[Leica] Photo awards etc

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

I have been collecting art since the late 1980s, and it has given me the
highest compounded return of all my investments, including equity. I
switched from paintings to original photographic prints around 20 years ago
- easier to store, and cheaper to buy.

The problem about investing in art is that the bid/offer spread is so high
(25-30%), that it takes you 5-10 years to break even. So, be prepared for
20+ years of ownership. Even if you had purchased a Warhol 40 years ago,
would you have held on to it till today? It is debatable. Art prices tend
to rise in spurts, and lie dormant and flat for long periods of time, and
there is really no good price discovery mechanism for even the moderately
expensive stuff. Therefore only caveat I suggest is to buy stuff you think
you can look at on your walls for 25 years....

Cheers
Jayanand

On Wed, Apr 1, 2020 at 8:18 PM Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:

> Buying at four your personal enlightenment is something most of us can do
> successfully.   Hopefully we know what inspires us or caused internal
> contemplation or motivation.   Buying art as an investment is another
> task.   Basically you are trying to predict what people will value in the
> future; which is difficult for most of us.   Buying a Warhol now seems
> smart but who was snapping them up 40 years ago?
>
> I recommend going to museums and galleries for a long look at past
> masters.   Then go out to art fairs and small intimate shops that display
> new artists and acquire those images that work for you.   Hopefully you
> will help a starving artist not starve today.  Maybe in twenty years your
> heirs and assigns will be on the antiques roadshow crying in amazement at
> how much this piece is now worth.
>
> Oh, buying a well printed book with images from an artist you admire or a
> genre that moves you works pretty well when the museum's are all locked
> down.
>
> On Wed, Apr 1, 2020, 6:17 AM Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote:
>
> > Everybody has a personal opinion about what is a good photograph, but,
> > sadly, the only way to get yourself enshrined in the pantheon of "The
> > Great Photographers" is to have someone pay lots of money for your
> images.
> >
> > Is Putin's poodle Dmitry Medvedev a great photographer? Well, someone
> > paid $1.7 million for one of his, but the disqualifier is the "someone"
> > is an oligarch friend of his, so Dmitry has to go through a few more
> > hoops before he gets any credibility, if ever.
> >
> > Anyway, I used to go to a few photographic auctions in the past so still
> > get notifications as the auction houses who live in hope that I might
> > win the lottery (mind you, I do live in hope too). Here's a link to a
> > current one below, and it's interesting to see the prices of some famous
> > photographs. Of course, I'm aware that art and photographic art is just
> > a way of storing money outside of other markets, and I expect the prices
> > at this auction and many others to come to be compressed by the current
> > plague, lack of liquidity, and fear.
> >
> > So, if you're feeling brave, and maybe have just won the lottery, you
> > could make a killing. In any case, you'll have a chance to have a look
> > at some interesting images.
> >
> > https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/photographs-2?locale=en
> >
> > Tell us what your favourite is.
> >
> > Douglas
> >
> >
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