Who Can Make Money on Investing in Paintings and How Much?
Investing in art today is not only fashionable, but also profitable. The average return of investment for the market ranges from 50% to 100% per annum, and in some cases it even surpasses 500%. Individuals are currently buying more paintings than large companies or banks. Among the current owners there are plenty of people who are inherently not into art. But they had seen the financial benefits of this type of investment and have been successful in it.
Investments in art objects by famous artists are by far the most stable, liquid, and safe, however, it requires considerable capital. A work by an unknown artist on the other hand is a different matter.
Avant-garde art price increase
- "Lovers". The painting by avant-garde artist Marc Chagall (1928) was sold for $28 million, although the estimate was $12 million.
- "Flowers". The painting by "avant-garde Amazon" Natalia Goncharova (c. 1912) was sold for $10.88 million, although the preliminary estimate was up to $5 million.
- "Jubilee". Another painting by Marc Chagall was sold for $14.85 million, although it was expected to bring $6 million.
Socialist Realism art price increase
In the early 90s, socialist realism paintings could be purchased for ridiculous money - around $5,000. Prices began to rise with the onset of the economic boom in Russia due to increase in oil production and sales. Nowadays these paintings could be worth several million dollars each.
What is Socialist Realism and Avant-Garde?
Socialist realism is an artistic method of art that was popular in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries that represents an aesthetic expression of the socialistically conscious concept of the world and man, conditioned by the era of struggle for the creation and establishment of a socialist society. The depiction of life ideals under socialism determines both the content and the basic artistic and structural principles of art.
Socialist Realism emerged in the 1930s and was recognized as an official term in 1934. As a great style, it will live until the end of the Soviet Union, and eventually outlive it.
Socialist realism has a hierarchy of painting genres. At its top is a pictorial story with well-placed accents. The plot has to do with current times, and if not with modernity, then with the situations of the past that promise this wonderful modernity.
Avant-garde is a generalized name for trends in the world, and primarily in European art, which arose at the turn of the 19th century. Born by the spiritual atmosphere of the 20th century, it illustrates the contradictions between different systems and techniques of composition, as well as the struggle of worldviews. It reflected mainly in the tendency to oust traditional themes, subjects and principles of composition, hypertrophy of convention, powerful expressiveness. It is also characterized by the destruction of objectively determined boundaries between species and genres. Kazimir Malevich was a world "icon" of the avant-garde.
Investing in Socialist Realism and Avant-Garde Art
In terms of style, the previous art movements - from academism to impressionism and modernism - had a great and diverse influence on the Soviet art. The degree of presence of a movement in the works of Soviet artists affects their price.
Buying socialist realism and avant-garde paintings makes for a long-term investment, and you will not benefit from it before 5-10 years pass. But there is no doubt that this is the most aesthetic investment.
The final price of a painting is determined more by the artist's biography and merits than by its quality. This includes the education they received and the place they received it from, where they held their exhibitions, and other factors.
So far, none of the paintings in the genre of socialist realism have been sold for more than $5 million. But the demand for them is expected to grow in the next 10-20 years.
Investing in art is a very delicate and difficult job but it is also rewarding, and generating astounding profits.
