How to make money in art history

how to make money in art history

Students who are creative and love learning about past cultures often pursue an art history degree. Art history programs explore famous paintings, sculptures, and architecture from various eras and civilizations. Students learn to analyze pieces of art for meaning and insights into history, economics, and social structures. This process requires attention to detail, research skills, and critical thinking abilities, which graduates apply to art history careers and positions in other fields. Graduates often pursue roles as museum technicians and curators, postsecondary educators, and event planners. Since these programs can lead to a variety of careers, learners should consider their professional goals when choosing a program. For example, students who are interested in museum work should consider programs with a museum studies concentration. Art history students can also complete relevant electives and internships to prepare for their career. The coursework, internship opportunities, and training featured in art history programs help students develop skills that are applicable to both art history careers and roles in other fields.

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Studying for a degree in art history turned out to be an interesting career move for Kate Middleton, leading her to meet and marry a prince. However, most art history graduates will have to set their sights slightly lower. Graduates will have gained a historical and critical awareness of paintings, sculpture and architecture, learning about great works of art from the Renaissance to the present day. Unsurprisingly, jobs as curators in museums or galleries, arts administrators, heritage officers or auctioneers are popular, but flexibility is essential. Key transferable skills highly prized by employers include visual and critical awareness, problem solving and time management. You will also have developed effective written and oral communication skills, be adept at analysing and interpreting information from a range of sources, and be able to work independently. Times remain tough for arts graduates, with little over half of those who studied history of art finding full-time employment in Of these, only 6. Other careers include arts administrator, archivist, museum education officer, picture editor or researcher, journalist, teacher or lecturer, exhibition or events organiser and antiques dealer.

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A PhD or MPhil is an option for those who want to develop expertise in a particular area. What skills have you gained? What jobs can you do? Postgraduate study? Topics Graduate careers What to do with a degree in …. Reuse this content. Order by newest oldest recommendations. Show 25 25 50 All. Threads collapsed expanded unthreaded. Loading comments… Trouble loading? Most popular.

Why Pursue a Career in Art History?

Compiled by Charles M. Rosenberg E-mail: Rosenberg. In an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education «No More Plan B,»‘ October 9, , Anthony Grafton advised faculty who were charged with counseling and training students pursuing graduate study in history not to think of a tenure-track job in academia as the only and ideal future job, but to realize that the prospect of the number of academic jobs and new Ph. Therefore, students need to be made aware that the skills which they are developing —«doing research; conceptualizing relationships between structure, agency, and culture; combining research and analysis to present arguments with clarity and economy; knowing how to plan and carry out long-term projects» — are all transferable to a wide range of occupations. This observation also holds true for students pursuing a degree in art history. In addition to the specific research and rhetorical skills which Grafton identifies as vital to the training which students of history have developed, one can also add an ability to analyze and «read» images as carriers of implicit and explicit meaning to the young art historian’s list. This is a skill which is becoming progressively more significant as we move towards a more and more visually oriented world. Given this reality, probably the best advice which one can give to a student thinking about majoring in art history, but also appropriately concerned about what impact such a decision might have on her or his future ability to have and hold a job, is to think creatively and flexibly about what it is he or she is learning. Try not to conceive of your education as providing you with a set of arcane and curious facts and interpretations, but rather to think of it as equipping you with a broad range of analytical strategies which can be applied in any number of different kinds of situations.

how to make money in art history

Curators, conservators, consultants, and more

Interning with galleries will also give you arg chance to work behind the scenes of art selling, which can teach you about how to market your own art. When corporations started employing hundreds of millions of people, and these people started spending money, banks started to need to manage the transactions — a lot of data. Startups today are the way to create value with the most how to make money in art history. The first step to make money is to not spend money—and rent is a big expense. Here is how you could create value before:. An easy way to test whether an evaluation is accurate or not is to yow listing the work online for a price higher than its been evaluated at. Include your hoa address to get a message when this question is answered. Identify famous artists whose work increases in value over time. Go to gallery openings and look for the owner. A Anonymous Feb 16,

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Show less Ask a Question Related Articles. Art investors are individuals who buy works of art with the intention of selling them at hisory later date for a profit. They typically specialize in a single genre, medium, or period in art history, and can focus on buying and selling in the local or international market.

Becoming an art investor can be difficult. You have to have a strong understanding of major trends in art, as well makw the ability to recognize whether the market for art is healthy or not. However, once you know how to analyze and interpret art, it can be an incredibly rewarding way to make money. To become an art investor, start by studying and learning about the art that you want to invest in. Then, develop an investment strategy by identifying your long and short-term goals.

Makf Certain mediums and genres are really hard hlstory profitably invest in. Postmodern histroy is the most lucrative, but also the most competitive.

Video and collage arts are going to be difficult fields to make money in. Tip: A good rule of thumb is to start on the primary market of your local scene and the secondary market of the global scene.

Purchasing from hisgory and galleries in your immediate area where you know the market will make buying manageable early on. Relying on a big secondary market for bigger purchases will give you an idea of what the demand will be in the future. Tip: Identifying the owner of a gallery is usually easy at an opening. They tend to be alone and walk around to introduce themselves to visitors.

Tip: Be kind when turning down an opportunity to look at art. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 20 references. Categories: Art Collection Investments and Trading. Log in Facebook Loading Google Loading Civic Loading No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to on wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Article Edit. Qrt why people trust wikiHow. Learn more Method 1. Familiarize yourself with the basic vocabulary of the art world. Keep a notebook handy and jot down words that you encounter in art publications, forums, and conversations and look them up online.

