Art dealer

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An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art.

An art dealer typically seeks out various artists to represent and builds relationships with collectors and museums whose interests are likely to match the work of the represented artists. Some dealers are able to anticipatemarket trends, while some prominent dealers may be able to influence the taste of the market. Many dealers specialize in a particular style, period, or region.

Art dealers often study the history of art before entering on their careers. Related careers that often cross-over include curators from museums and art auction firms are industry-related careers . Art critics or art academics also find success as art dealers.

Art dealers travel, often internationally, to exhibitions, auctions, and artists’ studios, looking for good buys, little-known treasures, and exciting new works. Most dealers specialize in the art of a particular period or region. One might deal in contemporary Canadian art, another in seventeenth century Dutch painting, another in abstract art of the 1950s and 1960s.

Many art dealers specialize in areas such as folk art. One recent trend that has attracted a lot of dealers and collectors is “outsider art”—the works of people who have little or no formal training in art and who don’t identify themselves as artists (or didn’t until people started buying their creations).

When dealers buy works of art, they resell them either in their galleries or directly to collectors. Those who deal in contemporary art usually exhibit artists’ works in their galleries, and take a percentage of the price the works sell for.

[edit] Business

Dealers have to understand the business side of the art world. They keep up with trends in the market and are knowledgeable about the style of art people want to buy. They figure out how much they should pay for a piece and then estimate the resale price. They are also passionate and knowledgeable about art. Those who deal with contemporary art promote new artists, creating a market for the artists' works and enabling themselves entrepreneurial success. The art world is subject to economic booms and bust just like any other market. Art dealers must be economically conscious in order to maintain their livelihoods. The mark ups of art work must be carefully monitored. If prices and profits are too large, then investments may be devalued should an overstock or economic downturn occur.^[1]

To determine an artwork’s value, dealers inspect the objects or paintings closely, and compare the fine details with similar pieces. Some dealers with many years of experience learn to identify unsigned works by examining stylistic features such as brush strokes, color, form. They recognize the styles of different periods and individual artists. Often times art dealers are able to distinguish authentic works from forgeries (although even dealers are sometimes fooled).

[edit] Notable art dealers

Klaus Perls

Perls was born and raised in Berlin. He studied art history in Munich, but was forced to finish his education in Basel, Switzerland, as the Nazis were no longer allowing degrees for Jews. He ran Perls Galleries for over 60 years. His gallery dealt with contemporary American artists, modern works from the School of Paris and Mexican and South American art. Perls also developed an interest in art from Benin and built a sizeable collection. He was not only an art dealer, but also a donor as he contributed many significant works of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died June 2, 2008 in Mount Kisco, N.Y. at age 96. ^[2]

John Weber

Weber was born in 1932 in Los Angeles. He was a radio corpsman in the Navy during the Korean War before receiving a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1958. As a contemporary art dealer, Weber was ahead of his time as he was one of the early promotors of Conceptual Art, Post-Minimalist sculpture and Italian Arte Povera. He was the director of several galleries throughout his career and helped organize shows that featured big names such as Robert Indiana, Richard Long and Andy Warhol. Weber died May 23, 2008 in Hudson, N.Y at age 75. ^[3]