Art collecting need not be as perilous as this [Pieter Bruegel, Blind leading the blind. 1568. Galleria Nazionale, Naples ] Though it could be. Depends upon what your goals are.
I recently saw an article on the subject in a recent Charlotte Observer. Also the internet is ripe with advice sites, here's one. I offer my own advice which is better advice than what you'll get from the others.
Buy what you like. And be careful what you like. If you like Ellsworth Kelly, try liking something else instead. Click to see why. Kelly's works sell for astronomical amounts and are bad investments, unless you are very rich and need a short-term alternative to currency for use in moving money around.
But if you love art, you should in general avoid Kelly and similar artists who do things you can easily do yourself. You can make your own Ellsworth Kelly; so if you like solid colors, you're wise to make your own Kelly. Then you can make it in any color and any size you please. You don't even have to call it a "Kelly." You can take all the credit for it yourself.
A corollary of this rule goes thusly, and we'll call it a first rule for collectors: "Don't believe everything people tell you." If the art work looks stupid, it probably is stupid.
If you are not sure how to recognize something stupid, ask an ordinary person. Do not ask anyone with a Ph.D in contemporary art history, especially if they spent a lot of money for their education. They have too much face to save and too much invested in defending the status quo.
More advice, next post.
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