In art, think big and recent resolutions with a tinge of caution

Article by: Roxana Popescu
International Herald Tribune; 12/24/2005

As the new year approaches, almost everyone needs some guidance in making resolutions. So correspondents from Your Money recently asked their best sources for personal finance advice that the experts considered essential for getting painlessly out of the old and on with the new. Art investors hunting for the perfect Chagall or Diebenkorn to round out their collections might want to act in 2006, because it is a great moment for expensive modern art. Marc Porter, president of the U.S. division of Christie's International, offered two recommendations for the coming year. First, think big. ''Objects of the highest quality continue to appreciate the most,'' Porter said. ''Buy the best quality you can possibly afford in any field.''Second, think recent. ''The largest number of people getting involved in the art world are focusing on postwar and contemporary art,'' he said. ''All signals seem to indicate that this is the collecting field for the next generation.''Art investment is gaining ground, he said. ''It seems to have passed a time when the question was whether people would invest in art. Now it's unclear how much money is going to move into it. Almost every savvy financial person is looking at art and antiques as an absolutely suitable field.''