Young Collectors May Follow the Market But The Rubells Are Confident Artists Will Win Them Over

In honor of ArtBasel, NPR does the now-obligatory story on how new collectors only think in terms of market value. But the funny thing about the piece is the unflappable confidence Don Rubell displays that these same collectors will someday become too attached to their art to sell.

First, here’s the evidence that all young collectors are flippers (you’ll have to listen to the story on the player below or click through and read to the end for Rubell’s insouciance:

Thirty-five-year-old Nilani Trent is one such collector. To her, knowing the value of the art you’re buying is just smart investing. She says, “I think any time you are spending the amount of money that collectors are spending nowadays, it’s very important to be aware of the market for individual artists.”

Trent is also an art adviser based in New York. She says she used to take clients on tours of galleries, hoping they’d fall in love with an artist’s work; now she’s more likely to meet up with them at events like Art Basel, where buzz matters. And that’s changing the conversations she’s having with younger clients.

“I think instead of talking about the aesthetics of a specific work, we really talk about the market,” she says. “And I think for someone that doesn’t have a high level of connoisseurship, but is probably pretty savvy on finance and wealth, talking about the market is a very obvious go-to.”

For Many Art Dealers, ‘Selling’ Is A Dirty Word (But Not For Young Collectors)  (NPR)