When you’re rich (and famous) what better to invest your hard earned money in other than art? Yes buying art that we can only dream about is a luxury that comes with the celebrity lifestyle. And while the celeb industry boasts quite a number of art connoisseur’s we’ve managed to narrow down the list to our favourite five.
JayZ: With a rumoured art collection worth $30m, JayZ’s love affair with the art world has been a long term one in which the rapper has firmly established himself as a major collector. His latest purchase? A $4.5m painting by one of his favourite artists – Basquiat.
Steven Spielberg: As passionate about film making as he is about art, Spielberg credits the artist Norman Rockwell as a major influence in his work. Naturally he has a staggering collection of Rockwell pieces and along with fellow film maker and friend George Lucas, Spielberg exhibited his Rockwell collection at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie: While both Brad and Angelina are frequent visitors of art fairs, it’s said that Mr Pitt is more of the collector amongst the pair. Artist Neo Ranch as well as pieces from Bambi and Banksy can be found in this super couples collection.
David Bowie: Fully immersed in the art world, Bowie attended art school and credits art as being a “stable nourishment” in his life. The rocker started collecting art from an early age and he runs his own online art gallery. Bowie’s collection consists of pieces from Tintoretto and Ruben, as well as contemporary artists such as Frank Auerbach and Graham Sutherland.
Steve Martin: A self confessed lover of modern art, collecting art is Martin’s “biggest hobby“. In 2001 the comedian opened up his collection to the general public at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. An unfortunate victim of art forgery in 2004, artists including James Gale Tyler, Robert Crumb and April Gornik can be found in Martin’s collection. “Great paintings,” says Steve Martin, “live on because they’re not quite explicable.”
Want to join the a-list celebs in buying art? Well firstly, here’s the good news you don’t have to be multi-millionaire. But you must adhere to these two important tips.
1. Before you invest in any piece of art you must first have an idea of your taste
2. Set a budget.
It’s important you visit as many art galleries as possible both online and offline. Online gallery saatchiart.com is a great place to start your research. Once you have an idea of what you like and how much you’ll need realistically to get started, then your journey into the art world can begin.
