Große Kunst für kleines Geld: Eine Anleitung

by Erling Kagge

Today's art market is incredibly dynamic.
There are so many compelling works, shows,
and exhibitions to choose from and new
galleries are opening all the time. Because
there is so much to discover and see, many
people are getting interested in collecting
art. But since it's impossible to keep track
of all developments, becoming an art collector
is not easy.
A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying Great Art
provides relief and offers sound advice to
those who want to buy art but don't know
how or where to do it. They might have
preferences in terms of styles or techniques,
but they're not familiar with how the buying
process works. Perhaps they already
have specific pieces in mind but don't yet
trust the rules of the art market --if such
rules actually exist. What does someone
actually need to know to prevent their personal
tastes from leading them to make the
wrong investment decisions?
On his way to becoming a passionate
art collector himself, Norwegian adventurer
Erling Kagge had to learn these ropes
and answer this exact question. His years
as a mountain climber and visitor to both
poles undoubtedly helped him to explore
and assess the extremes of the art market.
Thankfully for us, his experience also
gave him the desire and skills to impart
his knowledge to others in A Poor Collector's
Guide to Buying Great Art.
This book illuminates all aspects of
becoming an expert at buying art that one
will enjoy for many years, such as how to
get started, how to take one's tastes seriously,
how to do a targeted search for pieces,
how to learn to appraise prices, and how to
find trustworthy partners. Kagge's practical
yet entertaining step-by-step guidance also
includes ways to identify and avoid pitfalls
and deceptive temptations. As an extreme
athlete, he knows very well how to follow
rules yet trust his instinct where it counts.
This know-how has benefitted Kagge on
the art market and now it will benefit all
readers of A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying
Great Art, too.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Erling Kagge is a Norwegian explorer, lawyer, art collector, entrepreneur, politician, author and publisher.

Reviews

[DinosaurSr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the most ridiculous and misleading title I've ever encountered.

The first page contains the sentence:

"I paid $50,000 for my first major work, Surfing Nurse, by-yes Richard Prince, which I discovered together with the gallerist Atle Gerhardsen in a New York Gallery shortly after my trip to the Astrup Fearnley Museum."

... in a book titled "A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying Great Art"? The lack of self awareness, that someone could actually claim be "poor" whist having a spare $50,000 to spend on a single piece of art is completely beyond me. Does the author perhaps mean poor as in "poor taste"?

I feel really bad for all the genuinely poor people (art students, young families, recent graduates) who bought this book hoping for a guide on how to decorate their homes and support local artists whilst living within their means, only to find they'd been conned by a grossly misleading title.

[Thomas Vos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please stop calling yourself poor.

[Ola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirerande eventyr av ei bok. Kagge er hermed ein av mine favorittar i kunstverda. Hans liv som eventyrar gjennomsyrer boka og fortellerstemma hans gjer meg lyst til å klatre Mount Everest OG bruke opp alle sparepengane mine på eit kunstverk eg har drøymd om sidan eg var liten. Imponerande. Eg har fått enda meir respekt for Kagge som forlag!

[Kelly P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I agree with the other reviews, which I clearly should have read before I purchased this book. This book should be called” the millionaires guide to collecting great art”.

My favourite part was when he said “I found out flying coach instead of business class saved me enough to buy another Pettibon” .....and then went on about staying at a cheap hotel which was likely the Ritz. Or bragged about having a bottle of great Pauillac which goes for on average $700. I don’t begrudge how wealth, I just find it deplorable that they deceive the average public into buying this book by stating it’s for the “poor collector”,

To sum the book up - buy what you like (earth-shattering) and get to know the owners of galleries....but to get to know them, you essentially have to purchase several pieces from them and then Maybe they will let you buy something great one day.

The only good part in the book are the art pics.

[Samy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unsure whether to give 1 or 2 stars. But I do love the orange coloured cover (probably a big reason why I bought it) and it has beautiful pictures of artworks inside.

