Alan Bamberger

Alan Bamberger is a San Francisco–based art consultant and advisor best known for his regular posts to ArtBusiness.com , where he creates a visual diary of gallery openings and happenings in the art world in the Bay area. In addition he makes insightful comments, takes close-up views with the memorable Pinky-Cam, giving the sense of scale and detail to the artwork on view. He is also an author and independent appraiser who has written numerous articles for the benefit of both artists and collectors.

Early life, education and experience

Bamberger was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Working originally selling rare books as far back as 1979, Bamberger has knowledge of decorative arts, art, architecture and photography stemming from many years appraising a variety of art objects including original artworks, limited editions prints, manuscripts, documents, art books and related decorative collectables.

He has syndicated a column titled Art Talk, which appeared nationwide in various publications from 1985 to 2001, and has authored a column written for Coagula Art Journal Turning Pro created by his southern California counterpart and art-writer-turned-gallerist Mat Gleason of Coagula Curatorial.

Bamberger has been a member of numerous trade organizations, including Association of Online Appraisers, with an emphasis on ethical standards in the field. Other organizations include Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers from 1997 to 2011.

With a long history of online presence, Bamberer has worked with several online entities, both in an appraisal and consulting capacity, as well as giving expert testimony in legal cases involving artworks. He also lectures to various groups on the art of collecting and at museums nationwide.

ArtBusiness.com

Art Business is a website maintained by Bamberger which contains literally thousands of candid photos from art openings in the Bay area comments and mini insights as he documents the San Francisco scene as it happens. He writes extensive articles, self-publishing both to art business.com and his Facebook page. Topics range from how to professionally pack your art for shipping to Art Opening Etiquette His articles are written in easy to understand terminology with topics for anyone interested in art, from collector newbie to seasoned patron and master artists.

With the rise of Facebook he and many other, artists, critics, writers and consultants join in lively discussions on social media. It serves all parties in bringing a real time discussion of the arts into play, between articles and news stories posted by Bamberger and Mat Gleason on the West Coast and a New York discussion centered around art critic Jerry Saltz of New York Magazine.

Consulting

Bamberger serves both artists and collectors in a variety of ways. For artists he evaluates resumes and biographies as well as portfolios, giving artists a critical analysis of all aspects of their career and strategy to enter the art world successfully. He advises on pricing and reviews contracts and gives numerous tips on his website for everyday issues regarding the artist career.

For collectors, he offers services of identifying and appraising of artworks, on works to buy, sell or collect as well as building a successful strategy for building a collection.

Books

• Buy Art Smart (Wallace-Homestead publishers)
• Art For All (Wallace-Homestead publishers)
• The Art of Buying Art, 2nd Edition (LTB Gordonsart, Inc. publishers)