5 books about art collecting
Everything you need to know about collecting and its players.
The world of art is a universe to be explored, full of curiosities and twists.
If you want to become a collector, or if you are simply looking for an exciting read, here are 5 books that tell the story of art collecting. Let’s discover them together!
Andrea Concas, “Professione ARTE” published by Mondadori Electa
Professione Arte is a complete guide on the art system, useful to deepen the knowledge of its protagonists and the dynamics that regulate its market. The book offers a key to those who want to make art their profession, in fact the author Andrea Concas with #ArteConcasTALKS presents brief unpublished testimonies of over 40 major national and international professionals such as gallery owners, collectors, curators, museum directors, art advisors, lawyers, market experts, which clarify the new strategies, rights, duties and responsibilities.
With the voices of the internationals Georgina Adam, Donald Thompson, Magnus Resch or the Italians Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Caroline Corbetta, Giuseppe Calabi, Giorgio Fasol, Italo Carli and many others. Finally, Professione Arte highlights the great possibilities offered by new technologies and methodologies applied to the art world such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Wealth Management and Art Lending.
Patrizia S. Re Rebaudengo, “Art Travels. Around the world with 60 collectors” published by Il Sole 24 Ore
Over a period of five years, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo met with the most important collectors in the world to understand their motivations, tastes, goals and to deepen their point of view on the most varied themes of the art system. A substantial collection of interviews makes this book a solid base for anyone who intends to get to know the people who are writing the history of collecting and thus learn, through their words and their personal experience, advice on works and artists to keep an eye on.
Heinz Berggruen, “Memories of an art dealer” published by Skira
Heinz Berggruen was not only one of the greatest art dealers of the second century, but also a passionate collector. In this 2017 publication, Berggruen recounts the personal stories he lived with artist friends such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, with fellow dealers and illustrious clients with lively personalities, such as the exuberant Frida Kahlo. A true journey through the memories of a life lived for art!
Simone Facchinetti, “Stories and Secrets from the Art Market. Works, collectors, merchants” published by Il Mulino
Simone Facchinetti’s book is proposed as a guide to understand the mechanisms of auction houses, collecting and the art market. The author deals with fundamental themes such as the attribution and authenticity of the work, up to the epoch-making deals and the major deceptions. An in-depth study useful to get in tune with a world that, according to Facchinetti, “has many traits in common with casinos”.
Ludovico Pratesi, “The art of collecting contemporary art in the global world” published by Castelvecchi
Who is the protagonist of contemporary art in the 21st century? The collector. Pratesi analyzes the success of figures such as François Pinault, Eli Broad, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo or Miuccia Prada, models for the new collectors, to tell the reader about the meaning and the sense of an art collection in the 2000s, highlighting the relationship that is created between the Italian and international markets, the importance of fairs and galleries and the methods necessary to be able to act consciously in a world as articulated as that of art.
One thing is for sure, with the disruptive entry in the art market of Crypto Art and NFTs, between millionaire sales and new collectors to be discovered, in the future we will certainly have a lot of news to read about collecting…
And you, are you ready to find out what the collecting of the future will look like between Digital Art, Crypto and NFT?
Photo Credits: The New York Times
