Creating Your Art Inventory
Elevating your collecting practice.
For all collectors of art, creating and maintaining an inventory of your collection is an essential activity that can help elevate your collecting practice. Whether you are an avid art lover, or a first-time buyer, it’s never too early - or too late- to start an inventory of your art. For collectors of all ilk, here are 3 simple tips for creating an inventory of your own.
Martin King 'flow VI: the way out'
Keep it simple.
Although there are several online services that offer collectors their own personal collection management databases, chances are most personal art collections can be documented with a simple spreadsheet. Whether you are digitally-inclined or prefer an analogue approach, these inventories only need to contain base information about the works in your collection. Although more complex systems can be fascinating, it is better to prioritise making the inventory easily accessible and able to be deciphered.
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Record the right details.
The contents of your own art inventory are entirely personal, but there are some key factors that we universally recommend all inventories should contain. These are the artist’s name, the title of the world, the year of creation (if known), the year of purchase, and, importantly, where it was purchased from. These factors may seem basic, but decades down the track, these simple facts will be essential in tracing your artwork’s provenance. When possible, keeping receipts of purchase can also be integral to this provenance process.
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John McQualter 'Untitled (Rosebud)'
Take the time to reflect.
Above all, creating an inventory of your art collection is an exercise in reflection and contemplation. Sometimes when re-visiting the works they own, some collectors find that works in their collection no longer spark joy, or their taste in art has slightly shifted over the years. This is where we can help. At Art and Collectors, we offer a wide range of collecting and re-selling services, fit for any collectors who are wanting to re-invigorate their personal art collections.
