How to buy right

Request a condition report for any work you are considering. Condition reports are the gallery or auction house's honest assessment of the physical state of the work and any restoration. Read them carefully. Research the provenance

Who has owned this work and when. The provenance should be traceable and coherent. Gaps require explanation. For any significant purchase, engage an independent art advisor

Their knowledge of specific artists, galleries, and pricing is the insurance against an expensive mistake. Specialist art advisors charge a percentage of the purchase price, typically five to ten percent, or a flat fee. That cost is consistently worth paying on purchases above a meaningful threshold. Understand the artist's relationship with their gallery before buying on the secondary market

A gallery that aggressively repurchases work to protect its artists' auction records is a different proposition from one that does not.

CollectorGrade take

An independent art advisor is the most underused resource in the art market. They know what work is actually available, what galleries are asking versus what they will accept, and where the genuine value is. For purchases above fifty thousand, the advisor's fee is almost always recovered.