How to start collecting with confidence.
Next in our ongoing series of talks with collectors from across the globe, Muse speaks to Jane Suitor, an experienced art advisor and collector, who, for 20 years, has helped her clients navigate the global art market, collecting, and investing for the short and long term. Expert in her field, Suitor has carved out her own path, based on intuition, curiosity, and a passion for learning. What makes a good investment? How does one live with great art? Jane Suitor shares her insider’s tips for Muse.
‘Wherever you are in the world, you can seek out art and you can encounter it in the most unexpected places.’
Whether you are a first-time buyer or well-versed collector, there certainly is an art to collecting. To unpack the seemingly complex process, Jane Suitor, long term advisor and collector, explains to Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, her tips and tricks on successful collecting. Suitor began her art advisory firm in 1999 in London. While Suitor may not paint, draw or sculpt, she has found great success in her understanding of art history. Amongst her striking architectural masterpiece home, designed by her husband Architect Richard Found, Suitor explains why she collects and what motivates her.
‘I’m living with pieces that mean the most to me, that I’ve collected over a long period of time.’
Behind her, a painting by artist Nick Goss, bought years ago, and now one of the most acclaimed young painters to emerge out of the UK in recent years: ‘It’s been a delight for me to live with the work and see Nick’s career and language develop.’ On collecting, Suitor believes that if you fall in love with an artist, there is always a way to experience their work without owning the original. Suitor points to a Bridget Riley print, an affordable touchpoint without the price tag, which ‘works beautifully, and echoes the minimalism of the architecture here at the house.’
Art Collection at Lypiatt House, courtesy LoveCars.
For Suitor, the best advice on collecting she can give is the fundamental worth of education. ‘The more you familiarise yourself with various styles and movements in arts, the better you know what you want to acquire yourself.’ There is so much to be said for picking up artists early on their career, a skill which develops and grows with the more you know.
‘It’s the fundamental worth of art education.’
Image: Jane Suitor. Courtesy LoveCars
Suitor believes anyone can be a collector, and your life will be fuller. Surrounding yourself, and living with, art by artists you admire is as surprising as it is provocative. ‘The more you read, the more you see. The more you’re going to get out of it.’ Over time, you will find yourself with an incredible collection of artworks you love. And that’s an art in itself.
