Art Collecting at Any Age
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“I don’t think there is a right or wrong age,” says Coplan Kaufman, an art advisor based in Los Angeles. “It’s just when someone feels comfortable spending the money and wants to support the arts, as well as make smart financial decisions. I see a lot of people who drop thousands of dollars on furniture but always fall short when it comes to art. A $15,000 sofa loses value the moment you sit on it.”
Kaufman primarily works with clients in their late twenties and thirties, many of whom are new to this arena and don’t know where to begin. “Because the art world is such an intimidating space, it can be overwhelming,” she says. “There is this misconception that you have to have millions to start collecting, and it’s just not true. You don’t need to spend the most to have something great in your house.”
5 Years Old: A new volume by Taschen, Small Stories of Great Artists, has compiled all of Laurence Anholt’s beloved children’s books on history’s greatest, from da Vinci to Van Gogh.
Although having millions can help, especially when they’re attached to a last name with established cred. “Galleries love the nepo baby with the trust fund,” says one art advisor who works with such families. “They will immediately return your call, because they know that you grew up with art and you get it.”
25 Years Old: As of December, thanks to a $2 million gift from the artist Julie Mehretu, admission to New York’s Whitney Museum is now free for visitors 25 and under.
Still, it can be a double-edged sword. A family reputation may get you in the door, but it doesn’t buy authority. Plus, age alone can be a hurdle. “I don’t think that is particularly unfair,” says Leo Rogath, the 32-year-old founder of Prince & Wooster, a private gallery-cum-exhibition-space in NYC’s Soho, where he manages the extensive holdings of his collector parents (Warhols, Basquiats, and Hockneys among them), along with his own roster of emerging artists. Rogath started getting involved in his parents’ acquisitions a decade ago, and before he opened this space he spent three years at Christie’s. “I don’t mind that it has forced me to work hard and prove myself.”
35 Years Old: Regular attendance at fairs and gallery shows is required. Frieze returns to L.A. this month (February 20-23); go with an advisor.
As with many things, a proper education is key. “It’s important to understand the culture, the language, and the rules of the collecting world before you saunter into a Gagosian or Zwirner. The surest way to look like a rube is to go in and say, ‘I need something for over my couch,’ ” the anonymous art advisor says. “There is a gentility to it that is learned.”
At the end of the day, though, true precocity just can’t be taught. Take the artist Andres Valencia, who has been compared to Picasso and whose paintings sell for six figures (Sofia Vergara and Tommy Mottola are collectors). He’s 12.
This story appears in the February 2025 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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