About a decade ago, I attended a friend’s wedding in the countryside. At the reception, I met a man who worked as a trader at Goldman Sachs. He was also an avid art collector. Later, as we talked (and drank) more, he told me that his collection had begun as a passion. But he had quickly come to see that not only was the London contemporary art scene incredibly fun, it was also a world in which a well-connected and financially savvy person could make a lot of money. He knew how to play the game and he won. But there are many fools who have rushed in and failed precisely where the Goldman guy succeeded.

Back in 2015, when I first had a gallery and the profits to be made by flipping young art were like the first California gold rush, there was a collector on the scene in London buying all the art he could find. He appeared all of a sudden, with supermarket bags stuffed with cash. Some of them were from Lidl. He would wander around the art schools and emerging galleries of London, purchasing whatever he could. But he made a crucial mistake: he told us all that his collection would be his “pension”. As a result, gallerists only sold him works by the artists they had less confidence in; no young gallery wants their star artist’s work coming up at auction. That’s how markets implode and careers end.  

Years after I first met this man, he rang me and said he wanted to liquidate some of his pension. He sent me a spreadsheet. Over a three-year period, he had spent more than £100,000 on art. As I totted up its current value, I realised that his collection wasn’t worth a third of what he’d paid for it. No one had told him the rules and he’d lost, big time. 

6

A final piece of wisdom

Don’t chase trends – they’re impossible to keep up with. Find your own style. Ignore the NFTs and, instead, take the time to see exhibitions. At events such as the Venice Biennale, you’ll discover things you won’t be able to keep in a freeport: art that doesn’t sell but may inspire a newfound curiosity. 

A wise mentor once said to me, “Good artists show with good ­galleries.” It’s deceptively simple advice, but sage none the less. If you can afford it, if you love it, and if you’re prepared to have it forever, only then should you buy it. ­Collecting can be a joyful pursuit; art investing, especially for the unconnected and unversed, seldom brings anything but angst, and there are far easier ways to make money. If you want to collect art, start with something you love. It will only get better from there. 

All That Glitters (Profile, £20) by Orlando Whitfield is out now