Some advice on collecting & why I do it.

When I was asked to talk about starting your own collection at The Glasgow Art Fair ? year/20??? I was delighted. The audience was very enthusiastic & I was embarrassed to find a short video online after the event. It contains some key points about about collecting & of course is only a snapshot of the whole lecture, but I hope would encourage you to think about collecting, because after all without new collectors photographers coming up through the ranks today will have no one to sell to.

So why do I do it?

Well in order to order my reasons I figured a list was the best way to go, though I stress that this list is in no particular order:

Because I LOVE photography & want to be part of nurturing its future in the art world.

I get absolute joy from my collection & sharing it with others.

I don't just want to leave the buying to a bunch of very rich men, the rest of the worlds markets rely on a bunch of very rich men & look where thats got us.

The photography market needs more buyers with taste in order to introduce new emerging artists to the art world. The best way to do this is to support them by purchasing & promoting them; not just by looking at their work. Compliments do not help them make more work or push their careers to the next level.

You must practice what you preach.

Every work becomes a friend, revealing new things to you as the days, weeks, months & years go by a great work shows its true depth.

I have helped some make their mark & made some amazing friends along the way.

You can start small & build work your way up. A masterpiece of photography is still a fraction of the price of a master painting.

The people I have met through collecting have become firm friends, we advise each other, share stories & keep a dialogue going about the photography world, which keeps us all on our toes, learning & educating ourselves. (Stops my brain getting soft)

The thrill of discovery...as exciting as any explorer can expierience I'm sure & less mozzie bites!

Just when you think its all been done (as the old saying goes) something amazing comes along.

So what are you waiting for?

Don't take my word for it, get collecting!


Picture credits: (2 favourite works in my collection)

©Jeffrey Milstein
American Airlines McDonnel Douglas MD-82
34 x 34" - edition of 10

Alfred Stieglitz (U.S., 1864–1946)
Snapshot in the New York Central Yards [Camera Work 20, 1907]. 1902
Photogravure
7 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. image size