According to consultancy group Knight Frank, art was 2023’s top luxury investment, outperforming cars, watches, jewellery, rare whisky, diamonds and coins. Most collectors we know however, rarely speak of art in the sterile language of a financial investment firm. Collecting is a passion, not a long-term “luxury investment strategy”.
That said, it is perhaps this sensitivity to the poetic power of art that can leave space for its investment potential to deepen. Collectors buy something they love and hold onto it, envisioning handing it to their children. When circumstances change, they find that in the years it’s been with them, its value has grown. They are, in other words, inadvertent investors – driven by a love of art but grounded by a pragmatism which asks, is there interest in this artist beyond me? Can it find a new home if I decide it’s time to part ways?
The best part of collecting art is getting to live with the fruits of your passion. It’s inadvisable to act on pure financial motives, but if done thoughtfully, collecting art can align with economic prudence making you an inadvertent investor. Knight Frank’s finding is not a guarantee that art will make collectors money; it’s a reminder that art’s value can go beyond the personal, emotional and culture, to find reflection in the market.
