Good Friday morning, my friends! It’s my birthday (yes, for real) so I am writing a birthday present to myself. And by that, I mean I am going to discuss one of my favorite topics—art advisory. Now, you might be thinking, it is a sad state of affairs if one of your favorite topics is your work. And that would be fair. But to be honest, my work does not feel like work because I absolutely love what I do. Don’t tell anyone but I would probably work for free. (My husband and my dad will be calling in 3, 2, 1…)

As the laziest high school student on the planet, no one ever thought I’d be the one who would thrive on her job but I LOVE my work and I LOVE working. I think it is because I feel that my work is the honor of a lifetime. Art-buying puts people in a really vulnerable position; and, when people trust me enough to be in that exposed place with them, it really kind of takes my breath away.

But I digress. There are A LOT of art advisors out there. It is a growing field to say the least; and, lots of them, ahem, us are really good. Many of us have rigorous academic pedigrees, resumes full of prestigious jobs, and networks that give us an edge over your average collector. But we are not all created equal. So how do you differentiate?

Here are some factors that should influence your thinking if you have decided to hire some help to fulfill your art-acquiring aspirations.

1. Hopefully this is an obvious one. Do your goals align with the advisor’s skills set? I think this idea can take on at least two different forms. In the first way, you want to ensure you are aligned in the same area of the market. If you want to build a collection of emerging Australian artists, you should not hire the world’s greatest advisor who specializes in blue-chip European Modernism. While this person is probably brilliant and obviously the best at what they do, they do not do what you need them to do. The best electrician on the planet could not fix your toilet (unless you have one of those automatic toilets with a heated seat), so you should not hire an advisor who specializes in a field that does not align with your interests just because they are globally-renowned. This seems obvious but I imagine there are folks out there that would hire someone who is “the best” by many measures but not in the way that is most important to achieve their goals. Don’t hire for the prestige but for the expertise.In a real life example, a client wanted to hire me to sell over $500,000 worth of contemporary art. He did not want to sell via galleries or auction. He wanted to privately place each piece. While I can do that, it would be an extremely inefficient use of time and might not yield the best result. The opportunity cost is bad for both of us. In this case, he needs a large global firm with a huge network of collectors to cast a wide net. The boutique experience that I offer does not align with his needs, so I directed him to a trusted colleague. Because I have earned his trust, I am actually still on retainer to continue to advise on ancillary matters. And this brings me to my next point. 
2. Hire someone you trust. First of all, make sure you understand how they are getting paid. Do they have their hands in multiple pots? As in, are you paying them and the gallery is offering a kickback? If you find out this is happening with your advisor, run in the opposite direction. In my opinion, the best way to keep interests aligned is for the client to pay the advisor, but to each his own. When you pay for a work of art, do you send money to the advisor who then pays the gallery or do you cut a check to the gallery directly? Your money should not pass through someone else’s hands and you should know the value of your investment in the art independent of the value your advisor brings to the transaction. How transparent and forthcoming with information is the advisor? You should have all the information and paperwork pertaining to your acquisition…and you shouldn’t have to ask for it. While the art world is a murky swamp a lot of the time, there are enough good advisors working above board so you should make sure you are working with one of those. Interests of all parties should always be 100% aligned. That is really non-negotiable. (Ask me how I maintain alignment with my clients’ interests, no matter what.)
3. Going back to my first point, the second way the question of expertise and goals might manifest is how your taste and style align with those of your advisor. If you are collecting for investment purposes, this matters less. But if you are collecting to live with your art, then aesthetics matter and you want to make sure you are hiring someone with experience in aligning what you want your art to say with what you want it to look like. In some ways, this idea ties into the first, but I think it adds nuance to the question. First, you narrow by broad field, and second, you further differentiate by style. So if you are looking for emerging and mid-career artists, have a budget of, say, less than $10,000, and want a piece to hang over your mantle, then you are looking for a very different person from someone who is going to bid on your Magritte at the next Christie’s sale.
4. And finally, you should listen to the way your advisor talks to galleries, artists, installers, framers, shippers, and other professionals. Just like they say you can judge someone’s character by how they talk to Alexa, so too can you understand the value of your advisor by listening to how they converse with other art world personnel. Are they interested in understanding the artist’s work and process? Do they ask questions and engage in the conversation or just wait to make the sale? Do they respect each person’s role in the transaction?
5. Oh, and one more thing, how much do they get out in the world and see stuff?! A good advisor goes and sees lots and lots of art, but can also envision what something will look like IRL versus on a screen. The only way to develop that skill is by seeing a lot in person and understanding materiality.

I hope you feel armed to engage with an art world pro now, be it me or someone else. If you have a project and want to know if I’m right, I’m happy to have a conversation and point you in the right direction.

And since you made it this far, I will reward your devotion with some art. Here are some things I’ve seen and liked lately…

lobster club is not a new-to-me gallery but I spent a bit of time perusing their recent group exhibition this week and found a few new artists. Here are some standouts…

As always, I appreciate your eyeballs on my work so much. Thanks for being here and following along. It means more than you know.