Art collector

So, you want to be an art collector? For a beginner, it can be an intimidating concept. Do you need to be a millionaire? Have a degree in art history? Possess impeccable taste? None of the above. Art collectors come from all economic classes. Some are trained art scholars, while others teach themselves by reading and visiting galleries or museums. What they share is the desire to make an investment in something that will give them joy and aesthetic pleasure.

What Makes an Art Collection? A Collector
By Roger Dunbier, PhD

Some individuals own two, three possibly dozens of paintings and don't consider themselves art collectors. They are correct if they have not taken the first step in becoming an art collector, which is the conscious decision to become one. Without that decision, the ownership of art alone does not qualify you as a collector no matter how much you own in the way of art objects.
Beyond this first step is the serious consideration of what direction your collecting activities will take, what you want to obtain, to dispose of or retain. It requires some thinking, better yet a lot of thinking.
Art is a knowledge business. Collecting art depends on knowledge. Good or great collecting depends on your knowing as much as or more about the desired object than the other party with whom you're dealing---if you're buying,the seller; if you're selling, the buyer. This, of course, cannot always be done, certainly not in the case of each and every object. The fact remains, however, that the closer one can come to achieving parity or superiority in knowledge about any potential transaction, the better.