top of page
Search

Collecting for Love vs. for Value

Remember the last piece you bought simply because you had to have it, not because it was rare, valuable, or a smart investment, but because it spoke to you?


That moment gets at the heart of why we collect. Is it the thrill of owning something unique? The desire to turn passion into profit? Or something far more personal?

This post explores the fine line between collecting for love and collecting for value, and how that distinction shapes not only our collections, but our relationship with art itself.


A Slower Conversation About Art


This is a space for art collectors, and for those who feel drawn to art on a deeper level.

I created this blog to slow the conversation down. To move beyond trends, prices, and market noise, and focus instead on what it really means to live with art: why we collect, how we choose, and what art gives back to us over time.


Each post is a reflection on collecting with intention, understanding artists, building meaningful collections, and developing confidence in your own eye. This is for collectors at any stage, whether you’re just beginning or you’ve been living with art for decades.


If art has ever stopped you, challenged you, or stayed with you longer than you expected, you’re in the right place.


Why Do We Collect at All?


People have been collecting objects they find beautiful, powerful, or valuable for as long as there have been people. We sent our dead into the afterlife with tombs filled with treasures. We looted conquered civilizations. We purchased, bartered, and stole art to build vast collections and museums.


Collecting is part of who we are.


I recently read a fascinating article called “The Collector Hypothesis,” which explores how collecting may have evolved as a social behavior. Some birds decorate their nests to attract mates, and research suggests that humans who owned collections of art were historically perceived as wealthier, and therefore more desirable partners.


I knew it! People collect art to improve their sex lives.


An art collection has long been equated with success, stability, and cultural sophistication. Collectors are often seen as better providers and more desirable partners. Artists, on the other hand, are typically viewed as creative, but poor, flighty, and unreliable. Unfortunately, that stereotype tracks. Collecting art has always been sexier than making it.


In a strange way, collectors often get more out of art than artists do. The owner of a Rolls Royce gets more from the car than the factory worker who assembled it or the designer who drew the plans. That logic, fair or not, has shaped how we value art for centuries.


Status, Community, and the Market


Art collecting has traditionally been associated with high-net-worth individuals and seen as a symbol of wealth, culture, and refinement. But beyond status, collecting also creates community.


Whether it’s kids showing off their trading cards or collectors comparing how many Van Goghs they have on their walls, communities inevitably form around collecting. And those communities don’t just bring enjoyment, they actively influence value.


Galleries, for example, often won’t sell a Jeff Koons

to just anyone who can afford it. There’s an unspoken responsibility to keep certain works within a select collector community to protect and promote the artist’s legacy and market value. It sounds crazy, but it happens all the time.


Art as an Investment


Art can also be a solid financial investment. Many collectors use art to diversify portfolios, preserve wealth, and build a legacy. Blue-chip art in particular has shown consistent growth since the 1960s, often weathering political instability and market volatility better than traditional investments.


Fine art continues to outperform other collectibles like classic cars, luxury watches, fine wine, and designer handbags. Investors see art as relatively insulated from the markets, and in many cases, it has outperformed the stock market.


But art comes with complications. It’s not a liquid asset. Artists and movements fall in and out of fashion. I recently heard that some Warhols are becoming harder to sell because younger collectors don’t recognize the subjects depicted.  Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor don’t carry the same cultural weight they once did.  The kids don’t know who they are.


There’s also forgery. Some estimates suggest that a significant percentage of contemporary art in circulation may be fake. And then there’s damage and theft. Steve Wynn famously put his elbow through a Picasso while climbing a ladder to hang it. Can you imagine?


Despite all this, art investing has become increasingly attractive. In 2014, only 14% of wealth managers recommended including art in a diversified portfolio. By 2023, that number had risen to 90%.


The Real Return on Art


Still, most collectors don’t collect primarily for profit.

An art collection is something you live with. You experience it daily. It brings joy, inspiration, and a connection to the hand and mind of the artist. Art carries stories, intentions, and histories.  These are qualities bonds and stock certificates simply don’t have.


Think back to your first art purchase. Most people were introduced to collecting by someone they admired. Collecting is contagious. Rarely does someone walk into our studio alone to buy art. They bring a spouse, a friend, an advisor. It is as though they need someone to help justify buying the thing they love.


And often, the greatest returns on an art collection aren’t financial at all. They show up in the relationships you build, the artists and communities you support, and the legacy you leave behind.


A Final Invitation


Before you move on with your day, spend a few quiet minutes with one piece of art you own, a piece you bought purely by instinct. Not something you researched. Not something that made sense on paper. A work you saw and immediately said, “Yes! Here’s my card.”


Sit with it. If a thought, memory, or question surfaces, hold onto it.

That’s where collecting really lives.


If this post resonated with you, feel free to share it with someone who lives with art the way you do. And remember: art is not a commodity, it’s a conversation.


______________________________________________


Resources:

___________________________________________________________________

John Bishop Fine Art is based in Houston where John and Bogdan Mihai are owners of Buburuza Productions, LLC, and co-founders of the charity Aripa Arte. John is an abstract painter and illustrator, a blogger, a vlogger, podcaster, and creative writer. He has authored several children's zines and books, as well as co authored books on photography, and art business themes. He and Bogdan also own and manage a company in Romania, and travel often to Eastern Europe. He maintains a studio at Silver Street Studios in Houston. John posts a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between art lovers and collectors.  John's art explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Join the conversation, and the community.


Buburuza Productions: www.buburuzaproductions.com

Aripa Arte Nonprofit: https://www.aripaarte.org



Comments

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Welcome to the John Bishop Fine Arts painter portfolio. With every artwork that I create, I attempt to connect, to bind disparate elements together into new vocabularies, new stories, that are both fresh and archetypal at the same time.  I paint, photograph, and write about what I feel, not so much what I see.  Don't look to my art for history, but rather for a glimpse into my own emotion, my own symbols, my own stories.  Hopefully, you will recognize your story there too, and my art can become your art as well. ​

fine art, painter, art for sale, art sale, artist, abstract, modern art, contemporary art, Texas art, Houston art, Romania, NGO, nonprofit, Sawyer Yards, cartoonist, illustrations, drawing, publishing, author, writer, speaker, wall art, prints, posters, cards, buttons, zines, books, art studio, art consultant, gallery, studio, creator, paint, best artist, famous, international, youtuber, influencer, teacher, coach, blogger, vlogger, podcast, photographer, fine art photography, arte, venta del arte, artista, famosa, auction, buyer, designer, creativity, inspiration, inspirational, professional, art business, entrepreneur, business, marketing, public relations, press, journals, paint parties, commissions, excellence, abstract art, nonrepresentational, email, newsletter, freebie, gift, present, art collector, portfolio

Join my Collector Club for monthly news, events, and access to my new work before it is posted online.  

Thank you!

bottom of page