This painting by Kerry James Marshall is a prime example of what I mean by that suggestion. I met Marshall in the early 90's, when I visited his studio on Chicago's South Michigan Avenue. The trip was part of my regular studio explorations. My experiences during these visits vary; at times when I enter a studio, I think "well this is nice, but nothing very exciting." While other times, I'm blown away.
Marshall's images of young black boys and girls resonated. It reminded me of kids I played with while growing up in my old neighborhood in Baltimore. As soon as I saw this piece "Lost Boys: Aka Lil Bit," I knew I had to have it. My decision was based on a visceral reaction, whenever I see something I must possess.
"I have to have this," I said to the artist. "How much is it?"
"Seventy-five hundred," he said. He looked confident and decisive.
"So how do I buy it?" I said. Meanwhile, I was thinking to myself, how am I going to afford this? But then - I simply had to have it. Of course I bought it, knowing that I would figure out how to pay for it.
"Talk to my art dealer," Marshall said.
Fast forward to 2013, the painting that I bought for $7,500 - which I could barely afford, has been valued at 10 times my purchase price. Additionally, the painting has been featured in many of his travelling exhibits and has also been published in his catalogs.
Here's a bit more about Kerry James Marshall from Wikipedia: "Although he currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois, his time spent in Watts, Los Angeles, California where he observed the Black Power and Civil Rights movements had a significant impact on his paintings. Strongly influenced by his experiences as a young man, he developed a signature style during his early years as an artist that involved the use of extremely dark, essentially black figures. These images represent his perspective of African Americans with separate and distinct inner and outer appearances. At the same time, they confront racial stereotypes within contemporary American society. This common theme appeared continuously in his work throughout the subsequent decades, especially in the 1980s and 1990s."
"Buy the best artwork by an artist that you cannot afford." ® This tagline confirms my personal experience and those of my clients who have followed my advice. So next time you see a work of art, that speaks to you - buy it.
