b'By Jim and Bobbi Jeen Olson,WesternTradingPost.comA lmost daily folks contact us with art for sale. Some of it, we could not get more than a few dollars for and other pieces are worth many thousands of dollars. What makes one worth so much more than another? Some folks have a hard time understanding why, in some cases, something they paid a lot of money for many years ago is practically worthless now. After all, isnt art supposed to be a good investment and appreciate over time?Some art can certainly be a good investment. But like a lot of things, that is a small portion of the artwork available on the marketplace at any given time. Works by the popular masters in a given genre are pretty much always a good bet. There are also some contemporary artists whose work is worth collecting, as their popularity is high or on the rise, and prices for their art continually does well but beware of fads and common items.First off, lets get one thing clear. This article is written from the viewpointof an auctioneer/trading post owner who is selling on the secondary market. We get items in for re-sale from estates, collectors, traders, and others who are looking to downsize for various reasons. We look at hundreds (if not thousands) of items each month, and this is what we see daily as we try tohelp folks find a new home for their items.The print market is a very good example of a fad that was hot many years agoFrederic Remington, The Fall of the Cowboybut now is a tough sell. Some folks bought thousands of prints back in the day, thinking it was going to be a good investment. Unfortunately, most of themSo, now lets discuss what does sell well in the current resale market. The are hard to sell now. Who could have foreseen the technology to reproducecurrent (and time-tested) best sellers would be original art by a known prints becoming so prolific? Almost anybody can crank them out now and theartist who has a large collector following. These are the pieces you will have market became flooded with cheap versions because they are so inexpensiveto pay the most for, but they are also the ones that have the best chance of and easy to reproduce. As a general rule, prints are nice for decorationappreciating over time (or at least holding most of their value). These could purposes, so just buy them with that in mind and forget about the resale ofbe living artists but are often the great ones who have passed on, and we know them being high. that there will not be any more of their art ever produced. So demand is good, but supply is limited.Another fad to beware of is items that are trendy with the current pop culture but do not have a time-tested audience. Investing in this type ofNext would be very-limited edition high-quality prints (such as canvas art, which happens to be popular at the time, is a bit of a gamble. It couldtransfer giclees, etc.) by those same artists mentioned in the preceding work against you if the fad fades and interest wanes. On the other hand, youparagraph. This is generally a way to get a piece by one of these highly might get in on the ground floor of the next big art movement that will havecollectible artists at a more affordable price. However, prints are rarely known collectors spending money on these pieces for a long time to come. Whoto appreciate over time if looking at it from an investment standpoint, but at knows? Either way, its a gamble and if you are comfortable gambling, thenleast they seem to be fairly easy to resell when the time comes.go for it.Finally, really good original art by unknown artists could be a good Art by an unknown artist is something else we find harder to move. Thereinvestmentif that artist later gains notoriety among the collectors. Great art are thousands of folks out there who can paint or draw well. But unless theyis great art, no matter who drew it, but it helps if that artist has made a name gain a large following of collectors, their art will rarely be worth very muchfor themselves along the wayat least if you are considering the resale value on the resale market. And there is a big difference between being a goodof the artwork later. artist and becoming a great artist. Good art is a lot harder to resell than great art isand unfortunately, there are many more good artists out thereNow lets discuss buying art for the decor value. If you are just looking to than there are great ones. decorate your home or office without regard to the future value of the piece as a collectible, then buy what you like. Buy what you like in the price range you want without regard to whether it is a print or an original. Whether it is by a well-known artist or a local who draws well. Just go for what appeals to you. This is how most local artists survive, so feel free to support them. But if you are looking to decorate with the hope the art will be worth something in the future (in the collectible, resale market), for the most part, you should stay away from prints and common art by unknown artists. Its great for decor but not so much as an investment.Remember to always buy from reputable sources because there are many fakes and reproductions and unauthorized prints out there, so dont get taken in by sellers who are only after your hard-earned buck. Art can be wonderful to collect and is appealing to display, so get out there and enjoy finding that next great piece! Charles Marion Russell, Bear Hunt46 April 2022'