To the uninitiated the prospect of buying fine art for investment can be as daunting as being asked to paint the Sistine Chapel or construct St Paul’s Cathedral out of match sticks. A glimpse of the plush interiors of the major auction houses or trip to one of central London’s sometimes intimidating galleries can give the casual visitor second thoughts about purchasing a piece of art. Alternatively the individual might be unsure about the value or authenticity of the painting or drawing they are proposing to buy, but press ahead with the transaction anyway on the principle that they may not know much about art, but they know what they like. And the gallery assistant has gone to all this trouble and seems to know what they’re talking about, so it would be churlish to pull out now.

The best way to make the subjective practice of buying a piece of fine art is to be as objective as possible. In other words, to ensure that you get what you pay for, it is worthwhile learning a bit more about how the art market works and gathering as much information about the particular artist or style or period that you are interested in as you can. There are two principle ways of doing this. You can research the artist’s output and historical significance in art books and exhibition catalogues or read reviews by local and national art critics, and you can look through the sales records available in most major public libraries and art galleries to determine how much their work goes for.

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