What does an art dealer do

The art business often requires connections – and the ability to take risks.

Mark Lambert bought and sold works of art by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet during his more than two-decade career as an art dealer, a profession he entered into almost by surprise. accident.

After a degree in fine arts, Lambert imagined becoming an art teacher, but a chance meeting with an art dealer who hired him as an assistant set him on another path. “I started as a framer and tea boy…and I was there for 17 years,” he told CNBC by phone.

He specialized in 19^th century Victorian paintings at the time, and would exhibit each year in around twenty international art and antiques fairs. Then, after a stint with another dealer, he opened his own gallery in September – Lambert Fine Art – in the British town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Dealing in art is a profession that Lambert describes as “unusual” because art is often a purchase driven by emotion rather than need. “You don’t need it. You don’t have to have it. People want it, they aspire to it. From that point of view, I guess it’s unusual. And I think most “People who buy art are investing in something for themselves…they want to look at it and enjoy it every day,” Lambert said.

Selling art through a dealer rather than at an auction can also help pieces retain their value, Lambert said: If a picture doesn’t meet its low estimate at an public sale, it can reduce its perceived value and reduce demand. “You can sometimes ‘burn’ a photo by putting it up for auction, if it doesn’t sell well or sell well,” Lambert said.

The world of art business can be intimidating for new entrants, according to Olya Johnson, interior designer and co-founder of art and interiors company Relic, which she established in 2023.

Relic was exhibited at the prestigious London Decorative Fair for the first time in January, an annual art and antiques event that Johnson said typically attracts long-time dealers, who may work in the family business.

Less experienced dealers may find they have to wait years before they are ready to display their pieces for sale at the fair, she said, but Relic was invited to share a booth with an established exhibitor. “Because we had this opportunity, but also (because) I think we’re a little fearless, we figured, well, why don’t we try to do it now,” Johnson said, adding that she found it “an incredibly positive experience.” “

“Everyone realizes that the company needs new blood and a new generation of people,” Johnson said.

In addition to buying and selling art and decorative items, Relic lends pieces for editorial and advertising shoots to clients such as Elle Decoration magazine and textile design firm Colefax and Fowler.

Johnson and his business partner Natalie Vosloo, an advertising creative director, run Relic alongside their day jobs. “My experience with all the young dealers we know, it’s always a second thing. So trading always happens alongside the main career,” Johnson said.

Two artists CNBC spoke with also dabble in art.

Tom Rooth specializes in pencil drawing on ceramic and features animals and sea creatures in his work. Former director and fine art expert at high-end auction house Christie’s, he is also a dealer in 19^th and early 20^th paintings of the century, by buying on consignment or at auction and reselling to dealers and individuals.

Rooth’s career as a merchant also helped him sell his ceramic pieces. At art fairs, he would use the plates he designed to hold candy for visitors who browsed the paintings at his booth. “People started flocking to them, asking how much they cost,” he told CNBC by phone, and his ceramics business took off.

Jack Roberts is also an artist and dealer. “I have a lot of different identities in the art world,” he told CNBC by phone. As an artist, he goes by the name JPR Stitch and specializes in colorful embroidered pieces that his clients display as wall art, making them on a regular sewing machine. Roberts has built a following on Instagram, where customers — often in their 20s and 30s — often find him, he said.

At the same time, Roberts is a dealer and consultant, supplying galleries with works of art – which he lends in exchange for a fee, or on a sale or return basis. It has works by contemporary artists David Hockney, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst in its current collection.

The occupation can also be risky, because dealers often own multiple works of art without knowing when they will be sold, according to dealers interviewed by CNBC. Lambert can own about 70 to 100 works of art at a time (large dealers may have 1,000 images in stock, he said), while Roberts said dealers might own a “core” selection of artists that they know are likely to sell.

Dealers may also have parts that are increasing in demand, Roberts said. “Every once in a while you’ll have the ‘gold nugget’ that you either bought particularly well, or you bought and then the market rose enormously for that coin,” he said. Roberts said he has “a few” such pieces in his collection, but knowing when to sell them can be tricky.

Buying works by niche artists is also a strategy employed by some dealers, Roberts said. “The piece can make a good profit, but it can be very, very difficult to sell… finding a person, a museum or a collector to buy, it can take years and years,” he said.

Earlier this year, Lambert acquired a limited edition print by British graffiti artist Banksy, whose original work fetched millions of dollars at auction. But auction prices for the artist’s prints can vary, Lambert discovered, which can affect the sale price of his works. “The market … is up or down, depending on who has money that day,” Lambert said. “I thought it would be a little simpler, but the prices are all over the place for one print,” he added.