Sculpture is traditionally the Rolls Royce of the art forms, but it sometimes shares a dubiously attributed observation with the luxury car-maker: ‘If you need to ask the price, you can’t afford it.’
Sculpture earns its status, not through any assumed snobbishness, but because it’s difficult to create and to copy. Great sculpture combines talented design, meticulous craftsmanship, lengthy experience, complex production processes, and quality materials. Brought skilfully together, they create legacies and legends for generations. And while sculptures are owned by those who commission them, they belong to all who view them.
How then do you go about establishing what you can afford, or conversely, what your budget will buy you?
Everyone wants a bargain. But a bargain isn’t always good value.
A common attitude when seeking information about or commissioning sculpture is to withhold the budget. It reflects a reluctance on the part of most buyers to prematurely reveal information that might in some way disadvantage them or deny them a deal.
They worry that revealing their limit will induce the artist, the agent, or the gallery to inflate the price of the art to match their budget when it might have been significantly below their offer.
But consider this. Most purchases, especially significant discretionary acquisitions like works of art, are made on emotion, not logic. You conduct what you think is intensely rational or analytic research. In the case of sculpture, you examine the artist’s provenance, background, reputation, range of work, exhibition history, sales record, and a host of other data.
What is the reality? Most collectors make their purchase based on how the acquisition will make them feel, and on how others will think about them and their choice of art. Only a tiny handful of investors buy sculpture with the sole intention of on-selling for a profit.
No matter where you are on your journey as a collector, by sharing as much information as you can up front, you will gain lifelong benefits.
Five sound reasons for declaring your budget
If you’re intent on acquiring sculpture because it touches a nerve of beauty, here are five good reasons for declaring your budget before you commission a new work, or buy a current one:
1. Reality filter. If your imagination sees the Eiffel Tower, but your budget’s a budgerigar, the artist can rapidly set you right.
2. You give the artist an initial framework within which to understand size, shape, form, materials and finish
3. You also give the artist an idea of the time, energy, and creative resources they will need to invest in the project
4. Having a price in mind can also help the artist or curator identify other options of which you might not be aware
5. Even if your desires and budget don’t match, honest brokers can help you bring them within kissing distance.
The pivotal word here is honest. With a combined 24 years’ experience as an artist, project manager, and curator, Todd Stuart believes art and truth are inseparable. He’s been fortunate to attract collectors who share his belief, and return to him for more.
If you have an idea and a price in mind, call Todd Stuart on +61 4 5151 8865, or visit mainartery.art.
