You really can’t totally judge artists by their artwork. Certainly, their artwork will reflect who they are as people, but only to a certain degree. Even with highly-prized top-of-the-line paintings, you can’t really be certain that all of those pricey works speak volumes on the financial standing of their painters.
A good example of this is the works of Vincent Van Gogh (1853 to1890) and those of Pablo Picasso (1881 to 1973). Both may have painted masterpieces that are remembered to this day with great admiration. However, they met distinctively different ends. The Dutch painter died by suicide and a pauper at the tender age of 37. In contrast, the Spanish painter enjoyed his senior years recognized by the world as a true master and dying with tons of riches owned (over a billion dollars today) at the ripe age of 91.
Unfortunately, as with great painters, art dealers also come in all sizes and shapes. Of course, when you come to visit the Louvre, renowned worldwide as the greatest art collection in the world, you will find a large number of authentic paintings. The organization behind the Louvre can be sued if it sells bogus stuff. However, for every good dealer, a dozen bad ones may be lurking in the shadow. The top of this list is John Myatt. Although his paintings were fake and were imitations, these made their way to the biggest auction houses in the world, such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Fortunately, you need not put yourself in such ambiguous situations when buying art. With reputable online sources, you should be able to procure good artworks from home without worrying that you’re buying a fake.
Unmatched Convenience
Buying art online spells unmatched convenience for you. At a time of the virus, it’s surely a blessing. While art auctions may start to come to life these days with the vaccine out, being in a room with a crowd of people for hours on end is inviting infection. You really can’t see who you’re rubbing elbows with as your attention is set on the magnificence of the artwork.
With online ordering, you need not go far. You don’t even need to go out of your room. With the convenience of online ordering, you can place your order seamlessly. Imagine the hassle you go through when you have to visit a gallery to get the artwork you want to acquire.
A word of caution, though. Even online (and perhaps more so), con artists are rampant. It’s important then that you educate yourself and watch out for art scams online. As easy as it is to order online, you could lose precious money in a heartbeat if you’re not careful.
A good measure for you is to transact only with reputable websites and online sources. In retrospect, this is also the reason why seeking only authentic autographed and signed memorabilia from these sites is wise. A good website with a host of satisfied customers under its belt should bid you well in this case.
Greater Access to More Artists
When you order online, you have access to an unimaginable source of information about the things you’re about to buy. In short, you never run out of the data you need to arrive at a sound decision. This is different from buying in a gallery, where your source of information could only be a piece of paper that wraps everything up about a famous painting. Worse, you could be in an auction where you have to decide then and there or lose out to the cutthroat competition.
Even better, you have a wide array of artists to look into online. In short, you are not limited to the physical limitations of the art location.
Nix Undue Intimidation
When you’re in a gallery, a dealer could talk his or her way to a buy. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on you. However, you can’t say the same for online art. You can easily show you’re not interested by simply turning away from the website with a click of a finger.
Greater Price Transparency
It’s common for galleries not to put the price of artwork out for everyone to see. This technique allows them to sieve the passive visitors and onlookers from those who are serious buyers. However, it can also put a lot of pressure on your shoulder. When you ask for the price, the gallerist could assume you’re going to be making a big purchase.
You do not need to encounter such an embarrassing situation online. Websites are obliged by law to put prices on display when selling online.
Ease of Delivery
When you buy art online, you don’t need to worry much about the delivery of the artwork. Online art galleries have logistics partners that will deliver your artwork to you seamlessly.
Buying art online has truly become convenient. Just make sure you do your research ahead of time, and you should be good to go.
