A collector's first question is usually 'who?' — but the more useful question is 'why?'. That question opens up Indian art history and the debates within it. Art is a way of decoding and accessing a culture. Responding to the work matters more than the artist's name or fame, and buying art to match the sofa is not the point.
Collecting art and arranging it at home is like choosing guests for a dinner party. Which works hang together matters: as at a dinner party, there should be a conversation between the participants, a connection between the works and the people in the room.
Paintings can be treated like friends, a point often overlooked. In life, some people are interesting to meet but do not stay close; a smaller group become genuine, lasting friends, wherever they live. Looking back, these are the ones that matter.
Art works the same way. Some paintings are fleeting pleasures, enjoyable but not lasting. Others hold a real connection, an energy that endures. A painting worth acquiring should matter and shape daily life, the kind missed when away on holiday.
India holds a vast range of culture, with a complex visual language of its own. A new collector should see as much as possible, and distinguish an artist's popularity or market value from what the work means to them personally. Much of Indian art remains little understood, which can make collecting daunting for a newcomer.
For a first-time collector: buy what appeals to the eye. Visit museums, galleries, art fairs and biennales; read about art, art movements and artists' lives. Information is widely available online. At a gallery, auction house or museum, questions are welcome — those who know a subject well usually enjoy sharing it.
Collecting is a personal endeavour, driven by taste rather than a formula. An acquisition worth trusting is one the eye is drawn to, not only the head; the purchases most regretted are usually the ones not made. Collecting should be a source of pleasure, in both the process and the act of owning something loved. Works of art can hold or gain value over time, but the reason to acquire one should be the pleasure of living with it. Some collectors do make money from art, but the collections best remembered tend to be the ones built by the heart rather than with an eye on price.
A few practical tips for a first-time collector:
- Start small and take time over it. Wanting a particular artist's work only because a friend owns one misses the point — taste is subjective, and it is best to choose what resonates personally.
- On a limited budget, limited-edition signed serigraphs, graphic prints, lithographs and monoprints are a good place to start. They come issued with a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist, at a lower cost than an original.
- Research the artist before acquiring a work: read about their life, their distinctive style, and the periods their work has moved through.
Visiting galleries and exhibitions regularly, and comparing prices, helps before any decision. - Decide in advance what is wanted — figurative, abstract, landscape or still life.
Limited-edition signed serigraphs are a practical starting point for a new collector.
These steps can help even a newcomer to collecting. It is a long process that rewards an open mind and questions asked along the way. Connoisseurship develops with experience and study — the more one sees, the more one understands. For a collector drawn to modern Indian artists such as M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza, Anjolie Ela Menon, Jogen Chowdhury and S.H. Raza, auction houses and gallery websites can flag when new works by a chosen artist come up.
A good painting changes a house into a home; there is little point hanging something that brings no joy. A home's decoration can start from its art, with everything else built around it. In the end, the choice comes down to what a person responds to and loves.
Vinayak Pasricha