Excited. Connected. Confident.

That’s exactly how you should feel when buying art. Here are the three things I always look when buying art from an emerging artist.

It’s so easy to get swept up in the excitement of discovering something new. But over the years I’ve learned to slow down and ask a few key questions before committing.

One: where are they showing? I look at the galleries representing them or showing their work. Have they had any solo exhibitions or been featured in group shows? Or if a little further down their career path, has their work been hung in any museums or institutions at all. Exhibition history tells you a lot about how an artist is being received and supported within the wider art world.

Two: is there any secondary market data? Has their work come to auction yet? Is there anything I can actually look up and verify? Perhaps a little early for an emerging artist but worth looking up to see. Secondary market activity gives you a sense of demand beyond the primary gallery sale and it’s a useful (though not the only) signal worth paying attention to.

Three, and arguably the most important: does it excite me? Am I genuinely excited by it? Do I want to look at it every single day and hang it on my wall? At the end of the day, the best collections are built on a real connection to the work and not just the numbers.

And if I’m spending at a higher price point, I’ll dig a little deeper and ask a few more key questions. Research matters. The first two points inform you, the third is why we collect in the first place.

Get the balance right and you’re not just buying art, you’re building something that means something to you and can be a legacy for your children and your grandchildren.

What’s the first thing you look for when you discover a new artist? Let me know below.