Barbra Streisand is not the first person you’ll think of when it comes to managing your money. But it turns out that the Funny Girl has a financial advice you should take seriously—sending death stares to everyone who received their 13th month pay last week.
In an interview with Associated Press, Streisand revealed that she did a big tour to buy an Amedeo Modigliani painting. “I can’t work for money. I have to work for an object that I love, something I want to live with…What does money do? It goes somewhere, a stock, a bond. I don’t see it. But a painting I can look at every day and enjoy,” she said.
It seems like Streisand, who developed her passion for the visual arts at 16, was right about doing the tour for that expensive painting. Inquirer columnist Doris Dumlao-Abadilla writes that art is a sound investment. “Art is for the more discerning investor seeking diversification or wealth creation or both,” she wrote in the July 2017 issue of Inquirer Red Magazine. However, like other investments, art can’t grow more expensive as time passes by like real estate. It’s not a liquid investment either like bonds, mutual funds, and stocks.
Art requires a lot of factors to determine the price. First, there’s the question of the artist and the artwork in the art world. An artwork by a budding painter wouldn’t cost as much as an established painter’s work, but you may still expect the painting’s price depending on the reputation of the artist. Then, there’s also the issue of authentication especially for old works of masters and deceased artists. Dumlao-Abadilla says that collectors may buy directly from artists instead of going through a middleman.
If your eyes are currently on a particular artwork, Malaysian art dealer Valentine Willie has some tips for you:
Don’t use your savings or borrow money just for it. Buying art is like purchasing luxury clothes. You must not use your savings at any cost. Like Streisand, you must strive for what you want and only use money that you’ve set aside for that purpose.
Seek professional help. Since art involves authentication and other matters, new art collectors must ask advice from reputable art dealers.
Buy what you only like. Art is a good investment because it’s not like bonds or stocks that simply have documents as proof. So, only buy art that you’d want to display in your home.
Collecting art as a form of investment seems fun, but you also have to remember that an art collection requires so much more than money. As Dumlao-Abadilla wrote, one must have “the time, passion, and discipline” to hunt for pieces and maintain your art collection. So if you’re going to take on this new journey, be passionate at it like Streisand.
Header image courtesy of Inquirer
Read more:
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Casa de Memoria brings art and antiques closer to the youth
The pros and cons of the growing Manila art scene