Should You Buy Art Online?
The art market has been slower than almost any other to move online, and the caution is not entirely unreasonable. Auctions have run more or less the same way since Sotheby's and Christie's were founded in the 1700s, and a work of art is not a pair of shoes. But collectors now buy online all the time, and the question is no longer whether it can be done but how to do it well. Here are the risks and the advantages, from the buyer's side.
The risks
It may not look the way it did on screen
Every camera, phone, monitor and browser shows color a little differently, so a work seen online never matches real life exactly. Most of the time the difference is unintentional; serious galleries photograph their inventory carefully and calibrate for it. Occasionally it is not, and the photo is doing a lot of work.
Size is the other common disappointment. A piece that looked large on a screen arrives small, or the reverse. The fix is simple: check the dimensions, measure the wall, and picture it in the actual spot before buying. Being thorough about the physical facts prevents most regrets.
It may not be what the seller says it is
Authenticity worries are reasonable when you cannot stand in front of the work. The answer is provenance: the documented chain of ownership from the artist to the present seller. It is both the main driver of value and the best proof that a piece is what it claims to be. Ask the gallery for it, and ask about their authentication process. A legitimate seller is glad to show their work; a reluctant one has answered the question.
The advantages
Access, anywhere, any time
For collectors with full schedules, being able to see and buy work from galleries around the world without flying anywhere or giving up a weekend is the biggest change the internet has made to collecting. Geography used to decide what you could buy. It no longer does.
Research on your own terms
In a gallery, the information you get is the information the gallery chooses to give, in the time available, and it is naturally in the gallery's favor. Online, you have the whole record: auction results, exhibition history, press, the artist's own site, and other dealers selling comparable work. Buyers who like to have the facts before committing do better online.
A real sense of price
Comparison shopping is almost impossible on a gallery floor and easy online. Seeing what similar works are offered for, and what they have actually sold for, tells you whether the price in front of you is fair. Along the way you sometimes find a piece you like more, in the same style, size and budget.
No pressure
The art world intimidates new buyers, and a salesperson at your elbow, a decision that feels like it has to happen now, and a crowded opening do not help. Buying from home removes all of that. Decisions made quietly, with time to think, tend to be the ones people are happy with later.
Easier conversations
At fairs and openings, the people worth talking to, the artist, the gallerist, the curator, are pulled in every direction. By email or message they can answer properly, and often more candidly. Some of the best conversations with dealers happen in writing, after the event.
The honest answer
Both ways of buying have trade-offs, and the right one is whichever leaves you confident in the purchase. What has changed is that you get to choose. If you want help checking a piece you found online, from the photographs to the provenance to whether the price makes sense, that is exactly what Basher Fine Art does for clients.