining items of a former residence. An estate auction will normally not place any reserves on items (a reserve is the minimum amount for which an item will be sold). Hence, estate auctions are ideal for finding bargains as everything must be sold no matter how low the offer.

Conversely, at consignment auctions, fixed minimum prices are set on specific items, and if an item does not recover the set price, it will not be sold at that particular time. Consignment auctions will usually hold weekly sales, with the lowest prices being offered mid-week. Mixed auctions will sell items from smaller estates and will accept consignments as well.

Finding Art Auctions

The easiest way to find art auctions in your area is to do a search online. Simply type in your topic and your city and you should be able to find a list of the auctions being held in your vicinity. Another avenue is to check the local newspapers and dailies. Nearby antique or art stores can be useful resources as they often carry pamphlets or fliers advertising regional art auctions and sales. Lastly, explore online auction sites such as eBay, where you can purchase articles without leaving the comfort of your home.

Preparation

Before attending an auction, it is wise to confirm the date, place, and time. Be especially savvy by attending the preview, where potential bidders can examine the items to be sold at their leisure. Some auction sites will have previews a few days prior to the auction, while others open their doors only for a few hours preceding the auction. Upon arrival at the preview, you may register as a bidder. Be sure to ask about premiums when you register as some auctioneers add 10% to the highest bid or take commission from the selling price. It is important to know which policy will be used in order to avoid paying more than you bargained for. Bring a note pad and pencil with you to jot down the details of items that are of interest.

Types of Art

In accordance with its use, artwork can be divided into three categories: decorative art, collectable art, and investment art.

Decorative art is used to enhance spaces. It is often thematic and will add flair and personality to a setting. The art pieces are rarely originals by famous artists and generally possess little intrinsic value. Decorative art does not usually appreciate in value, and therefore is not a lucrative investment.

Collectable art refers to art pieces that are bought based on the assumption that there is already an existing market for them because there are other interested parties. It is unwise to hold on to collectable art in the hope that it will eventually become more valuable. If it is a handsome piece, keep it, but if it holds no strong interest to you, sell it. Collectable works are not long-term investment worthy.

There are various abstract art galleries found all over the world that display all forms of abstract artwork including paintings, sculptures and many more. Some of these galleries also showcase mixed media paintings, which highlight abstract art with a 3D effect.

Abstract art is also known as non-figurative painting that normally consists of a lot of colors, lines, textures and forms. Abstract art has various aspects such as still life, landscape, urban landscape and so on, which are showcased very well in the exhibitions held at the abstract art galleries. There are three main styles of abstract art mainly cubism, neoplasticism and abstract expressionism. New York is very much influenced by the third form of abstract art, that is abstract expressionism and has a number of abstract art galleries displaying this particular abstract art form. There are various artists in New York who practice abstract expressionism but they use this form in different interesting ways. For instance, certain artists project a landscape sensibility in their abstract paintings, whereas the others make use of denser structures and bolder colors that often make the paintings bizarre and complex. Some of the artists also make use of calligraphic gestures in their artwork, whereas the others use stencil and brushwork to add layers to their abstract works.

Abstract art galleries display all abstract pieces of art from watercolor paintings, oil paintings to mixed media paintings. They highlight both ancient as well as contemporary abstract art. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothko are amongst the many popular abstract artists known for their different forms of abstract artwork.