A Poor Collector’s Guide to Buying Great Art

Today’s art market is incredibly dynamic. There are so many compelling works, shows, and exhibitions to choose from. Because there is so much to discover and see, many people are getting interested in collecting art. But since it’s impossible to keep track of all developments, becoming an art collector is not easy.

A Poor Collector’s Guide to Buying Great Art provides relief and offers sound advice to those who want to buy art but don’t know how or where to do it. They might have preferences in terms of styles or techniques, but they’re not familiar with how the buying process works. Perhaps they already have specific pieces in mind but don’t yet trust the rules of the art market —if such rules actually exist. What does someone actually need to know to prevent their personal tastes from leading them to make the wrong investment decisions?

This book illuminates all aspects of becoming an expert at buying art that one will enjoy for many years, such as how to get started, how to take one’s tastes seriously, how to do a targeted search for pieces, how to learn to appraise prices, and how to find trustworthy partners. 

In 1990, the Norwegian lawyer and writer Erling Kagge was half of the 2-man expedition that was the first ever to reach the North Pole unsupported (the other half was his countryman Børge Ousland). In 1992–93, he became the first person to walk to the South Pole alone, and, in 1994, Kagge summited Mount Everest, thus becoming the first person to complete the “Three Poles Challenge.” Today, he runs a publishing business in Olso called Kagge Forlag, collects international contemporary art and Russian icons, and serves on the board of the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. He wrote the preface for our previous release The Outsiders.