As to the guiding this book offers, one should be aware that poor = top 10% and is frequently compared to top 0.01%. And if you’re looking for practical advice on what to look for when buying great art, well then you won’t find it here.

What you will get is a high level insight into how the top of the art market works, and how Kagge has gone about building his (top 10%) collection. Oh, and you’ll also repeatedly get name drops of all the artists he’s purchased from, and a tone of voice which for me sounds like his Ego is trying to explain why he’s a good person even though he doesn’t buy art like the 0.01%.

[Artem Gordin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing book and a good glimpse into the thinking of a successful non-billionaire (hence "poor") art collector. Also a great ploy to further popularize the artists and pieces Kagge owns, making them more expensive.

[Ilya Inozemtsev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Краткий и красивый ликбез по созданию собственной коллекции. Благодаря книге осознал, что моя коллекция вполне даже неплоха, и есть смысл ее только расширять. Иллюстрации произведений больших художников в интерьере помогают вдохновляться.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bah. Misleading, as there is nothing "poor" about this writer, the prices of the art he chooses, nor the methods he lays out. Maybe for people who think six figure salaries = poor.

[Miguel Peres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of Erling Kagge’s realistic approach to these subjects, such as the importance of Silence or Walking. So, naturally, I was eager to read this book. In general, I was pleased to learn so much about how the art market works. Erling Kagge has an unpretentious language with which the common reader can relate to. The structure of the book is a good example of how a guide can be. Moreover, it’s an open window to know a lot of contemporary artists that you may already know (I certainly got the feeling I’ve got a lot of catching up to do). The design it’s awesome and it’s a great coffee table book. As you are reading, you get a genuine feeling to just rush to your local gallery and buy an artistic piece from an emergent artist. However, the only thing that wasn’t so realistic was the definition of “poor”, at least in my country: the author talks about 5000€ as a good starting point to be a collector. For most of us, readers who dig into the art world, but don’t have this kind of money to bet on contemporary art, it’s mostly frustrating to realize this. That’s the biggest gap when you finish the book: the realization that you’re probably an art enthusiastic and not a collector. To reach that level, it takes a big risk and possibly a debt you don’t want to have.

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to dislike this book. I found Kagge arrogant, sometimes vulgar, and his tips are mostly for the few lucky who earn an exceptional amount of money. Still I read it in almost one go and had a great time! Kagge’s anecdotes are entertaining, and I’m getting a very bite sized glimpse into a world I’m interested in but know nothing about.

Oh, and for you other reviewers. Don’t take the word “poor” too seriously, it’s obviously one one hand a nod to another book, and on the other, I read it more like “poor me, I’m addicted to buying art!”.

The book is also very good looking, good quality print and I love all the photographs.

Minus for not digging further into tips for truly poor collectors, good art schools, what to look for, etc.

[Tommy]

spoiler alert: "poor collector" does not equal poor or even typical human. while I knew it would be pretty unrelatable, I still didn't get as much out of it as I thought I might.

[Serhat · Rating 2 out of 5]

kendisi de koleksiyoncu olan yazarın, elindeki eserleri satın alma sürecinde edindiği tecrübelerden ve gözlemlerden oluşturduğu bir rehber kitap ortaya çıkmış. derinliği olan veya bilgelik içeren tavsiyeler yerine tamamen pragmatik şekilde hazırlanmış, bununla bağlantılı olarak da sanat eserlerini ucuza edinmek için direkt aksiyonlar belirtilmiş.

hangi eserleri satın almanız gerektiğine dair fikirlerini paylaşmak yerine, bunun kendi tercihiniz olmasını tavsiye ediyor. bu tercihi doğru şekilde yapmak için sanatla içli dışlı olmak gerekir. bu alanda entelektüel bilgi seviyeniz yeterli değilse yanlış yatırımlar yapmanız muhtemel. iyi bir network kurmanın da sanırım en anlamlı olduğu sektörlerden birisi. sanatçılarla veya galericilerle iyi ilişkilerin ve tanışıklıkların erken satın alma imkanı sağlayacağı da tavsiyelerden birisi, hatta iskonto oranını bile artırılabilir.

