Posted by Steve Price on March 16, 1999 at 17:03:07:
In Reply to: Re: reasons for acquiring a piece posted by Yon Bard on March 16, 1999 at 13:36:17:
Dear Yon,
I think now I understand the point about some folks, who we might think of as fairly advanced collectors, buying only at auction because they distrust dealers. If that's the case, then Tom is absolutely right (not a rare occurrence): those people do not have much understanding of the art they collect.
The "newness fetish" is an odd one, and it's comforting to learn that there are aspects of our neurosis that haven't manifested themselves in my psyche. But I wonder whether this is another aspect of Tom's peer approval observation. Stuff that's already been passed on by someone may be seen by some as having been disapproved, so to speak. This, obviously, ignores the fact that none of us has the resources to acquire every rug we'd like to, and an awful lot of very desirable material gets passed up by an awful lot of very knowledgable collectors.
Regards,
Steve Price