Wise to Art

This blog is primarily preoccupied with MODERN PAINTING, and for a small part with drawing and printmaking. With ‘modern’ is meant approximately the impressionists until about 20 years ago. Contemporary art is not included. The on-line art market looked into is thus quite naturally the secondary market, in the sense of ‘sales not coming directly from the artist’.

So, what‘s an on-line art market? Well, clearly a virtual world made possible by the advent of the Internet. Any market is essentially a place to buy and sell and an ‘on-line’ market simply trades virtually and not in brick-and-mortar premises. The disadvantage of not seeing in reality is made up for by ever more sophisticated media and the ease with which we can today obtain information and references. An on-line market is essentially for those that already have thorough knowledge and experience and for whom, consequently, virtual assessment is easier.

This blog is interested in two aspects of the on-line experience: 1) the tremendous informative ability of the Internet as indispensable support to conventional trading 2) Internet’s growth as actual trading medium. In the first case the Web serves as an immense reference library and permits preparatory sourcing for brick-and-mortar venue trading (auction houses, galleries, artist’s studios), in the second it becomes a vehicle of its own to establish global real-time transactions, with or without intermediaries.

We are still very much in the starting blocks as concerns pure virtual trading. However, as overall transaction security improves, Internet’s role as a vehicle for direct trading will inevitably grow. Today this activity touches in the main the lower segment of the market, priced within limits that are reasonable. Internet is in fact already a strong marketplace for what has been aptly called affordable art.

Adding to related and general market insight posts, you’ll find more specific articles around traditional and modern painting under the heading the expert’s eye as well as some highly personal musings under the title ideas on art.

The author is Michael, a weathered art collector with eclectic tastes.

It doesn’t much matter nowadays where you are on the planet to comment on the on-line marketplace. I happen to be in Europe but thanks to the Internet I could really be anywhere. In fact, I trade mostly outside the Old Continent and preponderantly with the US. It’s a small world!