[Aysha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is more of a coffee table book than actual applicable advice to buying art,the authors advice is very vague and contradictory for example “follow your instincts when buying art” or “try to earn more money to buy more art” which doesn’t really help the reader. Another thing is that the title is misleading as he bought his first work for 50,000 dollars which is not considered in the poor persons bracket of financial capabilities. In a general sense the book offered very minimal insight into the art buying world.

An Interesting point I’ve thought about is how subjective art is and how close marketing is related to the value of art

[Martin Micek · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a short book and many pages are filled with pictures from author collection which is obviously great because he is writing about his way of collecting.
I read some books on this subject and i have very limited experience myself but i enjoyed the part i already knew the same as the parts i was in dark before.
I appreciate the attitude that art should be collected for art and not profit and how sometimes crazy and shady art world is.
Nice book (content and form)

[David Simoes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went in without any prior knowledge of the art world. I came out enriched with (what appears to be, at least) valuable insider knowledge that an aspiring, poor, art collector should be able to leverage in order to build an interesting art collection. Overall, a great read with a lot of insightful, funny bits. It's also a quick read due to the large proportion of art pictures in it. The book itself (hardcover) is also quite gorgeous.

[Hansel5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Not sure where I found the title, but I got as an inter-library loan.

I enjoyed reading it. Although Kagge's income is much higher than the average person, his advice is on the mark and relatable. Most of the advice is based on common sense and ethical behavior, like being courteous and considerate and supportive to artists and gallerists you are interested in. I am glad I stumbled upon it.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully printed and a pleasure to hold.

That being said, his poor and my poor are living in different neighborhoods - even on different planets.

This book wasn’t so much a guide as it was about name throwing and proud bragging, with some pettiness thrown in to keep things spicy.

I learned nothing new or interesting.

[Tom Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best thing about the book is the great bold orange cover. Good coffee table book but poor read. I was interested to learn more about how to buy art on a budget / affordably but the author only discusses the high end of the market and the tips don’t seem to be applicable to a lower budget and/or total beginner. Disappointing.

[Sevim Tezel Aydın · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erling Kagge Norveçli bir koleksiyoner. Bu kitapta tecrübelerinden yola çıkarak bir sanat eseri alırken, bir koleksiyon oluştururken dikkat edilmesi gerekenleri anlatmış. Esasen aşağı yukarı hepimizin bildiği hususları sıralamış, ancak anlatımı, üslubu hoşuma gitti, eğlenerek okudum. Ve başlığın aksine, az parayla bu işlerin olmayacağını bir kez daha anladım:)) En azından benim anladığım "az" ile...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

На таких коллекциях невозможно разориться, так как они все равно доступны только богатым 🤣 так что книга не отвечает своему названию. Но интересна, если любопытно узнать чуть побольше о современном искусстве, если у вас есть уже базовое понимание о предмете.

[Kirill Protasenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Эпоха экономики потребительского опыта.
Психологическая прибыль как удовольствие обладания. И счастье поиска.
Без ожидания выгоды от коллекционирования.
Провенанс и золотой возраст художника. Аукционы и спекуляции. Фанатизм.

[Annan Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

That a great advice

[Max Chaps · Rating 4 out of 5]

although “poor” might not very accurately define Kagge’s financial situation, the points the author makes throughout the book still stand and serve as good baselines for starting your own collection.

[Thegirlintheafternoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

the guy seems a bit insufferable but God this was fun

[Carlos C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent book on the basic concepts of art collecting.
dynamics are explained although it does not constitute a "poor collector's guide" as most examples are taken from Mr Kagge's expensive purchases.
his views are enriching and his collection a must see.