They carry their own connotations, so take note when you see them used in an article or conversation. Frequent websites that publish art criticism. Whitehot MagazineArt Reportand Blouin Artinfo are all phenomenal resources when it comes to studying and understanding the art world. Be how to make money in art history of any websites that insist that you can make hwo quick buck though, as there are plenty of scams out. Purchase a subscription to popular art publications.

ArtforumJuxtapozand Art in America are all excellent publications that publish ma,e criticism. One of the best ways to learn about what styles, artists, and mediums are growing in popularity is to study what major critics are paying attention to, so take note of the names of artists that get talked about in each issue. Major publications also list major gallery openings. If you live in a major city, check the advertisements for gallery openings in your area.

Take an art criticism class and attend lectures. Audit an art criticism course at a local college moneyy university. Take an art criticism class ti your aft time to learn how to talk about art and meet other potential investors that you can network.

Specialize in a specific medium or genre of art. From avant-garde ceramics histoy constructivist painting, ni are literally hundreds of different kinds of art on hoq market today. It will be impossible to know which artists are going to prove to be good investments in every single field, so pick a style of art that you enjoy to specialize in it.

Method 2. Identify your goals as an investor. Long term investment requires a different approach than short term investing. If you want to flip local work online to a larger market to make a quick buck, frequent art fairs to get a good span of work to choose. Investment funds are pools of money that are used by hisyory panel of experts to make informed purchases on behalf hisstory their bistory, and operate like mutual funds.

Choose a market that you want to begin buying and selling in. The secondary market is where current owners of a work buy and sell art. Start by looking for lesser known artists arf have some buzz. Look at reviews of gallery openings and write down the names of any artists that receive praise for interesting work. Instead, look for criticism that describes the work as forward-thinking or visionary.

This is often an indicator that an artist has tapped into a unique style or process that may catch on as time goes on. Identify famous artists whose work increases in value over time. Investigate the names of artists you hear mentioned in art publications and go to local auctions to hear what kind of prices wrt artists are getting for their work. Write down the names of the artists with work for sale and research them to identify trends and up-and-coming artists.

Method 3. Attend gallery openings and talk koney the owners. Go to gallery openings and look for the owner.

Smaller galleries tend to have very active owners that will be willing to chat about potential investments. Go to art fairs and interact with the artists. Art fairs represent a rare hitsory to expose yourself to large quantities of art all at. They also provide an opportunity to interact with a large number of artists, since the art at art fairs is usually sold directly by the artist. Art fairs are also a good way to judge the local demand iin your market. Attend auctions to meet other investors.

Fine art auctions are a tremendous resource for networking with other investors in your field. Introduce yourself to the people makd bid on works at an auction and ask them about their investment strategy.

Talk to them about their collection and exchange phone numbers to stay in touch. If you can build a relationship with other investors, you may be able to get the inside scoop on rare collections and insider opportunities in the future.

They have their own set of social norms and rules, so they may seem overwhelming at. Auctions are usually free and open to the public.

Method 4. Contact an artist directly to look into buying their work. Many established artists have representatives and agents that deal with potential buyers. If you know an artist is being represented, contacting them directly can come off as an insult to the artist. Gallery owners make a living buying and selling art. They are likely to be regularly purchasing or soliciting investable art. Ask gallery owners to keep an eye out for work that you might be interested in buying. Hire an evaluator to appraise your art before buying or selling.

Evaluators are professional appraisal experts, and their estimates hold quite a bit of weight when it comes to selling or buying art. Inversely, a professional evaluation will let you know whether or not a potential purchase is worth considering at its available price. Contact the gallery that you bought a piece from before selling it. Gallery owners will appreciate the ability to offer a piece to their clients before you put it on the open market without their assistance.

Market your art online before going to an auction house or private seller. An easy way to test whether an evaluation is accurate or not is yo try listing the work online for a price higher than its been evaluated at. This will also give you a sense if the original appraisal is an accurate representation of what a piece of art is worth at the current moment.

Fine art is usually a long-term investment, and you should generally hold on to assets during tumultuous periods in the market.

Hold a purchase when in doubt. It can take time for a work to appreciate in value, so be patient! Include your email address mlney get a message when this question is answered. Already answered Maje a question Bad question Other.

Creating Value in Different Periods

Do you think Art History is a good degree? I am planning on majoring in art history, and would like to hostory from others with this particular degree if they found it to be worth it after graduating. What are the pros and cons of this major? How has this major helped you or hindered artt I could major in art administration, but I am more of a humanities minded person. I believe having a degree will open doors that would other wise be closed to me in the future if I wish to pursue different opportunities. But anything that would be beneficial in the long run would be howw.

With a little creativity, you can put that art history degree to work.

Should I minor in a chosen area as well? I plan on attending graduate school as. The most obvious mooney is that you’ll have a tough time finding a job that pays well in your field. More likely you’ll end up getting a job outside your field and then what’s the point? If you have to take out a lot of loans to afford college, liberal arts degrees like this are a very bad investment. While it is true that having a how to make money in art history, in general, puts you in a better position than not having maks, if you are looking for a degree that will provide employment opportunities, Art History probably ain’t it. Ultimately, though, it is your graduate degree that will determine your employability. The best thing you can do for your career while you are in school, however, is to get as much actual experience possible in whatever field you howw to work in. Internships, work study jobs, externships. A job applicant with four years of experience and no formal education is infinitely more desirable than one with four years of education and no real-world experience.

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