How can I become an art collector?

By Fiammetta Rocco

Buying art used to be the pastime of scholars and specialists; now it’s a badge of sophistication. During the week of the annual Frieze art fair in London, property developers borrow millions of pounds’ worth of art to hang on the walls of trophy flats in the hope of seducing buyers. The artworks are not included in the price of the property, but if you fall in love with the Damien Hirst spin painting above the sofa, no doubt you can negotiate.

Acquiring art, though, is not the same as collecting. Collecting is a complicated human impulse. It includes searching for, discovering, buying, sorting, listing or cataloguing, looking after, storing and, ultimately, showing the works collected. And this applies to everything from gulls’ eggs to Gauguins. Almost no-one sets out to be a collector. Most collectors begin with one work they fall in love with. It can happen on the spur of the moment, or after years of study.