The business of art is..er..um..business

While on the subject of Larry Gagosian here are some quotes taken from his recent presentation as inaugural speaker at The Business of Art a joint venture between Wharton and the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)

"Art is not tradable, like an asset. You shouldn't acquire it to add to a diverse portfolio. There is intrinsic value in art. It should be easier for you to buy it than to sell it. The key is simply accumulating it.

"Classic business models could never work you have to be counter-intuitive Picasso has held up [as an investment] better than Chevrolet.

"An old German art dealer once said that because of the temperaments in the art world, rarely is a work of art sold before 10 a.m. in the morning. And that's fine with me.

"I am a dealer who collects, yes, but I don't have a collector's mentality. I'm not a real collector. And what I do collect is not for sale.

“It's better to buy and keep art over time and let the artistic asset slowly increase in value. Don't buy somebody else's taste. Art is not meant as an 'asset class.' It can become an asset, but that happens more by accident."
Source article published: November 01, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton