Antique Collectors as Canaries – Welcome to the Coal Mine

In the world of business, from my tiny perch as a communications consultant, nothing surprises me any more. In the world of antiques, from my tiny perch as a collector and sometime dealer, nothing surprises me anymore.

If you have a job that you go to every day and have the luxury of knowing that scenario is going to continue for the foreseeable future. Count yourself lucky. You’re one of the fortunate ones. You have some occupational certainty in your life.

It seems to me, antique collectors, not to mention communication consultants, are like the canary in the coal mine. The first subtle frisson of gas in a mine and the canary does a swan dive to the bottom of the cage. 

OK it's not a canary but the closest I had in the photo archive!

Collectors like to collect. Passionately. And I don’t care what you collect. If you’re passionate, hooked, you’re going to act on that passion, poor economy or not.   

But a key point here is the degree to which collectors continue to collect and at what cost?  Should you spend that $10,000 on a very good cupboard? Pull the trigger on that $4,000 folk art painting? Is the time right for that $2,500 top-notch bucket stand? How about shelling out $3,000 for a stellar piece of decorated stoneware? Or, does one keep the money liquid in a cashable GIC – even if it’s earning next to nothing in interest? Some collectors will buy. Some will not.  There are lots of good things to collect for less than $1,000 – maybe that’s where everyone has gone to play.

A point to make here is that collectors like a good deal as much as the next person. Once armed with knowledge and experience, collectors put their noses to the ground and start searching for antiques and collectables – especially ones that can be had for a bargain or for prices at below market value. The majority of collectors also dabble on the sell side of the market and making a tidy profit on a flea market find is a bonus that can occur frequently.  Again, in this economy, for most of us extra dollars are welcome.

I think it’s obvious that there aren’t as many collectors now as they’re used to be. Maybe the new collectors are all off searching for and collecting “mid century modern” items, advertising and nostalgia or whatever, thus leaving the country furniture domain populated mostly with dotty seniors, including myself, wandering about their houses noting inventories on their smart phones facing the uncomfortable prospect of what to do with these prized collections in their declining years. 

Of course if you’re sitting on heaps of money, enough to make you and your family financially secure, then all these points and counter points I’m making are irrelevant. Those with bags of moola are free to indulge in their collecting passion without constraint.  Still, folks with the deepest pockets are often the ones that don’t like taking a loss, ever. And, they also like a bargain as much as anyone.

However, if you are on a budget, like most of us, you’re going to face the balancing act - to buy or not to buy. Not surprisingly even in the face of uncertainty, collectors will often opt to purchase. The urge to own a particular piece is often too strong to ignore and damn the consequences.

Leaving the economy and financial circumstances aside, collectors desire objects that have character, colour, uniqueness, rarity, strong graphics, visual appeal, good design, form, age and provenance, none of that should surprise anyone. It’s what we all look for in antiques. Good things sell. Very good things sell quickly. And excellent things sell instantly. It’s the price at which they sell that is the moving target.

Of course when objects that meet that criteria, in whatever category, appear on the market they usually sell. What that leaves behind is the inferior objects and lots of them. There is more and more of the below average on the market. Those are objects that prove difficult to sell especially in a sluggish economy. So, there they sit taking up space in shops, stores, flea markets and anywhere else where marginal antiques and collectables are stored, frustrating the advanced collector and confusing the beginner. Heck, in this market even pretty good items languish in the shops and booths of the dealers.

Where is this all going to end? I certainly don’t know. I like most collectors, continue to pursue the hunt, spending what available dollars I have on antiques and folk art.  The thrill of the hunt, the discovery and the acquisition is the equation I love to solve, over and over again. 

The economy may be doubtful. Harsh events may be just around the corner. I don’t want to think about things at that level. I can’t do anything about it.  What I can do is enjoy the simple yet exciting pleasure of discovering more of this great country’s material history and adding these items to a small collection which brings joy and satisfaction on a daily basis.

Perhaps in preserving items of the past, I am doing some good at a minute level. That’s the philosophy I am going with and I think it’s a pretty solid one given all the other nonsense that’s happening around us.

Further, at the risk of extending this notion too far, I’d suggest that if we all spent more time studying and enjoying art and antiquities that our world would be a better, saner, more peaceful place in which to live. Not that that's going to happen, regrettably, any time soon.

Vision, Quality, Fads and the Frivolous

When I first started to collect country items (furniture, decorated stoneware, traditional folk art and early nostalgia) were pretty much the only games in town.  Certainly formal antiques were a factor too but they were considerably up market, at least it seems to me now, from country furniture and the related accessories I collect.

Today, in addition to the above collecting categories, we have: imports from seemingly everywhere, industrial, mid century, 50’s style, deco, teak, contemporary folk art, shabby chic, country style, mission, arts & craft, art nouveau and likely a bunch more collecting categories that I can’t think of at the moment.

It’s perhaps human nature that we continue to be preoccupied about the design of the environments in which we live and work and want to find new ways to incorporate special objects into our lives and have them close to us. Further, we put a monetary value on such items and in a free enterprise society, many people build businesses on the basis of buying and selling these objects. 

  

"AltamiraBison" by Rameessos - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AltamiraBison.jpg#/media/File:AltamiraBison.jpg

 If an object or work of art has true quality in its design and form, it will stand the test of time and be recognized as such. However, this isn’t a transition that happens in isolation. It’s a big, messy, often confusing collecting world out there and if you’re in the middle of it, actively participating as a collector or dealer, you’re going to witness the comings and goings of trends, be it a the local antique mall, auctions, flea markets or in the booth next to you at an antique show.

On occasion, it takes a visionary to recognize quality and to take action which is quite often the start of a trend toward collecting a specific set of objects or work by a certain artist or artists.

Edith Halpert (1900 - 1970) was ridiculed when she opened a gallery where she included modern art downstairs, traditional folk art upstairs and counted among her early and longstanding supporters, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller who Halpert assisted in building an impressive collection of folk art. Not only were her folk art offerings deemed unworthy by the majority of collectors but geographically she opened her gallery in a decidedly non-gallery area of New York City – SoHo - the short form of the phrase South of Houston Street. 

  

In their time, the great American industrialist collectors Mellon, Flick, Havemeyer felt the only important thing to collect were the “old masters”. It took visionaries like Gertrude Stein and more importantly her brother, Leo Stein, to recognize and promote the artistic genius of Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse and others. But even they avoided artists, George Braque among them, who went on to acclaim.

Shaker furniture and accessories are among the most sought after antiques in the USA, yet there was no interest in them until 1923 when Edward and Faith Andrews began to document and collect the furniture and accessories of this dwindling utopian sect.  The Shakers designed and constructed some of the most beautiful furniture and accessories ever made by human hands.

"Hannah Cohoon, Tree of Life or Blazing Tree, 1845" by Hannah Cohoon - made in 1845 - http://www.afanews.com/articles/item/1641-a-cutwork-tree-of-life-in-the-manner-of-hannah-cohoon#.Uy8LfIXJH4A. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hannah_Cohoon,_Tree_of_Life_or_Blazing_Tree,_1845.jpg#/media/File:Hannah_Cohoon,_Tree_of_Life_or_Blazing_Tree,_1845.jpg

In the 1940’s, the Second World War drove many notable artists out of Paris to the United States thereby effectively transferring the centre of the art world from the “city of light” to the “city that never sleeps”.  Arguably, it has remained there ever since.

When art critic Clement Greenberg (1909 - 1994) coined the phrase “abstract expressionism”, he was describing the work of Jackson Pollack and his contemporaries who rose to prominence in the mid 1940’s and 50’s.

They continued on with much notoriety with the help of art promoter Peggy Guggenheim until the early 1960’s when a strangely wigged commercial artist from Pittsburg, Andy Warhola, his name later shortened by a publishing error to Warhol, began silk screening repeated images of modern cultural items and famous individuals onto canvas and a new movement, Pop Art, began.

Warhol knew, perhaps better than any other artist or gallery owner, the importance of promoting his own work. And he did so with great gusto.

Art has an advantage over antiques in that, as a medium, it is perhaps more broadly accepted albeit not necessarily understood by the public at large. This is do in part to the mass media, who respond to the perennial hype of international auction houses by regularly reporting on the sale of the next Van Gogh or Picasso or similar iconic painting for multi millions of dollars.

Rare is the individual who recognizes the genuine new movement at the time of its creation. In your collecting career, you may not be that individual and that’s fine. What you can be however is a collector who understands as best you can why certain antiques and art are so desirable in whatever category you choose to collect. Avoid fads and the frivolous. Train yourself to recognize quality and be prepared to pay for it. You won’t regret it – ever.

Starting from Scratch - Building The Successful Folk Art Collection

When I started this blog, I jumped in with posts based on themes that occurred to me at the time. It wasn't exactly a strategic approach!  Now, some 22 posts later, I was thinking that perhaps it might be a good idea to go back to the basics.
I thought to devote this post to a closer look at some of the considerations involved in actually starting and expanding a folk art collection. (I'm assuming of course if you're reading this blog that you actually want to start a collection.)
First of all let's quickly table a definition of folk art so that we are all reasonably clear about what it is we're discussing. Here's a definition from the Chicago Art Institute as contained in a most impressive book titled: For Kith and Kin, The Folk Art Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (Published by The Institute and Yale University Press, 2012, Judith A. Barter and Monica Obniski).
"Usually  from the vernacular and rural traditions, folk art at its best implies work produced by those with a singular vision, often highly skilled craftsmen, perhaps unsophisticated by academic standards, but with a sense of composition, decoration and design that is superb."

Hooked Rug by Aurore Benoit c. 1965

Define Success
What is the definition of a successful folk art collection? Well, that depends on the objectives of the collector. If your objective is to search out and acquire a limited number of Canadian folk art items but of the highest quality, you might accomplish that objective with as little as half a dozen to ten pieces.  And, it might take you several years to find those items.
In my consulting business, especially with longer term projects, I make a habit of sitting down with a client to review our "success" every few months. I want to know that they feel that the work has been successful.  This keeps both of us on track and their is no misunderstanding, over time, about what constitutes progress and success.  As a collector, you should review your items and collection over time. Make sure that you are fulfilling the original objectives you set for yourself.
Making Choices
Folk art is created in a variety of mediums such as paintings, drawings, sculpture and textiles. Early on you might decide to focus on a particular medium like textiles or paintings.  Or, as most collectors do, you might decide to include all of those mediums in your search.  Collecting across the board, so to speak, expands the potential for possible discoveries but it also increases the frequency of the "finds" which can be difficult on your cheque book and on your available display space.
Setting parameters on your collection helps define and clarify your search.  With guidelines in place, you can confidently sift through and dismiss literally mountains of material because it all falls outside your area of collecting. And, believe me, there is an Everest like volume of material out there! There is something quite liberating about strolling through an antique store or a market and confidently rejecting everything therein. That's not to say, many of the objects are of inferior quality. They are. They simply don't meet your collecting criteria.
You may, as many collectors do, succumb to the temptation of adding more examples of a particular type of folk art to the collection, needle point samplers, for example.  As a result, you may arrive at a point where you have a "collection within the collection". There's nothing wrong with that as long as you realize the shift in direction. Or, you may decide that vintage samplers are going to be the heart and soul of your collection from there on in. That's fine too. Just make sure it's a conscious decision and not something that just happens.
Enduring long periods of time in between acquisitions is a difficult for a collector. Often that's the reason for an acquisition of a second or third or fourth item in a category. You can't find that carving from Quebec but you do find a terrific painting and you opt to buy that instead.

By John William Waterhouse c. 1900

I recall a story from a few years ago about a Canadian collector who focused on Pre-Raphaelite drawings.  (The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of British artists who objected to the art of their time,1848, and banded together in an effort to advance their type of painting which they felt was more sincere.) Not surprisingly, oil paintings from that same period were beyond this collectors' budget, hence the concentration on drawings which were somewhat less desirable and more affordable. He also knew, and this rule is so true, that a drawing by a great artist is most often still a great work.  It may lack colour, it may be small in size but it is still by the same hand, by the same artist. Some of his finds were truly spectacular. Over time, he put together one of the most impressive collections in the world and I am sure he thoroughly enjoyed doing so. The collection as a whole was unique. That's the beauty of "focused collecting". Because you are so targeted in your search, you can take it deeper and deeper and find objects, sometimes, that no one even knew existed; objects that had been forgotten, neglected, buried in the back of a store or a flea market. Now that's when collecting is at its spine-tingling best! When he was finished, this collector donated the bulk of his collection to the National Gallery of Canada who, I am sure, were more than happy to receive it. So, not only did he have the joy and the satisfaction of building his collection, now he knows that it will remain together in a safe place where the public, researchers and scholars can have access to it in perpetuity. And, his name will always be associated with it. That's a pretty nice way to wrap up a collecting career. I relate this story because it is a perfect example of a collector that was sharply focused and never wavered.* 

Detail from folk art painting. c. 1960

Budget
Let's briefly touch on budget. Like most collectors, I never identified a budget or specific amounts to spend on antiques and folk art. When I bought an affordable item, I simply found the required amount in our account to make the purchase. An alternative would have been to set aside a specific amount of money from each salary cheque and tag it for antiques and folk art purchases. So, with that arrangement in place, I could have bought items on a monthly basis or held off for several months and made a larger purchase.  Taking the time to understand what it is you want in your collection and the criteria that defines quality in those items brings some discipline and important background research to your collecting. Putting some time between purchases heightens the enjoyment of the acquisition when it does occur. It's easy to talk about budgeting but very difficult for some of us to put it into action. For the majority of collectors, all thoughts about budget, restraint and fiscal prudence can go out the window when they find is a unique item that would be perfect for the collection.
Physical Space
Display space is not a factor when you begin to collect but it can become an issue fairly quickly. Most collectors I know fall into two groups. One group is careful about the way they display their collection, always making sure that they don't overdo it. Their antiques and folk art items are given pride of place and displayed in a well thought out manner. The other group is not overly concerned about the display only about discovery and acquisition. I know many collectors who when they ran out of room in their homes simply started filling barns and sheds on their properties. I know other collectors who rent storage space for their collections.  I've read about American collectors who rent industrial warehouses just to display their collections of modern art. You may have a very small space but that does not mean you can't collect. Recognize the limitation and adjust your search accordingly. Often the best examples of folk art, of any antique for that matter, are the smallest ones! A collection of miniature portraits, for example, takes up very little space on a wall or in a showcase but will give you years of enjoyment searching them out.

Painted relief carving on wood panel. 1995.

Conclusion
As I noted in the introduction, with this blog post I wanted to return to basics in an effort to record what I think are important factors about collecting. I hope these observations and opinions have been helpful.
Hope you find something great this weekend!
Shaun
*(Strictly speaking,Waterhouse was not a pre-Raphaelite artist, rather he painted in that style and did so many years afterwards. However, I thought the above drawing of a young woman was so exquisite, I wanted to use it herein.)

Collecting in the Great White North

So, it seems that much of Ontario, and North America for that matter, is recently part of the Great White North. Temperatures yesterday and today, in the third week in January, in Eastern Ontario have pitched downward to a point where they would easily freeze not only the proverbial privates of a brass monkey but just about every part of his metal anatomy to boot.
This is not a happy time for antique collectors. Other than the occasional indoor auction and winter antique show, the weather is keeping us tamped down and many of the outdoor antique oriented activities - the big field shows, yard sales, country auctions and picking - just aren't available to enthusiasts.  What is an addicted collector to do? I have some suggestions.
The Winter months are a excellent time for research.  It is ideal time to assess the state of your reference library and, if it's like mine, pull it back into good order so that the various printed materials are well organized and easy to find.
Did you receive additional reference books as gifts for Christmas? Take the time to read them carefully. Don't simply flip through the photos and push them onto the shelf.  For example, I was given three antique related books.  
Gather up the Scraps (The Andrews Shaker Collection) by Mario S. De Pillis and  Christian Goodwillie (Yale University Press 2008) is a wonderful book about the Shakers and the essay at the beginning of book was worth the price alone ($25). The author discusses the professional life of Edward Deming Andrews and his wife Faith Andrews, a couple who devoted their lives to preserving the material culture of the Shakers and did so not without controversy.  The Shakers were renowned for their simplicity of design in whatever they built, crafted or manufactured.  They looked on the very act of creating something as simple as a chair or a basket as almost a spiritual undertaking.  It was their duty to God, they felt, to construct an object to the absolute best of their ability.  "Build it like it has to last 1,000 years and as if you will be gone tomorrow", is one of phrases used in the book.

Preserving artifacts means, in this sense, to remove them from their owners place of origin and take them to your premises, an action that did not sit well with their critics. They also, for a time, bought and sold Shaker artifacts; again this is something that their detractors like to emphasize.
Still, no matter how you slice it, the fact remains that this conscientious couple assembled the largest most important collection of Shaker artifacts in existence and also helped to preserve some of their communities. One of the key items they saved for posterity were colourful drawings by the Shakers depicting spiritual themes like the tree of life.  These drawings have become some of the most iconic folk art images in North America.
Of course, the book has many pages of photographs of Shaker furniture, accessories, clothing, hand tools and the like. Simply, reflecting on these images has strengthened my own eye for superlative design.
Since the Shaker's manufactured items for sale to the "outside world", it is quite possible that I will come across one of their beautiful oval storage containers, a firkin or perhaps a basket. Because of this one book, I will hopefully recognize one of their objects if and when I see one.
Research is at the core of successful collecting, be it for folk art, antiques or fine art.  Research arms you with the knowledge that others may not have - including dealers.  When you walk into a antique shop, a flea market an outdoor show, you want to be as knowledgeable or more knowledgeable about a certain area of collecting than the people selling the items that day. To achieve that level, requires research and understanding. Sure, a professional dealer may have handled hundreds if not thousands of the same items that you collect but all of the printed an on line resources are equally available to you. You can browse antique shops, visit galleries and museums. You can also approach private collectors and ask if you can visit to discuss the items you both collect. All of that may not equal the experience and knowledge that comes from handling thousands of items but it will certainly take you a good a long way toward that goal.

One initiative a friend and I undertook this winter, was to ask the Curator of one of our national museums for a guided tour of their curatorial storage areas. The request was granted.  My friend and I got to spend two glorious hours wandering the aisles staring long and hard at some fabulous Canadian art and antiques. Now that was a good use of time! The curator enjoyed our visit too because he could see that we sincerely appreciated and understood the items in front of us. 
So, dust off those reference books. Obtain some new ones. Visit galleries, museums and libraries. Winter is a great time to visit the institutions that support and preserve Canada's past. Think creatively about how you can further your knowledge and understanding about your area of collecting. It will tune you up nicely for the warmer temperatures which, for this collector, can not come soon enough.
Hope you find something great this weekend!
Shaun

If Warren Buffet Collected Antiques and Folk Art

I am currently reading a biography of Warren Buffet, the gazillionaire Oracle of Omaha who bought his first "stock" at the age of 11 and went on to amass one of the great fortunes in the world.
Mr. Buffet is legendary for his meticulous research. His goal was to find shares of companies that were inexpensive in relation to the value of various assets within the company.  To do this he often had to read through annual reports, consult various industry directories and peruse countless  research papers.
He was not above burning through some shoe leather by visiting a targeted company's operations and talking to customers, suppliers and employees. Later, he added "qualitative" analysis to his "quantative" approach and was equally successful.
He knew instinctively that the strength of a company's "brand" gave it additional value and impact in the market place and would continue to do so over time.
Mr. Buffet made his investments most often for the "long haul".  Jumping in and out of the market and flipping stock was not the way he invested. To him, every single dollar was important. The smallest transactions received the same scrutiny as the largest regardless if it was $5 or $5 million.
So, how is Mr. Buffet's approach to investing relevant to the search and acquisition of antiques and folk art?

First of all let's look at the point about research.
In the antiques and folk art field, at any given time, there is huge amount of material on offer.  Despite a lagging economy, there are still antiques shows in all parts of the country.  Group shops and flea markets are seemingly everywhere.  Antique auctions are promoted and held every weekend. In the on line "virtual" world, there are thousands and thousands of antiques and art being offered.  The "categories" of collecting also continue to expand. Items that were once ignored regularly come into vogue as a new trend in collecting to say nothing about fakes, forgeries and reproductions that routinely flood the market.
Imagine then the beginning collector approaching the antiques and folk art market today without doing research.  Yes, it's certainly possible and many collectors do just that, overcome by the sense of anticipation that comes with buying your first few antiques.  But to my mind it's the equivalent of drinking from a fire hose. Yes, you'll satisfy your thirst but you'll get soaked in the process!
Compare that to the collector who does some research before buying. One who decides beforehand to search for a specific antique or folk art.  This collector knows the market prices for particular pieces and specific folk artists. A la Mr. Buffet, the prepared collector looks at many items before making a buying decision.  The Buffet-like collector is looking to add objects to the collection that will remain there for a long time; likely appreciating in price as time goes on. Over the years I've sought out and purchased works by specific folk artists; a practice which has strengthened my collection and will also, if I ever decide to sell them, return many times my purchase price of these works.
Mr. Buffett made a point of investing at times when others were shunning the market or traditional investment vehicles. In a sluggish economy, the price of antiques can and do suffer.  If you can afford to so so, this is a good time to buy. For example, antique furniture prices are down sharply from a few years ago. It is an opportune time to buy superior examples - if you are prepared to have those pieces in your collection and to do so for the long haul.
Consistent with Mr. Buffet, the savvy collector has a plan and an objective. If a piece does not meet their criteria, then it is not acquired!  Similarly, Mr. Buffet resisted fads sticking with his regime year after year. When the competition for value stocks became too intense, he opted to fold his tent rather than change his practices.  The studious collector should also resist fads. Decide beforehand what it is you like, what you are prepared to pay and when.  After that, stick to your plan and your objectives. Adding an item to your folk art collection should be a major event; one that you celebrate quietly every time you walk by the object in your home.  Know too that the more refined your collecting becomes, especially folk art, fewer people will be able to relate to it.  For reinforcement you must have faith in your own research, your own convictions. Seek out other collectors that share that same spirit and conviction.  The trend setters often thought Mr. Buffet was out of touch with the times.  He didn't care.  He was supremely confident in his beliefs because he had done all the research. He knew the answers. If he needed reinforcement, he had a circle of colleagues and investment professionals to which he could and did refer on a regular basis.
So, my fellow collectors. That's what I've learned about collecting folk art from Warren Buffet. The skills are transferable. By any standard, he is a remarkable and extraordinary individual. I can only imagine what he would have done, if he'd turned his attention to art and antiques!
By the way the book is titled: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein. I highly recommend it.
Best wishes for the holiday season. Hope someone gifts you with a good reference book on antiques and folk art!

Tension on the Home Decorating Front: Less is More vs: More is More

There's a certain tension in our house when it comes to the interior display of the antiques and folk art that we collect. Notwithstanding the fact that I've sold many, many nice pieces over the years, we continue to acquire objects so there's a pretty constant flow of antiques and folk art objects coming into the home, or at least into the garage, the holding area for recent acquisitions!
For the last several years, Joan has been a "less is more" type.  She believes that a small number of artistic items in a room heightens their visual impact. Of course, I am a "more is more" type. I like lots of objects in a room.  It's busy but the various shapes, sizes and colours create quite a mix. Besides I like looking at the objects we've collected. There's a story behind every one of them. Each time I look at an object, the memory of how I acquired it flashes through my memory. Some people collect trinkets from their various trips to far off places.  When we travel in Canada, I like to buy an antique or a piece of folk art as a memento.
Even with a "less is more" interior design motto, Joan likes to change things up, so at least twice a year I find myself rearranging furniture in the various living spaces in our home. More often than not, this process produces a net surplus of antiques or folk art which by default have to go to the man cave - our repository for the "more is more" side of the equation. It almost happened again on the weekend but somehow I managed to rearrange the antiques and art in the family room without "losing" anything to the man cave!
"Joanie, don't you think a cupboard at each of the sofa looks so, well, symmetrical" I blurted, my eyebrows arching hopefully upwards as I waited for a reply. "It's sort of like book ends," I added confidently.
The withering glance I got back from Joan spoke volumes.
On this occasion, however, she relented and, for now, we have cupboards book ending the sofa! Isn't life wonderful!
On the other hand, the basement space, the man cave, is where I can let loose with the antiques and folk art. I can stack, arrange, fill and shelve as many objects as I like. Or at least to date I've managed to do that.  And although I've achieved "detente" in the man cave, there are no signed documents or treaties so, like a small country in the shadow of a superpower,  I live with the uncertainty that Joan (the super power in this case) may have a change of heart and set her sights and her "less is more" ways on the lower level. Unless and until that day comes however, like a squirrel confidently building a nest in the garden shed, I live in equally happy and ignorant bliss, surrounded by the antiques and folk art items I've gathered up over time.

The Markey Man Cave - Where More is More!

And be very aware of the "let's paint the house" approach to downsizing your antique collection.  A friend of mine agreed with his partner to paint the interior of their home and of course moved out the antiques and furniture to facilitate the task at hand.  Once finished, he had a devil of a time getting his antiques back in!  The less-is-more approach had struck again!
Although you don't realize it at the beginning, most if not all collectors face the issue of "space" or the lack thereof.  Unless you're collecting postage stamps or a similar dimensionally unchallenged collectible, at some point in time you're going to run out of space. Either that or you stop collecting. The latter is certainly not the solution for the majority of collectors. I imagine there are collectors who collect furniture and art to the point where they have every room in their house furnished and adorned exactly they way they want it. And then they stop.  I can't do that. And none of my collector friends can do that.  Why should you stop something that's so interesting and fun to do?  Besides if you stopped acquiring, I'd have nothing to talk about with my buddies down at the antique market!
I guess in part that's what drove me into selling antiques and folk art - the surplus of items.  But even selling objects on a regular basis doesn't solve the problem if there is more quantity coming in than going out!
If you live in a rural setting with barns or enough terra firma upon which to build said barns, you are indeed fortunate.  However, I know collectors who have also filled their available barns and sheds to the eaves. So even the barn blessed collectors can and do run out of space. I've also read of big time art collectors who solve the problem by leasing large industrial buildings in which to showcase their art. Is it any wonder there are so many of those commercial storage facilities popping up all over the place. I know more than a few collectors who are using them to store their finds.
Like it or not, the collector's day of reckoning must come. In my case, for example, with six cupboards in the house and two in the garage, any future cupboard would have to be a flat out jaw dropper to get into the collection. Ditto blanket boxes. I've got several of them. Lamp tables? An easy half dozen or more. Tables, yes - a harvest type, two round ones, another harvest type that serves as a coffee table. Plus there are various washstands, servers, pedestal tables, bucket benches etc.  I haven't even started to talk about the folk art on the walls. Not much space left there either!
In one way, it's fortunate that the supply of stellar country furniture has dropped off in recent years. I don't have the place to put anything anymore!  Even with a sharply curtailed supply, I still see pieces in the back's of picker's trucks that make me swoon. The Internet also gives one a constant view of antiques and folk art and there are many occasions when I see something on offer I'd like to own.
I'm not sure where this blog post is taking me in terms of an argument. Perhaps the underlying theme should be to collect "slowly". 

The Less-is-More Level

I know if  you're new to collecting Canadian antiques and folk art, the feeling that you have to make up for lost time or that you have to hurry to build a collection of objects to admire is a strong one.  You have to resist this tendency.  Try to make a plan of what you want in your collection and where the object will be placed in your home.  After 30 years of collecting, I've finally realized that I would rather spend more on one good cupboard than the same amount on five run of the mill type cupboards. So, collect slowly and focus, focus, focus. Set your standards high. Any piece coming into your collection must prove itself in terms of age, condition, surface, form and, ideally, provenance.  Finally, think SMALL.  Aim to collect "diminutive" examples of furniture. And I don't mean miniature in scale.  Smaller scale, quality items will look better in your home and in the long run will appreciate more in value. Pursue small, decorative accessories for your collection. A decorated wall box is just as much a piece of art as it is an antique.  You get the best of both worlds when you concentrate on antique decorative accessories.
So, there you have it. Set high collecting standards. Keep the dimensions and scale smallish. Collect slowly, backed by a plan and a purpose.  Doing so should produce a collection that is a joy to own and respects the available space in which to display it.  However, you'd also be wise to keep a "man cave" option available downstream - just in case!
Thanks for reading. Hope you find something great next week!
Shaun

Laying the Foundation, Thoughts for the New Collector of Canadian Folk Art

I recently received an email from an individual who is a relatively new collector of folk art. In the email he mentioned a few of the artists already represented in his collection and asked for my recommendations on how he should proceed in terms of new acquisitions.  He asked about where to find folk art, suggestions on affordable options for buying folk art and raised the question of buying contemporary versus traditional folk art.  While I replied to the collector with a fairly brief email message, I thought it might be useful to expand on my thoughts in this blog post. So, let me take a run at answering these important questions in more detail.
I guess the over arching concern I have about contemporary folk artists is that some of them are almost too commercialized. There can be almost a "production line" feel to their creations. That's not to say, a new collector shouldn't collect them but I would exercise caution in terms of how many contemporary pieces I have in the collection. The price of folk art from artists who are commercially successful will be higher than the works of an unknown artist and therefore more expensive.

Skating on the Mill Pond, S. B. Armstrong 1944. Found in an Ottawa antique store.

A few other questions come to my mind. If one defines a folk artist as "untrained" should there come a point in their career where they don't fit that definition any longer but are seen more as conventional artists?  Does their commercial success and repetition of popular works make them less of a folk artist? Maud Lewis and Joe Sleep, to name two folk artists, frequently created the same subject in their paintings. In fact, they used stencils to speed up the process. It certainly didn't hurt their popularity in doing so.
While in the main still affordable, many contemporary folk artists command prices of $500 and up for some of their works. In my budget, that's still a significant "spend" requiring fairly careful thought before pulling the trigger.
Contemporary folk carvings are fine but I would go slow because they are for the most part quite plentiful in supply and your collection can grow too quickly. It's fine to have one or possibly two carvings by the same contemporary carver but I would also look for traditional folk art pieces. Items with some age that are harder to find and of limited supply. In some cases they'll be unique items by unknown artists which is exciting. Not to be mercenary, but the latter works will have more value now and in the future. It's nice when you decide to remove an item from your collection and in the process make a profit on the transaction. 
Personally, I like to find artists that haven't been discovered beyond their immediate family and friends. And, surprisingly, there are many folk artists out there who fit that category.  I would estimate that I have discovered at least ten to fifteen folk artists over the years that were unknown in folk art circles.  Assuming you can buy their work from them, and I have discovered that isn't always the case, their work will be very reasonably priced. More importantly, by purchasing their work, you are giving them a vote of confidence and acknowledgement that their work is important to you personally.

The Blueberry Picker, Gerald Chamberlin c. 1965. Picked in west Quebec.

Define collecting boundaries. By that I mean, establish a personal set of standards for the kinds of folk art you're going to buy and collect. For example, I stop short of work that is too crude or rough in its execution. There is a point for me where naivety becomes just too primitive. I stay away from folk paintings unless they include people and or animals.
Set your sights on owning a painting by a folk artist that is higher up the food chain from where you're currently buying. For example, paintings by the great Nova Scotia folk artist Joe Norris  currently change hands in the $3,000 to $8,000 range.  They are not inexpensive but still within reach of most collectors.  

Cove Scene by Joe Norris, 1981. The owner was given my business card by his mother.

Begin by doing your due diligence. Research the artist, view his or her works as often as possible, become familiar with the market prices. What is the difference in the work between the lower end and the higher end of the price range?  Not to be crass, but you can compare prices on the basis of dollars per square inch of canvass. If a painting has a decorated frame, what impact does that have on price versus one without a decorated frame?
You can and will find folk art just about anywhere so make sure you widen your search.  Most antique dealers handle traditional folk art so that gives you another reason to attend shows and visit their shops.

Don't hesitate to let people know you are searching for folk art. Have a business card made up that says "folk art collector" on it with your phone number and email address.  One of the most amazing folk art purchases I made came directly from someone simply picking up my business card. Run a classified ad in your local newspaper. Traditional forms of communications and marketing still work well despite the apparent dominance of the Internet. Of course, always check the local auctions for folk art that slips into a general sale.

Small hooked rug in frame c. 1960. One of two found in the trash.

Last year I bought three wonderful, small hooked rugs in a local auction. They were inexpensive because they're simply aren't a lot of folk art collectors out there. And those that were there apparently didn't know what these rugs were or weren't prepared to part with the $200 that bought all of them.  Frequently a dealer who picks up a piece of folk art, even though they don't specialize in the category, will bring it along to a show in which they are participating. It usually follows that they will price it below market value.  A friend of mine bought a terrific piece of folk art at a "nostalgia" show a few weeks ago. A dealer in Coca Cola items had it in his booth!  Many dealers of other merchandise also don't know how to price a piece of folk art. I bought at super folk art painting at a flea market a few weeks back for $40. It's worth many times that amount.

Make a point of searching for folk art paintings.  Quite simply, you have more "wall" area than "floor" or "shelf" space and because art is displayed on a vertical plane it has a strong visual impact.  Above all, be patient. With preparation, you will find great pieces of folk art at affordable prices.  Continue to train your eye and educate yourself about Canadian folk art. You want to reach a point where you can assess the merits of a work based on your knowledge and experience.  Yes, it's fine to obtain a second opinion but sooner rather than later you want to operate on your own; confident in your abilities to assess the pieces you discover.  So, don't rush it. Presumably you have years to build your collection.  Purchasing a piece of folk art for your collection should be an exciting and rewarding experience. And it will be.