Affordable Art In The Saleroom

With every generation, there always emerges one or two iconic pictures of which every other household has a print on their wall, whether it’s John Constable’s Haywain, Claude Monet’s Waterlilies, or even that photo of a female tennis playing scratching her backside, writes Daniel Smith.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with prints; with modern printing technology, advanced inks and quality papers, the overall aesthetic effect can be very pleasing indeed.  But if only for the knowledge that you have something unique decorating your home, how much more satisfying is it to have an original painting hanging on your wall?

Many people hanker after owning a work which bears the actual brush marks of the artist who created it, and the thing which puts them off is the perceived cost of doing so.  Granted, ‘big name’ artists sell for millions in the saleroom, but at the other end of the fine art scale are many prodigiously talented painters whose works don’t command the premium prices which few can afford.

The pleasant surprise for many is that for the price of a mass-produced print in an art shop or department store, you can snap up one of a massive choice of original artworks in the auction room.

Affordable art and prints are often grouped together, in that they are both accessible, but they represent very different ideas about value, ownership and artistic experience.  The defining feature of affordable art is originality: each piece is unique, made directly by the artist’s hand, and cannot be replicated exactly, however good the printmaker.

It is this uniqueness which gives original art its sense of authenticity and emotional value, with its owners often feeling a personal connection to the artist and the creative process which cannot be replicated with a mass-produced print.  Owning an original artwork, even at a modest price, can feel meaningful because it represents direct support for an artist’s practice.

That is not to denigrate good quality prints (as opposed to mass-produced ones generally found on the High Street).  They can be ideal for those wanting to enjoy the decorative side of art without making a large financial commitment.  But for those who value originality and a personal connection to the artist, an original work will always be preferable.

Three times a year at Keys, we mount our Fine Sales, which include a pictures section where works regularly sell for thousands of pounds.  But alongside that rarefied auction, we also run a monthly Antiques, Pictures and Collectibles Sale where hundreds of lovely original paintings find buyers at very affordable prices – in many cases for less than a framed print would cost on the High Street.

Within those many lots is a huge variety of styles and genres, from gentle watercolour landscapes to vibrant oil still lifes, portraiture to abstract, from artists going as far back as the 17^th century right through to painters who are still very much active today.

Modern art in particular is having a moment in the saleroom, with a new cohort of buyers, many of them from a younger generation, seeking works that are sometimes as challenging as they are aesthetically pleasing.  Our separate Modern Art and Design Sales, which take place twice a year, are an equally good place to find these kinds of artworks.

164 original paintings went under the hammer in Keys’ Monthly Antiques, Pictures and Collectibles Sale in January, with many of them selling for very affordable prices. The next such sale is on Saturday 21^st February.