Collectors Corner: Building Relationships

MEG member Timothy Hyde collected fine-art photography for years before he took up a camera.  Over the past two decades, he has built an extensive collection that includes works from emerging and well-known photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Arbus, Mann, Winogrand, Eggleston, and many others.  Tim shares his thoughts here and in subsequent posts on some of the opportunities and pitfalls in collecting fine-art photography in the rapidly-evolving art market.  

"Mother Nature Occupies Freedom Plaza"                (c) Tim Hyde

I believe in the gallery system for photography collecting.  It is a recent phenomenon in the scheme of things--one that is experiencing extreme stress right now from the Internet and the economic malaise --but it is a system likely to survive.  For the collector, galleries act a filter, an intermediary between the collector and the artist, and a source of art education.

That being said, galleries should not be seen as locked gates between the collector and the artist.  In fact, I urge all collectors, new or old, to establish a direct relationship, where practical, with all the living artists whose work they collect.

I almost never buy a fine-art photograph without contacting the artists (assuming he is still alive and sober) to establish some kind of relationship.  Usually this happens after I purchase the work, but occasionally before.

How does one contact an artist one has begun collecting?  First, ask the gallery where you bought the work.  There is something wrong if they don’t give you contact information.  If that doesn’t work, go to the photographer’s website where  there is almost always a “contact” page.  Then you can email the photographer, introduce yourself, and explain that you have just purchased some of his or her work.  Typically, I will ask a simple question about the work I just acquired.

You can also befriend your photographers on Facebook, get on their email lists, and otherwise begin to track the progress of their careers.   I often take this a step farther and make an attempt to meet the photographer.  One shouldn’t stalk an artist, but I seek out such public events as panel discussions, book signings, or gallery openings to find a time when I can meet and have a quick chat with a photographer I collect.

Why is any of this important?  It vastly enriches the collecting experience to know something about an artist, to know the trajectory of his or her career, know the critical response to the work,  have some idea what is coming next., and to have engaged him or her personally  It makes one a smarter collector…and it makes the whole experience more fun.  “

Forming a relationship—even a reserved one—can open up opportunities occasionally, such as early chances to purchase new work, opportunities to buy limited editions or copies of the artist’s books, advance notice of gallery changes and occasionally the opportunity to help underwrite a project or body of work. (More about that in another post.)

Over the years, I have gotten to know a number of photographers whose work in my collection.  Some of them have become friends, including a couple of close friends.   In my mind, it is part of the process of being a serious collector.