Why are some artists more collectible than others?

Ever wondered what makes some artists more collectible than others? Why do some artists consistently achieve auction records? Why are some artists able to achieve long-term relevance while others only enjoy “15 minutes of fame”, as Andy Warhol famously said?

Many factors contribute towards building an artist’s success, and his/her success can be measured in terms of his/her significance in the annals of art history, which in turn affects his/her market prices. While galleries and artists typically try to downplay the market’s influence, the reality of the contemporary art world suggests otherwise.

100 years ago, an artist’s career would largely be shaped by a handful of powerful critics; in the 21st century, this power now rests in the hands of wealthy private collectors. With advanced technology and the global outreach of social media, it is increasingly difficult for an artist to only rely on institutional validation as a barometer for his success. The art market, with its complicated web of influencers, including collectors, galleries, advisers, and auction houses, plays a crucial role in an artist’s fate.

Looking back at the past 50 years, 4 artists clearly stand out from the masses, in terms of long-term relevance and collectability. What do Picasso, Warhol, Koons and most recently, Kusama have in common? These 4 artists are truly masters of the art world, and it is interesting to see what characteristics/ qualities they share.

Art is about expressing a unique vision – the artist’s special way of telling his/her stories. Pablo Picasso never stopped telling his stories for over 70 years, with his first, identifiable style, the “Blue Period”, back in 1901. Over his lifetime, Picasso had mastered almost every medium and was at the forefront of painting and sculpture for decades. A virtuoso draughtsman whose beautiful sketches continue to mesmerise the public, Picasso was also the father of Cubism, collage, and assemblage. His oeuvre gave way to key artistic movements, including Futurism, Suprematism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Vorticism, German Expressionism, Dada, and the list goes on.

Born 47 years after Picasso, and arguably America’s most famous artist ever lived, Andy Warhol, shares an equally unique vision that went on to influence generations of American and international artists, as well as photographers, designers, filmmakers, and musicians. As Phoebe Hoban, biographer of Jean-Michel Basquiat, said, “To “legions of art students...Warhol [was] the white-wigged Wizard of Oz...his famous career a grail to every MFA and struggling downtown artist-in-residence.” 

Just as Picasso had paved the way for countless artistic styles of the 20th century, Warhol was so much more than just the “father” of Pop art. Working across different forms of media, Warhol was, as described by film theorist/writer, Peter Wollen: “A filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a band-leader (if that’s the word to characterize his involvement with the Velvet Underground), a TV soap opera producer, a window designer, a celebrity actor and model, an installation artist, a commercial illustrator, an artist’s book creator, a magazine editor and publisher, a businessman of sorts, a stand-up comedian of sorts, an exhibition curator, a collector and archivist, the creator of his own carefully honed celebrity image, and so on...Warhol, in short, was what we might loosely call a “Renaissance man,” albeit a Pop or perhaps post-modern Renaissance man.”

Not only is Warhol’s art a pivotal and enduring moment in late 20th century history, with Pop art literally taking over the art world from Abstract Expressionism (one of the key avant-garde art movements in the US at the time), it was Warhol’s vision of himself as an “artist-machine”, and his Factory that revolutionised contemporary art. For the first time, the centuries-old, traditional boundary between author and artwork was made redundant. In removing the significance of authorship from the creation of art, Warhol opened doors to new studio practices, and ultimately paved the way for the next generation of artists, including Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and many of the YBAs such as Damien Hirst.

Some years later, in November 2013, one of Warhol’s indirect “proteges”, Jeff Koons, was enjoying his very own crowning moment. One of his most recognisable series, the toy balloon dog series – 10ft tall and constructed of polished stainless steel, reminiscent of a plastic party balloon toy – fetched a record USD58 million at auction, which was the highest sum EVER paid for a work by a living artist at the time. Taking Warhol’s concept of art as just another commodity one step further, Koons completely “industrialised” the production process of art. Koons’ version of the “factory” was literal, employing a workforce of skilled artisans to manufacture iconic pieces such as the balloon toys, without any firsthand input from the artist himself. "

Like Picasso and Warhol, Koons was the consummate showman. In today’s art market, marketing and PR play a critical role in shaping an artist’s public persona. With technological advances where information is easily accessible online at all times, cultural consumers (including collectors, casual buyers, or just the curious) need the extra “wow” factor. They want to know the artist’s personal lives, and the more scandalous the stories, the more they are entertained.

In March 2015, Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama officially became the world’s most popular artist. Kusama literally took the art world by storm, as evidenced by the number of blockbuster exhibitions in leading museums and commercial galleries worldwide, not to mention the never-ending streams of Instagram posts by key art influencers and the general public alike. What Kusama shares with Picasso, Warhol, and Koons is her unique vision (her iconic dot-patterned works have attracted more than 2 million visitors to her “Infinite Obsessions” exhibition), her longevity, and her skills across all difference media.

In summary, an artist’s collectability is a complex mix of different qualities – virtuoso craftsmanship, absolute commitment to his/her vision, PR skills, perception (ability to adapt to changes in society), and last but not least, a sharp sense of humour.