20th Century British Art – How to start your art collection

After a coffee and a look through our painting selection a friend asked me recently “So, how do you start collecting 20th Century British Art?” Surely you just start by buying a painting you like?

On reflection maybe he had a point, not everyone spends hours obsessively researching and reading British Artists from 1900 onwards like a Mastermind chosen subject!!

So how would we suggest you start your 20th Century British Art Collection?

Here are some pointers to get you going. Remember you are not going to like everything you see, but eventually something will click, and you should find something that you just love.

Looking for Modern Art locally (Good local artists, and good local venues)

Try a local museum or local authority art gallery to see if they are showing landscape paintings, scenes, or famous people. While you are out and about, pop into a couple of art galleries, have a look around and ask a couple of questions.

Online Search - 20th Century British Artists

Try a little light sofa research one evening for Modern British Art online. This will build up your knowledge of the styles and types of painters & artists. It will also introduce you to the world of Modern British Oil Paintings, Watercolours, Acrylics, Drawings, Gouache, Lithographs or even woodcut prints. (Hey, what about us Pastels & Charcoal??). You may find that you like an artist who has a heavy Impasto (thick) painting style or another who is lighter and has a dry brush style. This can be an gentler way to inform yourself and train and tune your eye.

Alternatively, as you scroll through other social media, instagram etc, you may see something you like. Flag that and find out who the artist is. Then you can follow up with other searches. Art is all around you, don’t be intimidated, art is very personal and we all like different styles. That is what makes it so much fun.

Findings good books on Modern British Paintings and Artists

A little admission here, 95% of the books we buy on art are second hand. Books give you a very fast overview of many artists in one place, but they don’t give you the 127,000,000 options that Google does. That is a benefit, so try comparing just 6 or 7 artists and ask yourself why they stand out or why they have been chosen for the book in hand.

Read a little about the artists backgrounds, training, and influences, as this may explain their style and motivation. You may find a connection and interest in an artist or two; this can help narrow your search a little.

Try a ‘Top Ten’ approach (Popular and not so well known 20th Century British Art and Artists)

Look up paintings by Dorothea Sharp, Eric Ravilious, Sir Terry Frost, Ben Nicholson, Sheila Fell, Vanessa Bell, Walter Sickert, Sir Kyffin Williams, Frank Auerbach or L S Lowry for fine examples of top British Artists.

Some of our other favourites are Julian Trevelyan, William Gear, Paul Lucien Maze, James Isherwood, Clifford Fishwick, Mary Stork, Bridget Riley, and you will see these pass through our gallery.

There are also some wonderful up and coming artists, you could check out the Royal Academy of Art’s website for some examples (www.royalacademy.org.uk) or New English Art Club (www.newenglishartclub.co.uk). Don’t get too caught up in art terminology or whether the artist you like is a British ‘post-impressionist’ influenced artist or more European expressionism. Just enjoy the differences, and find an artist’s work you like. Find a few art galleries that specialise in their work and keep looking until you find something that you might like to go and see in person.

You have researched 20th Century British Art and you are ready to buy! (Great news, now…How to buy?)

Buying at auction

You could buy at auction if you have the time and have found a great piece of art. But a slight word of caution here, you must view it… we repeat, you must view it!! Most auction houses are there to sell that painting first and foremost, they are unlikely to critique or research it. You can ask for a condition report but what you find acceptable may differ from the auctioneers.

Online auction photos can be very misleading or very accurate and anything in-between. Varnish finishes, cracks, scratches, holes and frame condition can all be difficult to see or judge. We have seen great photos of paintings that have been terrible in the flesh and dreadful photos of delightful paintings.

Going to view a painting which is 4 hours from home is time consuming and expensive, but if you like the idea of buying at auction, give it a go with a ‘starter’ painting. Remember a painting at £1,000 hammer price is going to cost you about £1350 when you walk out of the auctioneers after commissions and VAT. When you get it home it may need a professional clean which can range from £150 to many £1,000’s and if you need a new frame that might cost anything from £125 to £1,000 depending on what you want. Your £1,000 painting just cost you £1,500!

Buying from an art dealer

OK, we are a bit biased! Most dealers will have spent a long time learning their skills of recognition and understanding. All dealers will have a house style or tendency towards artists they like. This is a good thing as it saves you lots of time looking for your next piece of art.

You may be looking at a single oil painting in their gallery or on their website, but they have rejected hundreds of paintings to offer you that single piece. Dealers’ art will often be more expensive than at auction but will be clean, restored (if needed), framed correctly in most cases, and ready to hang.

We recently drove 3 hours to a fellow art gallery to look at a charcoal & pastel drawing. We were kindly invited in to look at “the others” that were tucked in the back. A mind-blowing collection in a packed and friendly gallery, owned by another truly passionate collector, a glorious afternoon snooping about!

Whilst a gallery owner needs to make a profit to survive and pay the bills, they may be open to offers on certain pieces or multiple purchases. Remember you cannot negotiate in an auction.

Relationships may take time to build with a Modern British Art gallery or dealer but if you are fair, you should be rewarded and you may get that phone call or email about a newly acquired modern British painting that has just come in, and that is priceless.

So in summary, look around you, enjoy the process, and see what appeals to you. Then talk to some Modern and 20th Century British Art Galleries and Dealers, half the fun is the engagement, for you and for us.

If you are interested, we are available by appointment, so come, have a coffee and a chat at our Home Gallery in the Cotswolds, with no obligation.